Incline Chris Avellone Appreciation Station

[Quillon]

people are stupid.

Apparently me too. f.i. I don't understand 0.75 of what Chris is saying here

 

[santino27]

people are stupid.

Apparently me too. f.i. I don't understand 0.75 of what Chris is saying here

Haha... literally all he's saying is that virtually nobody at Obsidian had anything at all to do with BG1/2, so hoping for a valid BG3 from them is stupid. Twitter is a great medium for mangling the English language though.

 

[Yosharian]

There is no female leadership, and Obsidian has driven away the majority of its female staff in recent years. Women may not experience sexual harassment at Obsidian but their expertise will be ignored, their work will not be acknowledged (in quality or quantity), they will not receive the privileges reserved for the owners' friends (promotions), and their longevity at Obsidian may be hindered by owner bias - regardless of their value as a teammate and their contributions to the company.

I don't wanna immediately jump to the conclusion that this is horse shit, but it reads like horse shit.

Not a good environment for women. Sexism and missing stairs among some male employees. Also, there are few to no women in lead/management/senior positions.

Sexism such as what? A blanket accusation like that explains nothing. 'Missing stairs'? What the fuck does that mean?

Ok apparently google says:

Missing stair is an analogy for a sexual predator who many people know cannot be trusted, but who they work around by trying to quietly warn others rather than deal with openly.

So there's sexual predators at Obsidian? Sounds like someone needs to go to the fucking police instead of posting gossip on Glassdoor. What a joke.

I'm not even going to dignify the statement about the lack of women in management with a response.

 

[Fairfax]

Chris is saying that such a "BG3" would be PoE 2.25 directed by someone who didn't direct BG1/2, or worse, made by people who never worked on any BG.

I guess this confirms MCA is/will not be involved with a BG3 by Larian/InXile/Obsidian, since the above would apply to any of them. As for being a "hard sell", I think he overestimates how much people know (let alone care) about devs who worked on the originals. A lot of people are excited about the rumours re: BG3 by Larian, and Larian has even less to do with BG than Obsidian.

 

[Latro]

the gender discrimination is exactly why I have never worked at obsidian despite personally serving feargus orchart's cheesecake factory tables

 

[Butter]

So there's sexual predators at Obsidian? Sounds like someone needs to go to the fucking police instead of posting gossip on Glassdoor. What a joke.

You wouldn't believe the number of dicks Feargus has grabbed over the years.

 

[RepHope]

So Chris do you think the ex-owners will stick around long-term or serve the required amount of years, take their money, and fuck off? I personally hope for option 2, I can’t imagine MS will tolerate Ferg & Friends fuckups for long.

 

[Alpan]

I guess it's not implausible that MCA's real motivation for the ObsidiLeaks -- "the war, the true war" to quote Kreia -- was to change the course of the MS acquisition, where Obsidian would get bought but the owners would get discarded. Given his general access to Obsidian insider knowledge and the fact that most M&A deals take much longer than 6 months, there's zero chance that he didn't know about the acquisition back in May, though obviously he didn't say anything at the time.

Unfortunately for him (and us), he doesn't appear to have succeeded.

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

Chris is saying that such a "BG3" would be PoE 2.25 directed by someone who didn't direct BG1/2, or worse, made by people who never worked on any BG.

I think when he says „the first 2“ he means PoE. Otherwise, the „(or even involved at all)“ wouldnt make any sense.

Let’s for a moment assume I’m wrong and by „the first two“ he means Baldurs Gate:

„You will get a Pillars 2.25 directed by no-one who was Project Director on Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 or (even involved at all) and worse, no-one who ever worked on a Baldurs Gate product“.

This doesn’t make sense, since no-one „involved at all“ and „who ever worked“ is the same.

So basically Chris Avellone is saying that Josh is out of the question for a possible BG3.

Or maybe he was just drunk because that tweet is a mess.

