Gaming
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In 2012, Obsidian's original RPG, "Pillars of Eternity" raised a staggering $3.9 million USD, becoming one of the most successfully funded gaming projects in Kickstarter history. With release now just over the horizon, its creators are anxious to get started on a sequel, but are unsure exactly how to proceed.

The success of the Kickstarter campaign was driven in large part by the stellar creative team working on the project. Thanks to the presence of RPG heavyweights Chris Avellone, Tim Cain and Josh Sawyer, it seemed destined for success. In an interview with Polygon, the team from Obsidian discussed that the studio already had solid plans for a sequel. The only issue is whether or not they would be running it throuh another Kickstarter campaign.

"It's not 100 percent. The reason is because first we didn't want to do it until [Pillars of Eternity] came out. The second thing is that the Kickstarter stuff is kind of up and down here and there," said Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart.

Later in the interview, Urquhart seemed to warm up to the idea, stating that now seemed like a good time for a Kicksrarter. He recognized the success of Hairbrained Schemes' recent campaign for "Shadowrun: Hong Kong," which Gamespot reports was funded within a few hours.

"Pillars of Eternity" is a party-based, real-time fantasy RPG developed by Obsidian. The game draws heavy inspiration from games based on Bioware's "Infinity Engine," which was used to create RPG classics such as "Baldur's Gate," "Icewind Dale" and "Planescape: Torment."

Talking with PC Gamer, project director, Josh Sawyer stated that in some ways ,"Pillars of Eternity" was a response to the problems he encountered creating the "Infinity Engine" games. Sawyer noted a desire to streamline and simplify systems, and bring the framework up to date for modern audiences.

A hands-on report by website, Rock, Paper, Shotgun states that the game uses its inspirations as a solid foundation on which to base its own creative ideas. Special praise is reserved for the game's detailed dialogue and interesting characters. "Pillars of Eternity" is in development for Windows PC, OSX and Linux and is scheduled for release on Mar. 26.

Pillars of Eternity - Pre-Order Gameplay Trailer (Credit: YouTube/Gamespot)