Incline Chris Avellone Appreciation Station

[Fairfax]

What happened to the posts about his GDC panel? Infinitron moving shit again?

 

[Infinitron]

What happened to the posts about his GDC panel? Infinitron moving shit again?

Torment thread cuz it's a Torment team panel

 

[Fairfax]

What happened to the posts about his GDC panel? Infinitron moving shit again?

Torment thread cuz it's a Torment team panel

Then repost it there. It was relevant to this thread, no reason to move shit.

 

[Drax]

Yeah and I don't need another thread to be following just to discuss MCA akhbar.

 

[Lhynn]

I dont care about torment unless its related to MCA, repost here please.

 

[Infinitron]

The magic of hyperlinks: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...ming-february-28.102141/page-124#post-4875346

 

[Lhynn]

Chris Avellone and TToN writers will do a narrative panel talk at next year's GDC: http://schedule.gdconf.com/session/everythings-on-fire-and-no-one-knows-what-to-do

Everything's on Fire and No One Knows What to Do

George Ziets | Lead Designer/Writer, inXile Entertainment
Leanne Taylor-Giles | Scriptwriter, Ubisoft Montreal
Chris Avellone | Narrative Designer, Freelancer
Colin McComb | Narrative Designer/Creative Lead & President, 3lb Games LLC
Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie | Lead Writer, inXile Entertainment

Everything's on Fire and No One Knows What to Do is about developing a common knowledge base for game writers, narrative designers, and cross-discipline communication. This panel focuses on the day-to-day aspects of game writing and working within a team, namely problem-solving, clear communication, and uncovering constraints after all the dialogue has already been recorded. Five industry experts share their experiences working on everything from AAA to indie and tabletop, discuss their strategies for remaining creative on varying budgets, and define common terms that may just result in you not needing to set everything on fire after all.

Takeaway
Attendees will come away with a deeper understanding of core narrative terminology, as well as insight into the different challenges faced by writers in the industry. They will also learn varied approaches for finding solutions to complex narrative problems, across a wide variety of budgets and genres.

 

[Fairfax]

The magic of hyperlinks: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...ming-february-28.102141/page-124#post-4875346

Nobody asked you to link the thread. If you're too lazy to repost it in the Torment thread, why don't you leave this thread be? I can assure you this thread is better off without you messing with it.

 

[Berekän]

The magic of hyperlinks: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...ming-february-28.102141/page-124#post-4875346

The magic of don't move shit that doesn't need to be moved. Just post it yourself on the other thread if you feel it also needs to be there.

 

[Drax]

If infinijew keeps messing with MCA's thread I WILL DO SOMETHING.

 

[Darth Roxor]

B-BUT, MUH LAW AND ORDER AMONG MEGATHRADS

THE SUBFORUMS HAVE BEEN CREATED FOR A REASON YOU KNOW

 

[Abu Antar]

If infinijew keeps messing with MCA's thread I WILL DO SOMETHING.

Glare at the screen?

 

[Drax]

GLARE THOUGHTFULLY

 

[Roguey]

Chris corrects the record on System Shock:



I've called it a remake in the past, my mistake. Chris Avellone is the narrative lead on a System Shock reboot. All that dialogue and environmental storytelling is his.

 

[HoboForEternity]

why isn't he using that ignus logo anymore?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

why isn't he using that ignus logo anymore?

Burnout.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Damn, there goes my luck farming the it is a mystery button

 

[Fairfax]

Chris corrects the record on System Shock:



I've called it a remake in the past, my mistake. Chris Avellone is the narrative lead on a System Shock reboot. All that dialogue and environmental storytelling is his.

It's their fault, really. The game was called both "remake" and "reboot" in the KS campaign.

why isn't he using that ignus logo anymore?

He said he hasn't picked a name for the studio yet, so the logo is probably just one of the options. I think he just wanted to see how it looked in the wild and what people would say.

 

[Fairfax]

By the way, I told Chris I'm working on the Faerun mod for Civ6 and asked for some advice, specially in how to work with FR lore. I decided not to include it in the interview because it'd feel like self-promotion and the interview is about him, but his thoughtful response is definitely worth sharing, and might be useful for other games as well:

- Find a librarian to support and check your work. On the System Shock reboot, for example, we have Daniel Grayshon who knows the System Shock universe in and out, and we can often bounce ideas off of him and get details as to why something would/wouldn't work across System Shock (and while I would argue that System Shock isn't an "expansive" universe like Star Wars [in the time of the Expanded Universe, especially], but there's a lot of devils in the details). Find a passionate forum, find some cool folks, and ask them if they'd have some time to proof some concepts and ideas (and give them credit, too). Chatting with them can also be a nice soundboard to unit ideas and abilities you may not have considered at first.

