24 'Til Launch - Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

24 'Til Launch is a new, recurring series of documentary-style videos created, scripted, and edited by the Shacknews staff. Each video goes behind the scenes to follow developers in the hours before a game’s launch. In each episode, you’ll meet the faces behind the credits—how they’re feeling, what tasks they absolutely must finish over that final day, and how they come together in the moments before zero hour to celebrate doing the impossible: Seeing a game come to fruition.

The inaugural 24 'Til Launch was shot over May 7 and 8 at this year at Obsidian Entertainment in Irvine, CA, ahead of the release of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Each entry in 24 'Til Launch will be a standalone feature at Shacknews. I conceived the series as a part of my next Shacknews Long Read, Beneath a Starless Sky: Pillars of Eternity and the Infinity Engine Era of RPGs, which you'll be able to read in its entirety later this afternoon. In the meantime, I'm extremely proud to present the inaugural entry in 24 'Til Launch. Let the Shack staff know what you think in the Chatty comments below.

Written from extensive research and over 40 hours of interviews with developers from Black Isle Studios, BioWare, and Obsidian Entertainment, Beneath a Starless Sky is a 480-page book that recounts the making of both Pillars of Eternity titles as well as the foundational Infinity Engine roleplaying games: Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II, Planescape: Torment, and Icewind Dale and Icewind Dale II.

Be sure to check out Beneath a Starless Sky's second exclusive video feature, the inaugural Shacknews Long Table, in which I host seven developers from Obsidian in a panel-style discussion about the history of RPGs and Obsidian's catalog of award-winning titles.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.