Yesterday we caught wind that Obsidian Entertainment would be revealing a new title at GDC 2014. Beyond that we had only speculation to go on. However, after tooling around Obsidian’s job postings, we think we have a better idea of what will be revealed at GDC. The posting in question is for a UI artist. The first paragraph of the listing mentions that the title in question is undoubtedly next-gen. From there, our juices get flowing.

First off, Obsidian’s Twitter account lists their active projects that have already been confirmed, or are close to shipping. First up is the heavily delayed South Park: The Stick of Truth. Also mentioned is Pillars of Eternity, which was funded via Kickstarter and is starting to really take shape as of late. A lesser-known project in the studio’s pipeline is Skyforge, an MMORPG that’s being developed in conjunction with Allods Team. Speaking of Skyforge, all of the other pronounced jobs the developer is currently seeking seem to be for that project, as many postings mention work on an MMORPG.

From there we have to speculate as to what the studio may be working on. The phrase “ground breaking” is used to describe the UI that the concept artist is responsible for creating. One of items that’s listed as a plus would be an understanding of typography, something very central to the Fallout series. Typography is one of the vehicles used in the franchise to drive home the feeling of America’s Cold War era.

The only other real fact that we can ascertain from the listing is that the UI artist needs to be proficient in Flash and Scaleform. Scaleform is a UI that’s used in many titles like Crysis 2, Singularity, and more notably the post-apocalyptic series Borderlands. Based on the use of Scaleform in Borderlands, it’s possible the tech could be used to develop a new look for Fallout‘s Pip-Boy. The many functions of Borderland’s AI include RPG elements, setting mission priorities, and even setting map markers. Many of the same features are included within Fallout’s Pip-Boy.

It’s also completely possible the studio could introduce a brand new IP, maybe even a new crowdfunding project. Their impressive portfolio spans stealth-action, dungeon crawling, and even turn-based strategy, but one genre tends to link all of their efforts; the RPG.

Whatever ground-breaking next-gen title the studio announces at GDC, the industry will be better with it than without it.

Source: Obsidian