- Second, focus on the core elements of your civilization, and target your lore research accordingly, starting with the most recent written/developed works related to it and working backwards (I may have more to share on this in a year or two, so check back with me). When researching, say, South Park as a hypothetical example, it's good to know the start of the series, but you also want to start watching the most recent ones as well, even if you'll miss some nods and references. The reason being, you need to know where the universe is now as well as where it started from - what's the current fan's expectations vs. the original premise? For Star Wars, the early expanded universe plots were far removed from where Dark Horse and the novels took the universe, for example, but knowing both and knowing what to do and what not to do is important.

- So armed with that information, you focus on the civilization, and decide how you want that civilization to play, systemically. What kind of units and abilities will you need, regardless of the culture? What is the special trait of each culture that sets them apart? The Zhentarim may have a wide spy network, or beholders as special heavy units, for example - and often, those "special" traits are pretty clear in the lore as well (and often why people like the organization).

- When you have a group in mind, focus on that group to start with and devour everything you can about them. (I tend to start with the most common, vanilla faction as a "baseline" of what will be needed, playtest it, then do variations.) Then, if other people are doing civilizations in the FR mod, branch out your lore searches on your group vs. those specific other groups to focus your research - Zhentarim vs. Harpers, Zhentarim vs. the Red Wizards, Zhentarim vs. Cult of the Dragon, and so on. Try and see how units between the groups would match up against each other to create challenging engagements/alliances.

- I've often found Wikis (especially the Fallout wikis) to be a good place to start, if not to rely on, but always double-check. Sometimes they include periphery information that users assume is cannon (for example, manuals and strat guides, which often aren't canon), so be careful.

- Last bit of advice - analyze the Civ5 version to death and see what worked (including what factions people liked) and what didn't, from narrative to systems. It's seems like you have a great opportunity there to take direct feedback from the mod and analyze what made it successful and expand on that (every sequel I've worked on has benefited from an analysis - both game and forum feedback - on the previous version).

 

[Fenix]

Chris corrects the record on System Shock:



I've called it a remake in the past, my mistake. Chris Avellone is the narrative lead on a System Shock reboot. All that dialogue and environmental storytelling is his.

Wait - which System Shock it is?
I confused a little, which Kickstarer and game we talk about.

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

Chris corrects the record on System Shock:



I've called it a remake in the past, my mistake. Chris Avellone is the narrative lead on a System Shock reboot. All that dialogue and environmental storytelling is his.

Wait - which System Shock it is?
I confused a little, which Kickstarer and game we talk about.

1. Nightdive Studios raised funds for System Shock 1 Reboot on Kickstarter. MCA is the narrative lead. Jason Fader is the project director.
2. OtherSide Entertainment works on System Shock 3. Warren Spector is at the helm. Sheldon Pacotti is the design director. Doug Church is the "creative consultant".

 

[Space Insect]

1. Nightdive Studios raised funds for System Shock 1 Reboot on Kickstarter. MCA is the narrative lead. Jason Fader is the project director.
2. OtherSide Entertainment works on System Shock 3. Warren Spector is at the helm. Sheldon Pacotti is the design director. Doug Church is the "creative consultant".

Chris is also doing something on Arkane's Prey which appears to be a System Shock spiritual success.

 

[Roguey]

It's going to be wild if Night Dive manages to do a second sequel to their reboot series years from now.

 

[Fenix]

Doug Church is the "creative consultant".

Thanks, all clear now. So he work with Nightdive Studio.
As for Doug Church - last time I played System Shock I carefully watched credits and remembered that name. )

 

[Fairfax]

It's going to be wild if Night Dive manages to do a second sequel to their reboot series years from now.

They own the IP, I'd guess it depends on how the reboot sells. I don't think rebooting SS2 is a good idea, though. It's aged better than the first, specially with Night Dive's own re-release, and fans would probably be a lot more protective about it. I think it's more likely that this is their first project to get the ball rolling without having to make a game from the ground up. They'll probably move on to an original project and let Otherside make more sequels if SS3 is successful.