Incline Chris Avellone Appreciation Station

[Conan]

Wait, did Avellone write for Wotr? What exactly? I remember he did Nok-Nok and his character quest in Kingmaker, thought that was all.

I worked with the Alexanders to do passes of the story to expand it from the pen and paper roots so people who had played the original adventure path would still have some new content. We worked out the underlying theme for the story as well. In addition, some elements of the pen and paper path were taken in new directions to make them more suited for evil playstyles, which was fun. I also worked with the designers on setting up the pen and paper quest arcs with the new companion quests across the game (the companions add a lot), and gave feedback on the companions as well.

As for writing companions, I got the parameters of the “goblin rogue” (the companions weren’t named at the outset, and I did help with naming companions). From that, I was able to flesh out additional elements of his backstory, look, etc. and then I wrote Nok-Nok from start to finish. Nok-Nok’s one-paragraph character arc had already been approved by the license holder before I came on board (and same with some of the other story elements), but Alexander Komzolov and I agreed to change aspects about Nok-Nok afterwards even though his general arc remained the same (and some specific conclusions to his companion quest).

I also did the style guide, the module (on 2nd draft now), helped coordinate some aspects of the editing team (we had two editors who worked on the English versions), helped with UI text, and writing and edits on about 150+ other characters.

Similar deal, minus companion writing and editing.

I am reasonably sure Avellone changed the main plot from some bs ascension stuff to the tragic quest of the main villain to attain godhood to save her child. He probably also wrote the arc for the main villain.

 

[skaraher]

Gonzalez was one of New Vegas best writers, he wrote House, and most of the Legion (with input from Sawyer). It's sad he kinda faded into irrelevance after NV.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Gonzalez was one of New Vegas best writers, he wrote House, and most of the Legion (with input of Sawyer). It's sad he kinda fadee into irrelevance after NV.

I think he was the main story writer for Horizon Zero Dawn, and one of the writers for Forbidden West and its dlc, Burning Shorts. Quite a hits, all of them, regardless of the Codex' opinion on these games.

 

[Roguey]

Horizon was awful, though the premise was already established before he came onboard.

 

[Dedicated_Dark]

Horizon was awful, though the premise was already established before he came onboard.

Horizon also has atrocious dialogues and characterization. And a meandering plot. While the overall story is alright when you read it as a synopsis, playing it is one of the most boredom inducing experiences out there.

 

[toro]

Horizon was awful, though the premise was already established before he came onboard.

Fake

“All told, that meant we needed to a) imagine an entire history for this strange new world, b) create a character who’d be compelling to play, c) give her a deeply personal reason to go questing across the world, d) make sure her personal quest put her on a collision course with the biggest mysteries of the world, and e) pace out the (quite intricate) answers to those mysteries so each revelation left players wanting more, driving them on to the end of the game,” Gonzalez continued.

I don't know what you have with this guy but HZD was acceptable because of him.

Minimal woke stuff and the main story was actually alright. The sequel bait was retarded but then the second game is a different story.

 

[toro]

Gonzalez was one of New Vegas best writers, he wrote House, and most of the Legion (with input from Sawyer). It's sad he kinda faded into irrelevance after NV.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrgonzalez/

GOD MODE: Single Player

After 20+ years as narrative lead on titles such as FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS and HORIZON: ZERO DAWN, I'm putting game dev work on temporary Pause, switching up mediums, and writing one of them old-timey "book" things.

"GOD MODE: Single Player" will be my take on the ultimate video game novel. "What if the world were a video game -- but you weren't the one playing it?" Expect the answer early Q2 2024.

UPDATE, 23 Sep 2023. Happy to report that I've wrapped up GOD MODE's second draft. The third and final draft now begins! I'm aiming for an April 2024 release. Exciting times!

 

[Roguey]

Horizon was awful, though the premise was already established before he came onboard.

Fake

“All told, that meant we needed to a) imagine an entire history for this strange new world, b) create a character who’d be compelling to play, c) give her a deeply personal reason to go questing across the world, d) make sure her personal quest put her on a collision course with the biggest mysteries of the world, and e) pace out the (quite intricate) answers to those mysteries so each revelation left players wanting more, driving them on to the end of the game,” Gonzalez continued.

I don't know what you have with this guy but HZD was acceptable because of him.

Minimal woke stuff and the main story was actually alright. The sequel bait was retarded but then the second game is a different story.

https://www.gameinformer.com/b/feat...e-origins-and-world-of-horizon-zero-dawn.aspx

We brought in John Gonzalez, who was the former lead writer on Fallout: New Vegas to be the pen to the story. But, the major elements of the story have remained even though John has put his touch on it. So the story, at least the foundational elements of it, have remained intact over the period. Of course, it's gotten better as very good writers have come on to the story to help us flesh that out.

Girl fights robo-dinosaurs in the post apocalyptic future was established as the pitch in 2011, then they brought him in to write it starting in 2013. He couldn't change those elements, only expand on them.

I believe this line was a small rebellion against the concept he had to write (he specifically wrote the character who says this). And Avellone claims they made her even worse in the sequel.

Also, it had the trope of "the person you were in the first game isn't that person anymore, and she's kind of an asshole to everyone now," and "asshole" wasn't really Aloy in the first game, and that kind of soured me on it a bit.

 

[Alex]

Sorry but how long ago was the last good thing MCA has written? Maybe he should rethink his approach.

Almost a quarter century.

 

[toro]

...

The premise was established but I still disagree: the actual story of HZD is not great but it's definetly not awful like you said. It's slightly better than average.

