Fallout 3 revived!

[Sharpe]

[ZargonX]

Whooo! to it being published... and more tentative "whoooo" depending on whom they farm it out to...

[Dis]

[Spiffor]

I'm so glad they want to continue the series!

But I will remain cautious until I know what their plans actually are. Since they have dumbed-down the franchise with the Fallout FPS, I prefer to wait a bit before being overjoyed

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yay... hopefully it doesn't suck and the 'outside developer' they are outsourcing to is Troika Games.

I share Spiffor's fears that Fallout 3 may turn into a Diablo close by the wrong company.

[Dis]

pessimists

I'm cautiously optimistic

[Space05us]

lazy bums, you couldof at least posted the article

CEO Herve Caen says his company will publish the postnuclear RPG, hints it is farming out development.
Following yesterday's conference call with investors, Interplay CEO Herve Caen casually dropped a bombshell. "We're planning to publish Fallout 3," he bluntly told an analyst who was inquiring about the PC role-playing game sequel.

The news came as a shock, given that the game community had all but dug Fallout 3's plot in the game graveyard. The bad news started last year when a series of prominent persons, including Feargus Urquhart and JE Sawyer, left Fallout 3's developer, Black Isle Studios.

The departures sparked rumors of problems behind the scenes at Black Isle, Interplay's internal role-playing game studio. One of its premier projects, Baldur's Gate 3 (code-named "Jefferson") was put on indefinite hold following Interplay's loss of the Dungeons & Dragons license to Atari.

That left Fallout 3, the next chapter in one of the most widely admired RPG series of all time, as Black Isle's sole project. However, in November, Interplay shut down Black Isle, and sent its entire staff packing. With nobody working on Fallout 3--and its dismissed developers spitting venom--the industry assumed that the game was dead in the water. That is, until today.

Though Caen was uncharacteristically direct about Fallout 3's publishing plans, he was less so about its development. "Fallout 3 is not actively being developed right now," he said, "but we will have an announcement on that front soon, regarding that project."

Later in the session, Caen gave a hint about when that announcement may be. When an analyst asked if it was most likely that Fallout 3 would be developed by an external studio, Caen answered, "Correct."

[Space05us]

1. Good to see FO3 is being considered for action again

2. Bad to see it only being considered at the moment

3. "External studio" = different type of game (not different genre, just different ) = uncertain.

4. umm, thats all for now.

[DrSpike]

It's going to be a while if they haven't started developing yet.

[Kassiopeia]

I thought F3 was almost finished when they froze its development. They could probably just hire a few guys from the earlier F3 team and have them finish the game. And since it's almost done, there's not too much leeway for a third party to come in and ruin the game for everyone.

Starting over would be foolishness in this situation.

[Grumbold]

Nobody ever accused Interplay of never being foolish.... like cancelling a game that was so far into development.

An outside studio might pick up all the established code and run with it, but I know from painful experience that no matter how well people think they have documented its just not possible to step smoothly into a half complete project. Even worse if the outgoing staff have not been methodical in documenting as they go.

We may get the Fallout 3 we have been hoping for but it may just be a rushed redevelopment to get somehting saleable. My pessimism will remain until they announce who gets the contract. Obsidian is busy with KOTOR2 right now so it will be tricky to find one with a strong pedigree for RPG development that has the resources to take it on.

[child of Thor]

I'll take it on - if they pay me enough and give me full executive control, that way with help from fans of the origonal, i can ensure its done right

[Felch]

[Az]

I am cautiously optimistic. What graphics will they use, btw?

[Stuie]

Originally posted by Space05us
3. "External studio" = different type of game (not different genre, just different ) = uncertain.

That was my first reaction.