Edit: Ok since „Baldurs Gate product“ can also refer to Dark Alliance or ToB I guess I’m wrong and he did mean BG when he was referring to the „first two“.

Chris Avellone another jibe against Josh? „I wanna BG3“ - „all you’ll get is Pillars 2.25 directed by someone who was never involved in any BG product“ (ergo: Josh).

 

[Quillon]

Chris is saying that such a "BG3" would be PoE 2.25 directed by someone who didn't direct BG1/2, or worse, made by people who never worked on any BG.

I think when he says „the first 2“ he means PoE. Otherwise, the „(or even involved at all)“ wouldnt make any sense.

Let’s for a moment assume I’m wrong and by „the first two“ he means Baldurs Gate:

„You will get a Pillars 2.25 directed by no-one who was Project Director on Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 or (even involved at all) and worse, no-one who ever worked on a Baldurs Gate product“.

This doesn’t make sense, since no-one „involved at all“ and „who ever worked“ is the same.

So basically Chris Avellone is saying that Josh is out of the question for a possible BG3.

Or maybe he was just drunk because that tweet is a mess.

Edit: Ok since „Baldurs Gate product“ can also refer to Dark Alliance or ToB I guess I’m wrong and he did mean BG when he was referring to the „first two“.

Chris Avellone another jibe against Josh? „I wanna BG3“ - „all you’ll get is Pillars 2.25 directed by someone who was never involved in any BG product“ (ergo: Josh).

...hence my confusion tho I thought to myself that he wouldn't just slam Josh like that out of the blue so left it at that, which he most certainly didn't(?)

 

[Flou]

I guess it's not implausible that MCA's real motivation for the ObsidiLeaks -- "the war, the true war" to quote Kreia -- was to change the course of the MS acquisition, where Obsidian would get bought but the owners would get discarded. Given his general access to Obsidian insider knowledge and the fact that most M&A deals take much longer than 6 months, there's zero chance that he didn't know about the acquisition back in May, though obviously he didn't say anything at the time.

Didn't his tirade during May include how the Pillars IP was owned DRIL instead of Obsidian and how it was supposedly a big secret? I think he knew back in May that the deal was in the works and did his best/worst to try to derail it with everything he had.

 

[Alpan]

I guess it's not implausible that MCA's real motivation for the ObsidiLeaks -- "the war, the true war" to quote Kreia -- was to change the course of the MS acquisition, where Obsidian would get bought but the owners would get discarded. Given his general access to Obsidian insider knowledge and the fact that most M&A deals take much longer than 6 months, there's zero chance that he didn't know about the acquisition back in May, though obviously he didn't say anything at the time.

Didn't his tirade during May include how the Pillars IP was owned DRIL instead of Obsidian and how it was supposedly a big secret? I think he knew back in May that the deal was in the works and did his best/worst to try to derail it with everything he had.

That would have come up during the due diligence process, especially given the IP's current prominence (for Obsidian). Whatever arrangement there exists with respect to Obsidian, DRIL, and the Pillars IP, the acquisition means Microsoft is aware and okay with it.

EDIT: Of course, the fact that both inXile and Obsidian are getting bought means that maybe Dark Rock is, as well. After all, Fargo and Urquhart are both investors in it.

What due diligence wouldn't have revealed is the extent of scheming Feargus has undertaken all these years, which is exactly what MCA has gratefully disclosed in a piecemeal fashion under the guise of "you guys asked, I answered."

 

[Flou]

That would have come up during the due diligence process, especially given the IP's current prominence (for Obsidian). Whatever arrangement there exists with respect to Obsidian, DRIL, and the Pillars IP, the acquisition means Microsoft is aware and okay with it.

EDIT: Of course, the fact that both inXile and Obsidian are getting bought means that maybe Dark Rock is, as well. After all, Fargo and Urquhart are both investors in it.

What due diligence wouldn't have revealed is the extent of scheming Feargus has undertaken all these years, which is exactly what MCA has gratefully disclosed in a piecemeal fashion under the guise of "you guys asked, I answered."

