Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - General Oujia Boards are not games!

I suggested dice, as well as 'gold' coins (though I'm not sure how expensive they would be or how hard it would be to get a limited production run), and a couple other things.

In D:OS 2 you can talk to ghosts. That's how the Ouija board came up; it was something unique and kind of game related, that could have some game related artwork. There were some other game related suggestions, which were presumably too expensive, too delicate to ship or were thought to not have enough appeal.

Would have been better to just include a game related piece of art work rather than going through the process of creating a Oujia board out of it, IMO. I thought the ghost connection might be the reason, but I still think it's a clunky idea.

Well, sure, one may take the cheap way out... but if you care for something wouldn't you rather produce something good than just cheapening out and calling it a day?

Coins probably shouldn't be too difficult, I got several from say the Oblivion CE (such a waste of money on a crap game :(), Witcher II CE (same) or the Tales of Monkey Island one. ToMI is probably akin to scale of the production here (unlike the first 2) but I have to say, most of the things coming in it where severly sub-par quality.

I don't know how desirable coins would be, though. The Divinity games have also always just used generic 'gold', so there isn't really anything linking them specifically to D:OS 2.

What's the fear?

So not feeling the love in this thread

That's cause we're a band of Satanists... obviously

GHOST FACEEEEEERS !

I'm not surprised by the amount of skeptical people in this thread. It was expected. Though I still have my concerns and know what actually messing with this kind of stuff actually does.

Very early in the thread someone brought up a great point about destroying the Oujia board prior to use. When you go to attempt to contact the dead or other spirits, you create a connection. Prior to using the board to communicate, there is no energy from the board. Destroying it after a hostile spirit wants to use it as a means of constant communication is where a problem might arise.

There are FAR better things (such as the dice) that Larian could have used then an actual Oujia board. And yes, one can be made by using an upside down glass and letters on a paper. That has been done.

The Larian games are fun where you can use swords, arrows and spells to kill ghosts. It is entertainment, though real ones are a far different matter. I really think fantasy should remain as fantasy and reality should remain as reality. I doubt a single Oujia board has been manufactured yet as the game won't be shipping for over a year yet. It is still early enough to axe the Oujia board and have RPG dice...something many would love to use in our gaming community.

Or how about a T-shirt even? I know many are going nuts over the stinking hoodie though I wish I could just buy one for $35 then to spend $75 more in Kickstarter to get.

To be honest, while I get the promotional point of the Ouija Board, I agree it's kinda weak as a reward. Mind me, not all rewards HAVE to bear some utility - either information, decoration, or tools like the mug and hoodie. It's not very interesting as a display, not really a toy... Maybe someone could get a better idea.

Appart from that, as a firm atheist and, overall, not caring for superstitions, either evil or good, I obviously can't see how what is essentially a piece of engraved or printed wood could actually hurt in any ways.

So yeah bottom line, I wouldn't like the Board to be dismissed because of the superstitious function it carries, but rather just because it's not a very nice item as it is.

- Trying not to offend anyone. I'm just quite surprised this is actually a serious discussion. Somehow it reminds me of the large and very heated discussion about Scarlett wearing high heels during the alpha days of D:OS1. I tought it was a joke, until sadly I understood it wasn't.

Because yeah this here is for real, yeah?

I would also support an alternative to a Ouija board (or any pseudo-scientific/religious nonsense). I would love something I can play or use (dice, cards, mousepad), a small trinket or something I can wear (medallion, ring, coin, flash drive, shirt), or something I can display (poster, polystone statuette).

I love statuettes, but I realize that is probably far more expensive to produce and ship than a custom plank. My top choice from the realm of practicality would be a full sized poster (shipped in a tube, not folded!).

I already backed the collectors edition because I loved the first game (before I watched the new pitch actually, but I was pleased when I did), but I know I'll be getting value from the cloth map that I'll hang. I can't stand decorating with those generic framed flower prints, so great game and movie memorabilia is what I display in my house. Any decorative objects will see long years of use. It feels almost wasteful to include a board that will forever sit inside the box it came in.

For me too, the Ouija board is the least desirable item of the CE. I'd rather get rid of it and have the savings invested in a _quality_ cloth map. One that matches the one from U7, for example. Or include the soundtrack on CD instead. The poster idea is also nice.

What I cannot understand, though, is the superstition on display here. I guess there's no helping it, as people do believe in pretty wild things, seems that is just how we humans tick. But it greatly reminded me of the reaction people had to Dungeons & Dragons in the 80s [1].

This. No ouji boards, please.

Just wanted to add that I agree with LightningLockey.
I will not be getting the Collector's Edition.

I think it's good that there are other people in the in-between, people who do not abhor RPGs (as some Christian Fundamentalists do), yet are aware of the dangers that exist in the spiritual world.

You do realise that the inventor of the ouija board made it as a toy / game, right?

He made it to make money, which he knew he could because there was a big push in the late 19th century to want to talk to the dead. Not as a game, but because the people really wanted to talk to the dead. I wouldn't say the board began as just a game because that was never it's purpose, whether for fun or in all seriousness.

Last time it was the hot chick on the cover, this time it's the Wee-Gee board. Any bets on what the topic of controversy will be for D:OS 3?

That said, don't take it wrong, you have your beliefs and reasons, I just do wonder what is next, that's all.

Difference is, there are far more feminists than people like the OP or me. And they are better in causing a shitstorm, too.

So while the Design of D:OS was changed quickly, the ouija board will stay in.

And that's OK with me, nobody forces me to buy the CE, and I'm not the kind of guy to tell other people what they should or shouldn't do. I'd be happy if some people compared the reaction of the people opposed to the D:OS cover design to those of the people opposed to the ouija board, and rethink some of their preconceptions.

Changing the cover art on the Kickstarter page didn't effect any of the rewards (there was no reason to assume the retail box would use exactly the same artwork as the Kickstarter).

It is not that easy to just change an actual reward that people have already pledged for. Kickstarter doesn't allow editing the tier descriptions, at least in part so that there is no appearance of fraud with rewards being changed after the fact. There are certainly ways to change rewards when required, but to even clarify something or add rewards, you basically need to make the current tier limited and add a duplicate with the updated description.

Even if nobody pledged specifically for the Ouija board, and nobody had any objection to that reward being changed, the process of determining that and making it happen would be neither quick nor easy.