Tyranny, RPG by Obsidian

[Jutranjo]

 

I can't believe there wasn't a topic for this already, also the release date for this is the 10th of November.

 

 

Here's all the cool things about this RPG:

• The world was conquered by an evil/authoritarian overlord and he/she now rules with an iron fist, strict laws and peace in their lands. You play as some kind of roaming judge/jury/lawyer/diplomat/executioner in the employ of the government. Also magic apocalypse
• 
  
• It's a shorter RPG, which still means around 20 hours but it's suppose to have micro and macro choices and repercussions, like Alpha Protocol, where you could basically get anyone to be your friend or enemy by the end of the game
• 
  
• The tone/vibe it has seems really similar to the book series, The Black Company
• 
  

They have a development blog here: https://blog.tyrannygame.com/

 

It has a few design posts, mostly it seems to be short stories about characters, some world building like the overlord's laws:

  Quote

Kyros’ Peace: Your life belongs to the Overlord if you vow fealty, and cannot be taken from you except by the Overlord. Legally this means that surrendering in the midst of battle should make Kyros soldiers stop killing you, as your life does not belong to them. It also grants Archons, as extensions of Kyros’ will, the right to conscript citizens into their service as soldiers, mages, or agents. As a Fatebinder you are an extension of Kyros’ Will, and have the right to order the execution of those guilty of breaking the law.

The Magician’s Folly: If a mage inadvertently causes harm or death due to the unknowable perils of magic, the mage will not be held liable if the magic was used for the glory of the Overlord. Many believe this law grants mages more rights in Kyros’ Empire, but they are wrong. Mages must belong to sanctioned guilds under the supervision and control of an Archon. Any use of magic, even a spell as simple as lighting a candle, must occur for the glory of Kyros. To do otherwise means death.

Vows Made in Kyros’ Name: Any vow or expression made using Kyros’ name is a binding legal contract. Breaking such a vow is punishable by death. A statement as simple as, “By Kyros, that man is an idiot!” places the speaker in dire peril. An enemy who hears that and can gather both witnesses to your vow, and proof that the man in question is not an idiot, can have you executed.

There's an article on Kotaku about the development history of the game/Obsidian, it being the game that nearly sank them, before the Pillars of Eternity kickstarter

http://kotaku.com/tyranny-emerged-from-the-game-that-nearly-sank-obsidian-1767592617

 

It makes it look like this went 

Fury (2006) -> Defiance (2009) -> Stormlands (2011) -> Tyranny (2016)

 

Also the publisher is Paradox.

[Reyturner]

This sounds great! Motivation for me to finish Pillars of Eternity first tho...

 

Also, this makes me want to see Obsidian take a crack at making a CRPG set in the 40K universe. This sounds like a great setup for an Inquisitor focused game. 

[Lechimp]

I've been pretty excited for this since it's been announced. A shorter rpg sounds cool, especially if it allows for more range in choices and for those choices to matter more.

[Jutranjo]

Mechanics wise, it's a real time with pause, using the POE engine. But! it will be a classless skill system where you raise skills by using them. ALSO you'll be able to craft spells via runes you find as you explore.

[Moosferatu]

My eyes glaze over when confronted with the lore of this game, but I do love Obsidian games, so I'm eager to see how this one turns out. I am all for short things.

[Dewar]

Oooh, you had me at "shorter RPG"

[graddy]

  On 10/14/2016 at 4:24 PM, Dewar said:

Oooh, you had me at "shorter RPG"

Same here. But I am enjoying my first 2-3 hours with POE (finally)

I also hear that Torment won't be super long, which is exciting.

[Jutranjo]

Also a bit more wide than POE (which is honestly the same dungeons and story beats every time. Also it's 50+ hours long.)

[Salacious Snake]

  On 10/14/2016 at 4:24 PM, Dewar said:

Oooh, you had me at "shorter RPG"

Seriously.

 

I finally played Baldur's Gate to completion sometime in the last couple of years (on an iPad, incidentally), and then I loaded my save into the sequel and was like, "Nope." I just can't.

[Jutranjo]

Here's some media that look good

 

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/10/17/tyranny-preview-tiers/

 

 

Also Day9 streamed it today, including the mandatory 2 hour character creation. It'll be on his YT channel soon-ish. This one might be interesting, the character creation goes from physical appearance, background to joining the overlord's armies, broad classes that include skill boosts, attributes, skill levels. Then it has you choose either a premade world start, or start a "Conquer" thing.

 

It looked like a Twine-ish thing, the RPS has more on it. Another thing they stole from Firewatch!

 

I didn't watch it and I'm going to stop watching/reading more actual in game info, I'd rather be surprised by what happens.

[skamakazi]

Does this just use the same engine or is it part of same story/world too?

[Jutranjo]

Only the engine, lore wise it has no connection.

[Jutranjo]

Here's a whole SIX(!?) hours of gameplay by Sean Plott

 

 

[Moosferatu]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/11/10/tyranny-review-in-progress/

 

Apparently it's not as short as one would hope.

[Jutranjo]

I love the world building they've done. Small magic works just fine, but anything bigger is a big mystery. Only a few people know much of stuff beyond the horizon.

 

The UI is better than Pillars in lots of ways, a big plus is the contextual stuff you can right click and be told more about. It'll remind you why someone is unhappy/happy to see you, because you were in charge of burning down their castle during the conquest with magical fire/didn't burn down their citadel instantly during the conquest with magical fire but gave them a few hours warning.

 

The story introduces factions and people, then has you antagonise a bunch of them! It doesn't tell you about all 4 corners of the world like POE but just the land the game takes place in and their immediate neighbour to the north.

[juv3nal]

That "sometimes, evil wins" tag line is a bit on the nose given the current political context.

[Trip Hazard]

Toying with the idea of picking this up for xmas. From the impressions I read after launch, PoE seemed to me to be a bit lore-heavy and humourless. As a sadistic bastard, I'm sure I'll find much to laugh about playing Tyranny, and I like the idea of a shorter, more responsive adventure.