Interview Matt Chat 300: Half of a Chris Avellone Interview

[Infinitron]

Tags: Chris Avellone; Matt Barton

For the 300th episode of his show, Matt Barton decided to interview Chris Avellone - mainly about his involvement with the recently announced Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, it seems. Unfortunately, something got fucked up and the audio track for the main part of the interview was lost, leaving only 13 or so minutes of Q&A about miscellaneous stuff. In that time, Chris talks a bit about his failure to make it into Bard's Tale IV, and about the types of genres and games he'd like to work on after he's done with his current projects. He seems to be interested in working on a game that doesn't utilize a traditional RPG "talking head" set-up for dialogue. He'd also like to work on a "mundane" hard science fiction game. Chris hasn't forgotten his Arcanum LP, but he's postponing that in order to help create more content for Torment and Siege of Dragonspear.

​

To fill in the rest of the episode, Matt added an additional part of his ongoing interview with MUD pioneer Richard Bartle, but I haven't been following that. Perhaps he can submit the audioless part of the Avellone interview to a lip reader for transcription?

 

[m_s0]

Just send it to Avellone for some ADR. Clearly, he's got time to waste on pointless crap

 

[ArchAngel]

He'd also like to work on a "mundane" hard science fiction game.

So is this what Van Buren will be? Might be interesting.

 

[VladimirK]

You had one fucking job, J_C...

 

[Ovplain]

Is Avellone on the international space station or something?

 

[J_C]

You had one fucking job, J_C...

Yeah, I'm pissed at J_C Matt as well.

 

[Ninjerk]

MicoSelva got another question in about 11 minutes in.

 

[Athelas]

This 'accident', that coincidentally left the answers to the non-specific questions perfectly intact, obviously happened because he accidentally talked about stuff that was covered by an NDA.

 

[Ninjerk]

This 'accident', that coincidentally left the answers to the non-specific questions perfectly intact, obviously happened because he accidentally talked about stuff that was covered by an NDA.

I bet he dished the dirty details of his split with Sawyer and Obsidian.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Jesus Christ. Should have done the interview all over again.

 

[4too]

Happy Accident



Less MCA more Richard Bartle seems a happy accident.

Quoting an ex on spending the rent, “‘there will always be more money’”.

At the Codex, There will always be more MCA.

Not an MMO person.

BUT

Watch this for Richard Bartle.

Fascinated by his views on how franchises design their way to failure by reaching for a mythic brass ring oft times referred to as the casual market.

I’ll try to paraphrase and focus to a point.

Only so many potential customers at any given time,

jettisoning a significant number of old guard may lose more paying players than gain.

e.g. POE’s alleged bait and switch, is passed water, will sink or swim on being the best for what it is, then what it isn’t.

Will gain less from BG mirages, spiritual mysticism, hinges on the Victory of the “fuhrer’ principle” that seized the means of production.

Mine Bartle’s commentary for the big picture. Sample comments that may support Codex niche arguments.





4too

 

[Ninjerk]

 

[MicoSelva]

MicoSelva got another question in about 11 minutes in.

Yeah, Matt misunderstood me on Twitter (I bet that has never happened before), that question was intended for Alexey Pajitnov, creator of Tetris. Oh well.

 

[4too]

!Had Me At Hello!



Started sampling the rest of the Richard Bartle interviews and am amazed that my enthusiasm for Matt Chat has been ‘regrooved’.

Matt allows Bartle to run free and this is an excellent exchange of personalities.

If you will allow me the indulgence in an absolute, as a must experience: I’m brigading these RB episodes with the Tim Cain and MCA lectures on the history of the FO’s.

We all subscribe to a broad spectrum of cults of personality, can’t judge the prevailing consensus, but the chemistry of this WWW interchange, (+5 on Charisma roll?)

Matt seems to shine, as simply being Matt,

and Richard Bartle becomes a man I would regret not traveling to witness, at a hypothetical convention where he was speaking.

Pardon my born again giddiness. Delighted to catch these Matt Chatts.




4too

 

[Crooked Bee]

 

[Crescent Hawk]

Avellone doesnt know the term hard sci fi?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXeUkrlxQ98

Which is the best sci fi, fuck Mass Effect space opera bullshit.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

Richard Bartle is a really cool guy. Has a very accurate understanding of MMOs which is rare nowadays.

 

[Darkzone]

Avellone doesnt know the term hard sci fi?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXeUkrlxQ98
Which is the best sci fi, fuck Mass Effect space opera bullshit.

While i agree that Mass Effect is stupid shit, i have to point out that project Orion was also nonsense, even on paper. In space the atom bombs will not generate much kinetic energy, but electro magnetic pulse. Plasma drives / thrusters are the way to go, like ion thrusters that are very efficient and their exhaust velocity is around 20 -50 km/s. The Dawn spacecraft with an ion drive holds the record with over 10km/s. Perhaps if they increase the mass of the exhaust particles they can generate more force for the acceleration. A mass drive/ thruster with iron particles would perhaps be the clue.

 

[Amasius]

!Had Me At Hello!



Started sampling the rest of the Richard Bartle interviews and am amazed that my enthusiasm for Matt Chat has been ‘regrooved’.

Matt allows Bartle to run free and this is an excellent exchange of personalities.

If you will allow me the indulgence in an absolute, as a must experience: I’m brigading these RB episodes with the Tim Cain and MCA lectures on the history of the FO’s.

We all subscribe to a broad spectrum of cults of personality, can’t judge the prevailing consensus, but the chemistry of this WWW interchange, (+5 on Charisma roll?)

Matt seems to shine, as simply being Matt,

and Richard Bartle becomes a man I would regret not traveling to witness, at a hypothetical convention where he was speaking.

Pardon my born again giddiness. Delighted to catch these Matt Chatts.
4too

Yeah, the Bartle interviews were great, interesting guy with a lot of insight and not shy to show some of his bitterness and desillusions. Matt got a lot better at doing interviews, though the rest of his show besides the interviews is still pretty much unwachable boring.

 

[LESS T_T]

Chris has been kind enough to agree to re-shooting the glitched part of the interview!

BTW, I think I narrowed down the problem to a lack of space on my Mac Book. Needless to say, that won't happen again!

I do apologize to everyone for the mishap, but, really, the overreactions on my YouTube page were not at all called for.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1024799020864222&id=126630270681106

 

[Caconym]

I do apologize to everyone for the mishap, but, really, the overreactions on my YouTube page were not at all called for.

It's MCfuckinA, barátom. Called for or not, the overreactions were absolutely predictable and inevitable.

Very good news btw!

 

[Crooked Bee]

Chris is just so nice.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Chris is just so nice.

He's so dreamy.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

He may have agreed as in "yeah sure, we should do it some day". Don't get your hopes up.

 

[JustMyOnion]

He'd also like to work on a "mundane" hard science fiction game.

Sounds like the perfect 100M stretch goal for Vaporwarecitizen.