People News SHOCKER: Chris Avellone leaves Obsidian Entertainment

Has Obsidian said anything about him leaving?

 

Maybe. The pop-a-mole Dungeon Crawler mentality seems to be the direction they're going.

 

Totally.

 

Problem is, then inXile would become Obsidian; a big mouth to feed unable to afford being creative.

Tim's cool and all, but he's been playing it safe since Troika. (Furry MMOs? FFS). Like Obsidian.

 

Please please please say you haven't left for Bethesda oh Avellone.

 

As long as Tim is just a programer, or Sawyer's sidekick, he is totaly useless. And i'm not seeing Feargus giving him his own project to go wild.
Tim Cain's record in Troika doesn't mesh well with Obsidian's new policy "solid, on time, unambitious and a little bland but that's ok"

 

Sawyer's version = standard action film plot with the player foiling a crazy mad scientist & country rednecks who believe they're Romans

Avellone's version = struggle between two groups of characters, each with their own motivations, as they try to shape the waste land in their own image

No wonder Avellone left.

Experimentation and the new Obsidian do not go together.

I wonder what they cut out of Pillars of Eternity to make it fit.

 

I guess he was not Engaged(tm) anymore with PoE nor Obsidian.

Amirite?

 

I wonder though, if Cain's colorblindness will ever let him lead another project?
He has complained about the accessibility of modern games and also their GUIs. Would a game profit from his knowledge or are games with photorealistic graphics not capable to accommodate those handicaps properly?

 

Was that tweet yesterday from Bethesda about a big announcement real?

 

I hope not. I'm scared.

 

Avellone can have a gazillion reasons for leaving. ALTHOUGH: The announcement came rather abruptly. Obsidian didn't release anything on their website, on Facebook, on twitter, which they would if it was the usual case of "hey guys, sorry but I'm leaving in a month". The phrasing MCA himself used is quite lukewarm, and the forced hogwarts joke makes it kinda sounding like he's trying to make light of a difficult situation.

Do note that Obsidian doesn't have a writer opening at the moment, and considering that MCA was rather important you'd think they might be looking to replace one of the more junior writers who'd get picked to try and fill Chris' shoes. They might not have had long enough notice, or had notice a long time ago so that's already been sorted for some time.

Still, he's an industry vet and knowing how the industry goes I'd say that I'd find it way more likely that it's personal, not interpersonal reasons. He's been around for ages and at that stage you're no longer that prone to throw a hissy fit and slam the doors because you don't like working with someone or you feel slighted. The way it works is you keep it pent up for a while and if you can't resolve it anyhow then just deliver the notice and try to keep cool, professional and friendly. Of course, it works the same in most places but keep in mind that this industry, while deceptively strewn across the entire world, is actually pretty small, and when there's bad blood people start talking and word spreads very quick.

To illustrate: back when I was quitting the job I had 1,5 years ago someone pitched a rumour that the way I quit was that I chatted with the boss, threatened him to leave unless I get a promotion, got refused and followed through. That was not the case as I left for many reasons but never made any threats and actually gave notice long before I had to just because I really like the place and wanted to be straight. Fast forward a year later and a dude from a studio i turned out to be working with but of whom i never heard about before asked me about it as the rumour spread to him and somehow he picked it up even though I wasn't anyone important so you'd think he had no reason to give a toss. While he was actually praising me for playing hard ball it still felt like shit as I'd never do a thing like that.

As a side note, in the games industry 12 years at a company is pretty fucking long. I know a guy who's been around in a single company for 16 years and whenever it gets brought up it raises glances, a weird mixture of "Wow, that's impressive" and "what the fuck's wrong with you". With how volatile the industry is and how quickly you can burn out there's an unstated assumption that at some point you will move on from most places, even if only just to maintain momentum and shreds of sanity.

 

The worst part is that now Tim Cain alone will have to carry Sawyer's autism

Have you made your move yet, Vault Dweller?

 

Complete silence from Obs after their most famous dev/co owner leaves studio. Com'on men, something is not right.

 

Read that as Dr Prosper, was disappointed when I realized my error.

 

The team is now balanced. YEaaaaaaah.

 

Give it time. The families of Avellone's co-workers probably think they're just working late, but it won't be much longer before the police check it out and find the bodies.

 

You mean God doesnt exits? And Bioware is the best company ever?

FUCK, MAN!

 

Calling it now: He's joining or collaborating with Bioware on a Star Wars RPG, possibly KOTOR 3. David Gaider, (the lead writer for Bioware's DA Inquisition) dropped some pretty big hints about it on twitter last month (on 5/4 and 5/20).

 

It's more like he knows something we don't, and is keeping it to himself.

Get him, men!

 

be wary of that guy who taken your information away from you, because he in his slimy heart controls you - voltaire

 

MCA finishing his days writing Biowarian romances, could the Gods be so cruel?

 

Any chance Obsidian will continue to share their dev tools with inXile like with TTON if Fargo really is taking MCA for himself?

 

Monocause

You realize MCA is one of the owners of Obsidian? That makes this whole thing even stranger.