Probably it doesn't matter if you didn't like the game anyway but ... it had potential. Then they wasted everything in the second game and Gonzales left.

 

[Roguey]

The premise was established but I still disagree: the actual story of HZD is not great but it's definetly not awful like you said. It's slightly better than average.

Below average.

Full of terribly awkward exposition (PoE intro>H:ZD intro by far, decline of Gonzalez), beta men and alpha women,

Ah that hilarious tutorial where you father is just so incredibly astonished that you're... observing the robodinosaurs' movement patterns and moving through the patches of tall grass when they're not looking.

Guy with an ugly beard tells me to go clear out his family's mansion of the robots that invaded, done. Find this gal in a closet, and then a beeping machine in a shed that drew the robots here in the first place which the woman says was likely placed by her brother so he could inherit the place. Suddenly bro shows up, admits to his diabolical deed, and then activates a new transmitter to draw more robots to kill the two of us, and of course the robots immediately go after him since he's holding the transmitter. Absolutely none of his actions in that final part make sense Why would he come back to the mansion before receiving confirmation it was safe, why would he admit to his crime, why would he think more robots would kill me after I already beat the other robots proving they're no threat to me, why would he hold the damn thing in his hand while it's on instead of just chucking it and running away?

And most of the men are just as dumb as he is. The ones who aren't are evil or sinister.

The writing never got better. In fact, it got worse in the expansion since that one was 100% written by Ben McCuck; it was full of audio logs from narcissistic stem women, had the same "women are better than men" agenda in the plot.

Any guy who likes HZD's writing must have some measure of self-loathing (which explains Avellone).

 

[Yosharian]

Any guy who likes HZD's writing must have some measure of self-loathing (which explains Avellone).

I like Avellone as much as the next guy, but Roguey's got a point here

 

[Lord_Potato]

Full of terribly awkward exposition (PoE intro>H:ZD intro by far, decline of Gonzalez), beta men and alpha women,

Ah that hilarious tutorial where you father is just so incredibly astonished that you're... observing the robodinosaurs' movement patterns and moving through the patches of tall grass when they're not looking.

Guy with an ugly beard tells me to go clear out his family's mansion of the robots that invaded, done. Find this gal in a closet, and then a beeping machine in a shed that drew the robots here in the first place which the woman says was likely placed by her brother so he could inherit the place. Suddenly bro shows up, admits to his diabolical deed, and then activates a new transmitter to draw more robots to kill the two of us, and of course the robots immediately go after him since he's holding the transmitter. Absolutely none of his actions in that final part make sense Why would he come back to the mansion before receiving confirmation it was safe, why would he admit to his crime, why would he think more robots would kill me after I already beat the other robots proving they're no threat to me, why would he hold the damn thing in his hand while it's on instead of just chucking it and running away?

And most of the men are just as dumb as he is. The ones who aren't are evil or sinister.

The writing never got better. In fact, it got worse in the expansion since that one was 100% written by Ben McCuck; it was full of audio logs from narcissistic stem women, had the same "women are better than men" agenda in the plot.

Any guy who likes HZD's writing must have some measure of self-loathing (which explains Avellone).

Why are you talking to yourself, agreeing with your own points?

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

It makes you wonder just how many arguments on the codex are caused by one guy with schizophrenia that forgot to log out of his alt.

However, this line of questioning can only lead to a dark room with no door and a desktop with 60 Icewind Dale II shortcuts, half of which direct to Pillars of Eternity and the other half to 120 volts across the scrotum. Let us instead be thankful the two Rogueys are so cordial with each other.

 

[NecroLord]

Rogay, what the hell...

 

[Maxie]

Forget about Avelone, he's done for. Robert Kurvitz is where it's at

kurvitz the barely functional groomer who's acted as a stooge to defraud estonian ministry of culture money while sniffing glue and preying on a 14yo with his communist manifestos
instantly yeeted to great fucking britain to yap how communism is super based among people whose country wasnt ruined by fucking communism

 

[Roguey]

Why are you talking to yourself, agreeing with your own points?

I'm posting examples I wrote in the past because my brain has hit maximum capacity and throws out a ton of unimportant information. I played HZD four years ago, but can't recall anything about it unless I refer to what I wrote back then.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

my brain has hit maximum capacity

You should look at expanding your disk drives dude, maybe get another one.

 

[Vic]

Try a thoughts.txt file on your desktop.

 

[ds]

my brain has hit maximum capacity

You should look at expanding your disk drives dude, maybe get another one.

Just download more RAMneurons.

 

[Kev Inkline]

 

[Cohesion]

Try a thoughts.txt file on your desktop.

And then you will have hundreds of thoughts2.txt or dd-mm-yy-thoughts.txt etc scattered randomly everywhere trying to parse and organize it by categories.

 

[Abu Antar]

I had no idea that Avellone was at Guerilla, tbh.

 

[dutchwench]

Try a thoughts.txt file on your desktop.

And then you will have hundreds of thoughts2.txt or dd-mm-yy-thoughts.txt etc scattered randomly everywhere trying to parse and organize it by categories.

That's when you switch to a little program ironically called Obsidian.

 

[Aarwolf]

Owlcat about future collaborations with Chris:

32. Are there any plans to collaborate with Chris Avellone again in the future?

It was a tremendous pleasure to work with Chris. He is an amazing narrative designer, and we love the stories he tells. Still, we also have a lot of our own narrative ideas we'd like to explore, so there are no existing plans to collaborate on that matter. At least, for now.

Maybe if they paid him on time and didn't try fiddling with terms of his contract... :D