RPG Codex Interview: Chris Avellone on Pillars Cut Content, Game Development Hierarchies and More

[agris]

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?members/kit-walker.24887/ignore

you're welcome

 

[Max Edge]

Writing a good romance requires an experience of Romance and empathy enough to identify what makes it a good Romance. Traits autists generally lack.

So why modern Bioware writes them?

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

No one is saying that. In fact, go back a few pages and I said that bester’s attempt is futile because the IRS isn’t going to investigate based on a forum post.

What we have been discussing now are the possible avenues of where Chris could go if he thought something illegal was happening. Of course it’s just conjecture. What else would it be?

Oh lawd, let's be serious here for a second, shall we? Does anyone actually believe that a highly intelligent man in his 40s who co-run his own company for 15 years, would unironically seek legal advice from bunch of deranged lunatics on a video game forum in the bowels of internet, instead of picking up a phone and finding proper legal counsel?

Chris already knows what "possible avenues" he can explore. He can go to a lawyer. I suspect that he has little interest in that and just wants to vent a bit and see how much he can fuck with Feargus before getting hit with a C&D. If he actually wanted to escalate things this thread wouldn't exist, because all this thread actually accomplishes, is it opens him to a counter-suit.

 

[Roguey]

Writing a good romance requires an experience of Romance and empathy enough to identify what makes it a good Romance. Traits autists generally lack.

When Avellone wrote Torment, he very likely had never had a girlfriend before and he admits himself that his inspiration was Harlequin romance novels and Archie comics.

 

[TT1]

Kit Walker change your avatar. Or die. Or stop posting. Thanks.

 

[Max Edge]

Writing a good romance requires an experience of Romance and empathy enough to identify what makes it a good Romance. Traits autists generally lack.

When Avellone wrote Torment, he very likely had never had a girlfriend before and he admits himself that his inspiration was Harlequin romance novels and Archie comics.

How do you know?

 

[Fairfax]

Additionally, there's a certain tinge of disappointment with regard to how Project Eternity morphed from a BG/IWD/PST successor to an IWD successor with some superficial BG-like elements (e.g. that crack about how they're making BG-like games yet disregarding everything Bioware did)

Hey! That's a brilliant summary of PoE.

I've been at this for some time. From 2015:

So when's some autist going to sue Obsidian for pulling a bait and switch? Promise Avellone, then ignore his advice, par down his characters and give them to other people, and let the draft of his novella gather dust. Promise a BG/IWD/PST successor and then deliver a IWD2 successor with some superficial BG trappings.

I also remember something along the lines of "POE with patch 3.x is actually a good game" or something like that. Thumbs down.

Roguey was right in his initial assessment, but he stopped caring about the bait and switch after playing it.

Did they Meet their Goals?

We said we were going to give you three things: a great story with mature themes and meaningful choice, RTwP party-based tactical combat, and the exploration of fantastic environments.

As far as I'm concerned, they were partially successful, successful, and partially successful.

 

[Roguey]

How do you know?

I'm Roguey. Additionally, this mini-autobiography he wrote years ago. http://archive.nma-fallout.com/article.php?id=12668

 

[Fry]

Oh lawd, let's be serious here for a second, shall we? Does anyone actually believe that a highly intelligent man in his 40s who co-run his own company for 15 years, would unironically seek legal advice from bunch of deranged lunatics on a video game forum in the bowels of internet, instead of picking up a phone and finding proper legal counsel?

He seems to be openly inviting random internet idiots to report Obsidian to the IRS for him. I see little evidence of a plan, here.

Frankly, I'm still waiting for an explanation for how he went from "Woe is me, I'm up to my eyes in debt and too poor to fight the evil Feargus and his legal minions" to "I'm flush, bitches. Maybe I'll just sit on my ass and do nothing for the rest of my life" in the space of three years.

Apparently, Zenimax and the dudes who made FTL pay part-time writers REALLY well.

 

[Max Edge]

How do you know?