Yes, it definately would have come up within that process. It's not like MS doesn't have good lawyers to check things like that. I think I said it even back then that anyone looking to buy the company would immediately check what IP's are actually owned by the company. Avellone was just throwing everything he could at the wall and see what piles of shit would stick.

 

[Cael]

I guess it's not implausible that MCA's real motivation for the ObsidiLeaks -- "the war, the true war" to quote Kreia -- was to change the course of the MS acquisition, where Obsidian would get bought but the owners would get discarded. Given his general access to Obsidian insider knowledge and the fact that most M&A deals take much longer than 6 months, there's zero chance that he didn't know about the acquisition back in May, though obviously he didn't say anything at the time.

Didn't his tirade during May include how the Pillars IP was owned DRIL instead of Obsidian and how it was supposedly a big secret? I think he knew back in May that the deal was in the works and did his best/worst to try to derail it with everything he had.

That would have come up during the due diligence process, especially given the IP's current prominence (for Obsidian). Whatever arrangement there exists with respect to Obsidian, DRIL, and the Pillars IP, the acquisition means Microsoft is aware and okay with it.

EDIT: Of course, the fact that both inXile and Obsidian are getting bought means that maybe Dark Rock is, as well. After all, Fargo and Urquhart are both investors in it.

What due diligence wouldn't have revealed is the extent of scheming Feargus has undertaken all these years, which is exactly what MCA has gratefully disclosed in a piecemeal fashion under the guise of "you guys asked, I answered."

MS' lawyers should just pay MCA for a Q&A about what he knows of the workings of Obsidian. Cross-correlate that with paid interviews from other ex-Obsidian employees. That would give them a clear picture of the shenannigans (if any) that is going on in the company. Would probably save them a lot of money and effort in the long run.

 

[Flou]

MS' lawyers should just pay MCA for a Q&A about what he knows of the workings of Obsidian. Cross-correlate that with paid interviews from other ex-Obsidian employees. That would give them a clear picture of the shenannigans (if any) that is going on in the company. Would probably save them a lot of money and effort in the long run.

Wouldn't the MS lawyers talk to MCA anyways about the ownership issue in the 1st place. Surely they will have to check if there's something they should know about him "stepping down". MCA heard about the deal from somewhere pretty much immediately if you think about the timeline.
Or did Feargus send him a big fuck you letter by mail, explaining how he would be fucking rich in a matter of months while Chris wouldn't.

 

[Fairfax]

If MCA really wanted to kill the deal, he could've done a lot more to hurt Obsidian. He's kept emails and heard more negative things from former/current employees after speaking out. He also said he only shared 30% of all he knows.

 

[Infinitron]

If MCA really wanted to kill the deal, he could've done a lot more to hurt Obsidian. He's kept emails and heard more negative things from former/current employees after speaking out. He also said he only shared 30% of all he knows.

Makes sense if he didn't want to kill the deal but merely alter it to get the owners kicked out. Kind of a hard needle to thread, though.

 

[Latelistener]

MS' lawyers should just pay MCA for a Q&A about what he knows of the workings of Obsidian.

- What does Feargus Urquhart look like?
- H-H-He's white...
- Go on!
- He's bald...!
- Does he look like a bitch?
- What?

 

[Flou]

If MCA really wanted to kill the deal, he could've done a lot more to hurt Obsidian. He's kept emails and heard more negative things from former/current employees after speaking out. He also said he only shared 30% of all he knows.

Yes, he probably could have. But then again, the very first time he mentions something that someone to said to him that was confidential, no one else will talk to him. Not to mention he would have hurt those developers still there at Obsidian if the deal didn't go through. By trying to alter the deal, he could have actually cost "the upper management" millions of dollars. I'm sure that counts for something when you've been screwed over (if we believe his story) from being paid yourself.

 

[fantadomat]

Don't worry guys,MS will kick the out in a year or two,just like in any other buy out. Former owners stay for a project as some kind of exec then they silently retire.

