Wasteland 2 Interview

The [a]list daily talked about Wasteland 2 with inXile CEO Brian Fargo himself, who obviously has plenty of insight to offer on the title. Here’s a brief snippet concerning Fargo’s intentions to use the title to show you can make a great game without funding from publishers:

Fargo wants to create a great RPG in the classic tradition, and from the appearance of the software in its current form he’s succeeding. (I want to make it unbelievable,) said Fargo. (I want to show that you can make an unbelievable game without a publisher.) Fargo’s lined up a top-flight team of writers and designers (including the team from the original Wasteland) along with experienced programmers and artists using Unity to build a game that looks like a very worthy successor to the original RPG.

The focus is on quality, according to Fargo. (Here’s the great thing. If I take money from a publisher, what do they want at the end of the day? They want to make a profit,) Fargo points out. (If I take money from my neighbors, friends, and family, they want their money back, and probably a small profit. If I take it from a VC, they want to make a profit. Money from crowdsourcing? They just want a good game. It’s the most pure form of financing you can get. Universally, people say, take your time, get it right. We’ve waited 20 years, don’t worry about it. You know what a relief that is?)

That’s not what you typically hear from publishers, who are usually focused on getting the game to market as quickly as possible. (If I’m in a situation where I’m humping to get paid, and I’m worried about my guys… fifty percent of my brainpower is fighting with someone and trying to get paid, and every milestone is like a hostage negotiation… I don’t think you make as good a game,) Fargo said.

Fargo believes there is still more to learn about bringing games to market through the crowdfunding process. (The process was already much more sophisticated on Torment than it was on Wasteland,) Fargo points out. (Whatever worked six months ago might not work today. Who’s to say if I did the exact same Torment campaign today I’d get the same amount of money? There’s an emotional component to it. To me it’s all about timing, and what your messaging is at the time. I bet you I would arrive at some different kinds of conclusions if I was doing it today.)