Interview Chris Avellone is still pretty mad about Obsidian

[acer palmatum]

http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quo...enemy-forever-is-chris-avellone-106-75-10.jpg

Damn italian descendant dwarves - carry their grudges forever.

 

[tormund]

Someone wants the job at Bethesda real bad, all the while pretending that he doesn't...

 

[Delterius]

If you wish to know more, look for the bloody purple shirt.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

Some of his answers are just terrible. I mean, it's okay if he's still angry/bitter towards Obsidian (he worked there for 12 years and things obviously didn't go as he hoped), but for fuck's sake going miles about defending Bethesda and praising them and their games while only saying bad things about Fallout 2/New Vegas is just terrible. He even goes as far as saying that Cain spends a lot of time on combat to avoid the question as if that makes Tim and Todd somehow comparable in their design goals, yeah sure, because Fallout, Arcanum and Bloodlines were all about killing things and plasma guns.
Also, New Reno was fun to play but also terribly incoherent and out of place in the Fallout Universe, better to leave that place in Fallout 2 and move on to Vegas.

Chris is a casual player. Remember the wolves, men? Of course he would like Bethesda's exploration more. You can also do way more derpy things in latest Beth games and won't be punished for that as you would've in Black Isle or Troika games. Not to mention older titles.

Also New Reno was MCA's child, wasn't it? So maybe he pitched it as a base for Fallout spin-off, but got overruled or something to this effect.

 

[Fairfax]

Some of his answers are just terrible. I mean, it's okay if he's still angry/bitter towards Obsidian (he worked there for 12 years and things obviously didn't go as he hoped), but for fuck's sake going miles about defending Bethesda and praising them and their games while only saying bad things about Fallout 2/New Vegas is just terrible. He even goes as far as saying that Cain spends a lot of time on combat to avoid the question as if that makes Tim and Todd somehow comparable in their design goals, yeah sure, because Fallout, Arcanum and Bloodlines were all about killing things and plasma guns.
Also, New Reno was fun to play but also terribly incoherent and out of place in the Fallout Universe, better to leave that place in Fallout 2 and move on to Vegas.

My impression is that he's seen and heard about too much fuckery in the industry to believe in "good guys" other than individual developers he knows, and he seems to be rejecting the idea of Obsidian as the good guys rather than defending Bethesda.
The way he talked about studios and the industry was far more idealistic in earlier interviews (10+ years ago). He sounds bitter and pragmatic rather than someone who'd take sides in this sort of thing.

 

[MRY]

I'm not surprised that a writer as prolific, talented, and acclaimed as Chris would be bitter given that, in the 20 years from starting work on Planescape Torment to today, there are really only three games that feel like "his": PS:T, KOTOR2, and Alpha Protocol. He's added a ton to other projects, of course, but I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to see your talents stopped up or frittered away rather than used on other great works.

 

[Infinitron]

They wouldn't have been able to use Hoover Dam (a plot element from Van Buren) if it was Reno instead of Vegas. Too far away.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

So it is confirmed. Chris left because he fell out with the other owners.

It is a shame if what he said is true about how the other owners want to be bought out by a company like Bethesda.

 

[evdk]

So, where's the map? Don't tell me I bought new pitchforks for nothing.

 

[Goral]

Someone wants the job at Bethesda real bad, all the while pretending that he doesn't...

Yeah, it seems to me that way too. He's defending Bethesda and bashing Obsidian... Unprofessional of him.

 

[Grauken]

Actually that's the very definition of being a professional, suck up to the right people

 

[Rev]

Chris is a casual player. Remember the wolves, men? Of course he would like Bethesda's exploration more. You can also do way more derpy things in latest Beth games and won't be punished for that as you would've in Black Isle or Troika games. Not to mention older titles.

Also New Reno was MCA's child, wasn't it? So maybe he pitched it as a base for Fallout spin-off, but got overruled or something to this effect.

Yeah, I know that he isn't a very skilled player, but it's not like New Vegas is hard, after all it's made on top of the Fallout 3 engine. Also, since he is more of a story/lore/characters guy he should be the first to notice how superior is NV to anything Bethesda has ever made, not spitting out bs about Fallout 3 and 4 being better in many ways and trying to compare Tim Cain and Howard's design sensibilities.

My impression is that he's seen and heard about too much fuckery in the industry to believe in "good guys" other than individual developers he knows, and he seems to be rejecting the idea of Obsidian as the good guys rather than defending Bethesda.
The way he talked about studios and the industry was far more idealistic in earlier interviews (10+ years ago). He sounds bitter and pragmatic rather than someone who'd take sides in this sort of thing.

I kind of agree with you, and it would be naive to think that Obsidian is made solely of good guys while Bethesda is the evil overlord or something, and I am fine with him being bitter towards Obsidian because he probably has his reasons, but he can do that without prasing and defending Bethesda games and their design principles. Also, you would expect better from the man who is responsible for some of the best characters/story arcs in the industry than to speak well of a company which usually has this kind of writing quality:

 

[Fenix]

Well, can't really say anything, the only thing that surprised me is about Fallout 1-2 and that combat scenarios were enforced to extent they affected storytelling.

