Codex Interview RPG Codex Interview: Chris Avellone at Digital Dragons 2016

[Deleted Member 16721]

You keep going on about "just my opinion" "different people like different things" etc. Make an argument for something or don't. Opinions aren't sacred.

Did you not see my post that directly responded to you about the topic? You seem to have completely ignored that and started railing on about my opinion comment that was directed at Ninjerk, for some reason.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

my opinion

There you go with that thing again.

 

[animlboogy]

You like lore dumps, I get it. Browsing books in a virtual library and having a character tell you about all this cool stuff he did at length, etc. You have zero issue with passive storytelling as the primary approach in an interactive medium. I don't really have anything to add beyond what I said. Games like PS:T, or more recently Age of Decadence, give you as much or more lore while actually involving you in an ongoing plot at the same time, it's a smarter approach that's much more appropriate for games to me. And even if we switch the conversation to other media, we fall right back to the LotR vs. Silmarillion example.

And then eventually it all loops around to the fact that Obsidian themselves recognize this as a flaw with PoE. It's easier to have a character stand there and tell you a million things about themselves and the world than it is to come up with clever tricks and storytelling devices to accomplish the same thing in a more engaging way.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

You like lore dumps, I get it. Browsing books in a virtual library and having a character tell you about all this cool stuff he did at length, etc. You have zero issue with passive storytelling as the primary approach in an interactive medium. I don't really have anything to add beyond what I said. Games like PS:T, or more recently Age of Decadence, give you as much or more lore while actually involving you in an ongoing plot at the same time, it's a smarter approach that's much more appropriate for games to me. And even if we switch the conversation to other media, we fall right back to the LotR vs. Silmarillion example.

And then eventually it all loops around to the fact that Obsidian themselves recognize this as a flaw with PoE. It's easier to have a character stand there and tell you a million things about themselves and the world than it is to come up with clever tricks and storytelling devices to accomplish the same thing in a more engaging way.

A character telling you things about themselves is backstory. I find backstory about characters, tales of their adventures, etc., interesting.

How else can you learn the history of a character in an RPG without actively playing a flashback segment?

A quest where you cleverly meet people from the character's past? Okay, that's the example you gave and that's fine. But I feel these ideas are not mutually exclusive. You can have "lore dumps" and a bunch of text, back story and lore, and then go out on a quest that features some elements from the lore.

My thing is that different story-telling devices other than text often provide much less information overall than a good amount of text would. There is a trade-off there.

Again, 36 Lessons of Vivec cannot somehow be crammed into a few quests.

I brought up text vs. voice acting to show another example of a trade-off. Generally, you can have much more overall dialogue in a game when you use text (generally) than you get with voice acting, not to mention how much easier it is to produce a game that uses text instead of voice.

This is all I really have to say as well. Text is cool with me. Talking a lot in RPGs is cool with me. And I like PoE.

 

[Haba]

How else can you learn the history of a character in an RPG without actively playing a flashback segment?

Here is a thought: why do you need to learn the history of a person? Do you provide a wikipedia summary of your life to all the new people you meet?

If the goal of your writing for a game is to "provide information", you're doing something horribly wrong.

 

[Flou]

Here is a thought: why do you need to learn the history of a person? Do you provide a wikipedia summary of your life to all the new people you meet?

It would be nice to know at least something about the person you are supposed to help in a game, not the entire backstory since he was 5 years old but something to flesh out that character instead of it just being a means to some gold and xp points.

 

[Mustawd]

Here is a thought: why do you need to learn the history of a person? Do you provide a wikipedia summary of your life to all the new people you meet?

It would be nice to know at least something about the person you are supposed to help in a game, not the entire backstory since he was 5 years old but something to flesh out that character instead of it just being a means to some gold and xp points.

Fine, but why does it need to be addressed in a lore dump? There's a better way to do this.

also, http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?members/fluent.16721/ignore

 

[an Administrator]

I didn't say you did.

I initially responded with the opinion comment to Ninjerk who made a bunch of silly faces at everything I said in this thread, and you started posting some comments about holy water and stuff instead of responding to my last post. No idea why.

Opinions are like assholes .Everybody has one. Make an argument instead.

 

[Infinitron]

What are we talking about here - companions? Other than Durance, PoE's companions don't actually have a lot of content, so it's understandable that much of what little of it there is exists in the form of "passive dialogues". Otherwise they would have all seemed like Sten-like introverts who need to be coaxed into talking about stuff.