 

[ColonelTeacup]

Spoiler

When you have no mouth and must scream:

Spoiler

Source.

Hes got cheeks like a chipmunk.

This is abuse.

I guess it's not implausible that MCA's real motivation for the ObsidiLeaks -- "the war, the true war" to quote Kreia -- was to change the course of the MS acquisition, where Obsidian would get bought but the owners would get discarded. Given his general access to Obsidian insider knowledge and the fact that most M&A deals take much longer than 6 months, there's zero chance that he didn't know about the acquisition back in May, though obviously he didn't say anything at the time.

Unfortunately for him (and us), he doesn't appear to have succeeded.

Would he though? Considering the moral caliber and intentions of corps such as Microsoft, EA, and Activision, is it any surprise the moral depth, or lack thereof of Obsidians top brass would only sweeten the pot for Microsoft? Leaders at Obsidian would obviously be much more pliable to Microsofts desires if they lack any moral objections to Microsofts actions.

 

[Alpan]

I guess it's not implausible that MCA's real motivation for the ObsidiLeaks -- "the war, the true war" to quote Kreia -- was to change the course of the MS acquisition, where Obsidian would get bought but the owners would get discarded. Given his general access to Obsidian insider knowledge and the fact that most M&A deals take much longer than 6 months, there's zero chance that he didn't know about the acquisition back in May, though obviously he didn't say anything at the time.

Unfortunately for him (and us), he doesn't appear to have succeeded.

Would he though? Considering the moral caliber and intentions of corps such as Microsoft, EA, and Activision, is it any surprise the moral depth, or lack thereof of Obsidians top brass would only sweeten the pot for Microsoft? Leaders at Obsidian would obviously be much more pliable to Microsofts desires if they lack any moral objections to Microsofts actions.

While MCA's commentary is definitely tinged with moral rebukes, his is not exclusively the moral position -- indeed he's been at pains to note that the owners' incompetence has lead to waste of time, money, and general operational inefficiency at Obsidian. Say what you will about the giants, but it's not likely that they'd be supportive of obvious nepotism, for instance.

 

[ColonelTeacup]

I guess it's not implausible that MCA's real motivation for the ObsidiLeaks -- "the war, the true war" to quote Kreia -- was to change the course of the MS acquisition, where Obsidian would get bought but the owners would get discarded. Given his general access to Obsidian insider knowledge and the fact that most M&A deals take much longer than 6 months, there's zero chance that he didn't know about the acquisition back in May, though obviously he didn't say anything at the time.

Unfortunately for him (and us), he doesn't appear to have succeeded.

Would he though? Considering the moral caliber and intentions of corps such as Microsoft, EA, and Activision, is it any surprise the moral depth, or lack thereof of Obsidians top brass would only sweeten the pot for Microsoft? Leaders at Obsidian would obviously be much more pliable to Microsofts desires if they lack any moral objections to Microsofts actions.

While MCA's commentary is definitely tinged with moral rebukes, his is not exclusively the moral position -- indeed he's been at pains to note that the owners' incompetence has lead to waste of time, money, and general operational inefficiency at Obsidian. Say what you will about the giants, but it's not likely that they'd be supportive of obvious nepotism, for instance.

But Avellone explicitly states in his tweet that they love money more than they love games, and people who are far more interested in making cash, rather than sticking to the quality of a game or a moral obligation to their customers or gamers is just the kind of person microsoft likes. Such people are far easier to control rather than an idealist with values that can't be bought out. A greedy and money loving man is far easier to control than one who holds to a strict value system that is not directly influenced by cash.

 

[Alpan]

I agree with that, but Microsoft presumably has access to managers who are greedy and can avoid mismanaging a studio or its funds/budget.

 

[ColonelTeacup]

I agree with that, but Microsoft presumably has access to managers who are greedy and can avoid mismanaging a studio or its funds/budget.

Are we certain of this after the disastrous recurring event that is xboxonex?