Grunker
RPG Codex Ghost
So here’s “the greatest writer in the business” (at least he was, that’s undebatable, but I can’t recollect when he last wrote something great), praising BioWare’s cast of whiny teenagers:
Now, as harsh as I am towards the original Pillars companions, companion writing is easily the worst part of my otherwise beloved BG2. The game relies heavily on melodrama and sappiness. And the Beamdog companions, man, they are just...
I can’t escape the feeling after reading the OG Avellone thread, more rants and now this interview that any excuse for expressing bitterness towards Obsidian is jumped at at this point. At least the lack of any great, modern Avellone writing is explained if he is somehow trying to bring back the Days of Our Lives version of RPG companions.
The interview is pretty much just fan-fellatio (“An Avellone email is concise yet courteous. It respects your time and manages expectations about replies to your questions. It is humble to a frankly absurd degree. “Thanks for thinking of me,” one reads, as if he wasn’t the most celebrated RPG writer in the industry.”) but it’s still an interesting enough read in places, e.g.:
The most major criticism I’ve heard both on the Codex and outside is that Pillars was not enough like Baldur’s Gate. I’m not sure it would have helped much distancing yourself even more. Arguably that was what Pillars 2 tried and it hurt the sales like a motherfucker. Pillars 1 probably made most of it sales on that premise tbh.
Here’s the whole interview:
https://www.pcgamesn.com/chris-avellone-interview
The charm of the companions, for starters. One challenge I came back to after Pillars of Eternity (and I admit, I wrote two companions) is that a lot of the companions had lost a sense of charm that the Baldur’s Gate cast had. It hit me when I got involved with the Enhanced Editions, because they reminded me of the companion design of the original game and made me realise that following a formula had taken Obsidian largely off the beaten path. I say Pillars 1, as I didn’t play Pillars 2, but the Pillars 1 companions with the possible exception of Eder just didn’t carry the same punch as the Baldur’s Gate crew. The Baldur’s Gate crew felt like your friends, rivals, and even your conscience at times, but none of the Pillars companions had that charm about them. Again, I felt partly to blame for that.
Now, as harsh as I am towards the original Pillars companions, companion writing is easily the worst part of my otherwise beloved BG2. The game relies heavily on melodrama and sappiness. And the Beamdog companions, man, they are just...
I can’t escape the feeling after reading the OG Avellone thread, more rants and now this interview that any excuse for expressing bitterness towards Obsidian is jumped at at this point. At least the lack of any great, modern Avellone writing is explained if he is somehow trying to bring back the Days of Our Lives version of RPG companions.
The interview is pretty much just fan-fellatio (“An Avellone email is concise yet courteous. It respects your time and manages expectations about replies to your questions. It is humble to a frankly absurd degree. “Thanks for thinking of me,” one reads, as if he wasn’t the most celebrated RPG writer in the industry.”) but it’s still an interesting enough read in places, e.g.:
There have been a lot of games that have tried to capitalise on the Baldur’s Gate nostalgia, including games I worked on at Obsidian, but I think they would have been better off finding their own voice or finding a new hook in a new fantasy world that would inspire a distinct approach.
The most major criticism I’ve heard both on the Codex and outside is that Pillars was not enough like Baldur’s Gate. I’m not sure it would have helped much distancing yourself even more. Arguably that was what Pillars 2 tried and it hurt the sales like a motherfucker. Pillars 1 probably made most of it sales on that premise tbh.
Here’s the whole interview:
https://www.pcgamesn.com/chris-avellone-interview
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