Codex Interview RPG Codex Interview: Chris Avellone on Pillars Cut Content, Game Development Hierarchies and More

Oh, they won't be able to shut out the news media. But the news cycle is short and other than a few bitter grogs the public's memory is even shorter. This will get lost in the general noise soon enough unless they themselves keep it going. The news will stop writing about this the minute there's nothing new for them to write, and the only way that could happen is if they do add fuel to the fire, like in a lawsuit for example.

Which isn't to say they won't do it, people do ridiculously stupid things all the time.

 

"And all you little shits best behave, or I'll have Sawyer send the Black Hounds after you!"

 

Puffy Sawyer.

 

What collateral damage? Most people there would find better paid jobs in no time (especially programmers and artists), gaming industry (especially RPG part of it) is rather poor in comparison with banking, movies, more popamole studios, etc. Also, if you think that your average PoE gamer knows who the creators are and what goes on in the studio or cares you're retarded. Even if every gaming site will pick this up the effect on sales will be minimal, there are way too many BG fans (and PoE fans too) who want to throw fireballs only, level up and kill dragons.

 

It's official now. We are no longer Obsidian fanboys. Welcome the new era of Beamdog Era of infinite incline!

 

Yes, of course. In the case of Obsidian, you object to a private company treating their employee in the way they feel will best protect their financial investment within the law. I don't disagree with communism per se, but if you're bent on attacking capitalism in this way may I suggest that a forum about video games isn't the best place to do it?

 

I was thinking the same. Knowing the mainstream, the news will probably get ignored because of the source it's coming from.

 

I don't think he's happy of having retained the ownership of the shares (obviously I don't know if what I said is correct).

 

"Attacking capitalism"
lol. Fuck off.

 

Actually, the smart thing for Obs to do would be to buy MCA. Pay him his dues and make him sign a more specific NDA on those matters.

 

My forum alerts since this controversy has emerged:

 

Bit late for that, don't ya think?

 

Don't hold you breath. Obsidian can't and won't respond here, and I think Chris knows that.

 

Am I reading this right as "I'm contacting IGN as we speak"?

 

Laughing my ass off at all of the righteous indignation over Feargus' bad behavior. Did you guys think Obsidian was an anarcho-syndicalist collective? They're a private company that exists to maximize profits, like any other business.

The unusual thing here is that most CEOs know not to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. The great flaw of Feargus is not that he's a scumbag (which goes with the CEO territory), it's that he's a moron.

 

Even if other sites don't want to use 'Codex forum posts' as a basis for an article, I bet MCA will be getting a few more requests for interviews in the near future.

 

They can do a figstarter for it! Go Obs!

 

There's such a thing as ethical capitalism. Also if they are perfectly free to be assholes in how they practice their business then we are perfectly free to call them assholes and, most importantly in a capitalist structure, not buy their stupid shit. There's absolutely nothing anti-capitalist about protesting against a company by not buying what they produce, in fact that is one of the foundations of capitalism.

 

Avellone's "drama" reflects the upper management treatment of their employees, if anything they ought to be the first to see it.

 

i think Obsidian is full of shit.... Fuck this guys

 

This is true. I also can't help but be puzzled how can people spend such a long time working together and never develop enough of a personal connection in order to speak plainly about problems related to their current project.

 

Also you fucking liberal bothsiderists, apply basic source criticism here.

What does MCA have to gain from spilling this?

What does he have to lose?

If you think about it for a moment, the only thing on the gain side is eventual peace of mind once he's through the shitstorm, whereas on the loss side is a massive pain the ass... and this if he's telling the God's own truth with every word. And if he's not telling the truth, he is going to be utterly fucked for the rest of his life: hammering nails into his kneecaps would hurt less and cost less.

Therefore, the only plausible interpretations are either that (1) the material facts he's stating are true, -- OR -- (2) he's completely lost his marbles and needs to be committed into involuntary psychiatric care, stat. And I think we can also fairly safely discount (2) as that kind of shit doesn't happen overnight, and he hasn't shown any indications of failing sanity up to this point.

And the material facts he has stated are really incredibly fucking damning. Losing his stake in the company, "upper management" leveraging his economic and family situation to pressure him into signing a balls-to-the-wall evil NDA/non-competition agreement and then cutting his health insurance. That is so vicious words fail me.