PS:T's companions have much more content, which means more opportunities to hook some of their dialogue up into actions that you actively perform in the world.

fluent, your opinion on anything is disqualified until you've played Fallout and PS:T.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Why is this rpgwatch retard shitting up my news forum not restricted to Prosperland? I thought he was restricted to Prosperland. Did somebody let him loose?

 

[Infinitron]

Why is this rpgwatch retard shitting up my news forum not restricted to Prosperland? I thought he was restricted to Prosperland. Did somebody let him loose?

Only his thread was moved there, not he himself.

 

[Mustawd]

Why is this rpgwatch retard shitting up my news forum not restricted to Prosperland? I thought he was restricted to Prosperland. Did somebody let him loose?

Only his thread was moved there, not he himself.

That is unfortunate.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

uncanny.

I think this you may like this even more
The thing that annoyed me during transcribing is how many follow up questions I could have asked, but I didn't think about asking them at the time of the interview. Or what questions could I have asked but didn't think about them when I was making my list. Pretty annoying feeling.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

It's not like you are professional, bro, don't sweat it. It seems easier from the outside or in hindsight than when you are actually there - live - meeting a living legend. Stuff like that comes more easily with experience. I probably would've just stared at him dreamily. In fact, I'd never even have the balls to volunteer for something like this, in fear I'd fuck up.

Thanks for the interviews!

 

[Darth Roxor]

It's not like you are professional, bro

DON'T GIVE ME EXCUSES, GIVE ME RESULTS!

 

[Kev Inkline]

uncanny.

"The amazing thing about Avellone is how easy it is to [...] with him, you feel like you [... ...] just come into your mouth naturally. When you are having [...] Chris, nothing feels more natural than having [...] him."

I deleted the extra words to make the intro more intelligible.

 

[ArchAngel]

uncanny.

Spoiler

I think this you may like this even more
The thing that annoyed me during transcribing is how many follow up questions I could have asked, but I didn't think about asking them at the time of the interview. Or what questions could I have asked but didn't think about them when I was making my list. Pretty annoying feeling.

That one looks like both of you are naked from waist down and something nasty just happened.

 

[J_C]

uncanny.

Spoiler

I think this you may like this even more
The thing that annoyed me during transcribing is how many follow up questions I could have asked, but I didn't think about asking them at the time of the interview. Or what questions could I have asked but didn't think about them when I was making my list. Pretty annoying feeling.

That one looks like both of your are naked from waist down and something nasty just happened.

Yeah, it seems like MCA is really pounding it from behind. XD

 

[rohand]

The second one should really become a codex troll emoticon of some sort

 

[mindx2]

Again, I'm a dusty old relic who remembers when not every RPG had voice acting (looking at you, Morrowind!)

Is this what passes as today's definition of an "old school gamer?!"..... Morrowind?

 

[animlboogy]

Here is a thought: why do you need to learn the history of a person? Do you provide a wikipedia summary of your life to all the new people you meet?

It would be nice to know at least something about the person you are supposed to help in a game, not the entire backstory since he was 5 years old but something to flesh out that character instead of it just being a means to some gold and xp points.

Nobody, literally nobody, is saying the only way to handle this is to turn all NPCs into gory loot pinatas.

 

[animlboogy]

uncanny.

I think this you may like this even more
The thing that annoyed me during transcribing is how many follow up questions I could have asked, but I didn't think about asking them at the time of the interview. Or what questions could I have asked but didn't think about them when I was making my list. Pretty annoying feeling.

We got better answers out of your two fan interviews than almost any professional attempt I've seen with these two.

 

[Grotesque]

"Chris could never explore systems, [deepens voice] what Chris does is...we want Chris to write, and if Chris starts talking, Chris should probably just write some more! [laughs] eventually you kind of just get tired of it."

vs.

"I did not want to be a lead writer at Obsidian. I would be a lead writer at another company."


hm....

 

[FeelTheRads]

Again, I'm a dusty old relic who remembers when not every RPG had voice acting (looking at you, Morrowind!)

The ancient days of Morrowind, man. Why, I can barely remember! Thank god we are out of those times WITHOUT VOICEACTING, man!

 

[Bubbles]

Morrowind had voice acting.