 

[Lurker King]

I doubt Bethesda worries much about what Obsidian is doing (Bethesda's likely way too busy on multiple fronts), but only they could speak to that, I have no idea. From an outside perspective, however, it appears when Bethesda likes working with a studio or see their potential, they seem to buy them (Arkane). They didn't buy Obsidian, though, even though Obsidian is eager to be bought based on recent interviews.

Whoa!!! Someone need to print this interview and save it for posterity now! The future generations of codexers will thank us.

I think people read too much into this one. MCA just calmy said that he wouldn't go back to Obsidian because there are some managerial issues there. But this doesn't mean that he is an angry.

this doesn't mean that he is an angry

this doesn't mean that he is an angry

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

I'm glad Chris thinks New Vegas is shit compared to Fallout 2, and even a much bigger shit compared to Fallout 1. Most people here have yet to understand this.

 

[Excidium II]

Sawyer is the only lead that won't leave Obsidian even though he doesn't even want to work with game development, because he needs the money to pay his parents mortgage.

 

[Aenra]

I think people read too much into this one

Surprising as it is to me, we agree more and more on things
And actually, we need take this one step further. Infinitron 's being way too cheeky here. My little Jew, snappy headlines are O.K. for third tier sites, except when they paint a picture of unprofessional conduct/mentality. That's over the boundary.

You don't say MCA 'is still pretty mad at Obsidian' and post it in your front page. Not when the text you copy-pasted has nothing to validate such a claim. Not when such remarks can cause issues.
It's not the first time you exceed the limits either. A bit of care please.

edit: lol at the torches bit. Senpai going pre-emptive ^^

 

[Lurker King]

I hope new project Obsidian has on hands will finally give them their AAA game they want though.

I hope Obsidian goes out of business and bring down the rest of Bethesda wannabes with them.

 

[an Administrator]

Surprising as it is to me, we agree more and more on things

It means that you're slowly losing your sanity.

 

[Excidium II]

He seems p. mad to me. Only time you see this level of honesty in game industry is when butthurt is present.

 

[Aenra]

ah, the butthurt flows already

The Jew, silent when it doesn't suit him. Sulking to DU when cornered. The third world nobody, nothing to do with his time than browins forums and shitposting one liners about rape and sex. And the edgy new guy, wishing one of the few AA studios that (try to) make RPGs a swift death...
Never change guyz. Quality of life and all that ^^

 

[J_C]

Aenra Some people on the Codex really want to get their opinions validated about MCA being buthurt. Just like in gaming, they only see black and white. They just can't accept that MCA had problems with the way Obsidian was lead, and left because he didn't enjoyed to work there anymore. This doesn't mean that the hates them and wants to smack them into the ground. He is critical of New Vegas and Fallout 2, because if anyone reads the interviews of MCA, it is clear that MCA is always critical of the games he made. Every single time.

Just like in the interview, where he stoicly mentioned that Obsidian has a few issues which probably led to his departure. But in the Codex mind, they picture this MCA shouting with Feargus and Josh, and storming out from the offices with red head, slamming the door behind him.

As for sucking up to Bethesda a bit, of course he did. He is working in the industry, you don't burn the bridges here.

 

[Sentinel]

1) Gets offered lead design/writer position multiple times
2) Rejects it. Doesn't want to be lead writer or designer on anything
3) Quits the company. Bashes management people (why would he be mad if he got offered lead writer/designer positions multiple times? did they fire his waifu?)
This doesn't make any sense to me. He just seems to act like a cunt for no reason. He hasn't made anything noteworthy in a long time. I guess all those codexers sucking his dick for such a long time really got to his head. Shame really, now he's stuck writing shitty character backgrounds that no one reads or one companion per game. He can do much more.

 

[Kane]

The result is one of the most amazing interviews I've ever read.

You have low standards. All this Interview reveals is that MCA has grown up (likely because he had sex).

Here is an amazing interview:
https://youtu.be/8MErL2jRJII?t=348 until 2:00 into next part.

 

[alphyna]

Holy crap, MCA and the intervewer here are like textbook examples of being classy and being cringy.

People saying that MCA is wrong or that the interview has to be fake, are you nuts? The interviewer clearly had an agenda no sane public person would ever adhere to; he was provoking MCA into badmouthing another company working on the same franchise. You... don't do that. I mean, sometimes people do, but that makes them assholes and is terrible for their reputation.

I also think MCA politely putting his own work down is him trying to hint at that he is also not without flaws ('cause no one is) and feeling unconfortable with the blatant praise-at-the-expense-of-another he's being subjected to. This is not the kind of praise that feels good. It also highlights the fact that the interviewer does zero effort to actually listen to him and only wants to get a confirmation of his "Bethesda is evil" agenda.

(Just in case: no, I don't like Bethesda Fallout games. But I do work as a spokesperson sometimes.)