I'm Roguey. Additionally, this mini-autobiography he wrote years ago. http://archive.nma-fallout.com/article.php?id=12668

Great. Thanks.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Hey Chris Avellone thanks for taking the time to answer questions here.

Can you talk at all about the Orlan detective companion that (I think) morphed into the NPC of Kurran? When initially reading about him I thought he was a pretty interesting and unique character concept, and upon learning he had been cut as a companion I hoped that he might show up as MCA companion for PoE2.

What was your original vision for the character and his arc in PoE, and what ultimately caused him to be discarded in favor of (again, I think) The Grieving Mother? Was it entirely your decision, and, if so, how did that come about?

Thanks!

 

[karoliner]

Chris i only have one question but is very important so i hope you can answer it.

What's more important boobs or butt?

 

[fantadomat]

I realised while drinking out with friends.

Why then?

Well i had remembered some shit from this thread and grinned like idiot,they asked me why i am all creepy smile and then it hit me. None knew about obsidian or mca and didn't give a flying fuck about it. Still it ended in nice discussion about work politics and stealing from corporations.

For your question...well i knew it from a long time ago,but it just hit me now.

 

[fantadomat]

Oh lawd, let's be serious here for a second, shall we? Does anyone actually believe that a highly intelligent man in his 40s who co-run his own company for 15 years, would unironically seek legal advice from bunch of deranged lunatics on a video game forum in the bowels of internet, instead of picking up a phone and finding proper legal counsel?

He seems to be openly inviting random internet idiots to report Obsidian to the IRS for him. I see little evidence of a plan, here.

Frankly, I'm still waiting for an explanation for how he went from "Woe is me, I'm up to my eyes in debt and too poor to fight the evil Feargus and his legal minions" to "I'm flush, bitches. Maybe I'll just sit on my ass and do nothing for the rest of my life" in the space of three years.

Apparently, Zenimax and the dudes who made FTL pay part-time writers REALLY well.

Got married.

 

[Fenix]

Members of my family aren't killed due to opposition of speech

How lucky was you, that it wasn't in time of American Civil War.

I am much more well off financially and able to afford a home

How lucky was you, that you moved to a country, that possibly killed millions aborigenes before 20 century to get some wealth, like Britain, which robbed and plunderd, and traded drugs openly.

no longer will I worry of dying of hunger since there is plenty of food

I can't call it a "food" for sure, but anyway, how lucky you was that moved to a country that didn't suffer most devastating war in known mankind history, in a period of history when drought can't hit agrycultural complex so hard. Truly a miracle.

no longer do I have anxiety of self-censorship in fear of a neighbor ratting me out

That's just fucking laughable, this whole site happened because of censorship and ratting.
But anyway - how lucky you IS that you haven't had to face this yet.

assortments of freedoms

No different from communism, it's just "assortment" is different, and I can't see why first is better, but can see why second is much worse.
But how lucky are you that you like all that freedom.

including buying weapons

Watch closely who whites in US will be stripped from that right, and try to guess next country where this will happen.
So how lucky you are that arrived in time, before this happened.

an ever increasing expansion of knowledge and free flow of information

Ever increasing stream of propaganda, lie and bullshit in general most likely. Oh, and a neat white-to-black\allexceptwhite replacement engineering of social kind...
Doesn't feel it yet? How lucky you are...

It's no secret why people want to move to Germany, Sweden, the U.K and America.

It is not - fish seek where is deeper, man seek where is better.
Also, people often make mistakes.
The only difference between even the shithole which present RF is and Europe in comfort and quality of living - but nor first nor the second have no future perspective for your children if you are white.

That phrase doesn't mean what you think it means.

When you call someone "commie" today it's also "doesn't mean what you think it means" - surprise!

 

[Ezeekiel]

I remember thinking it was a bit rich of Avellone to complain about the game lacking romances when the two characters he wrote were a stinking pox-ridden hobo and a woman too psychotic to show her face in public

Avellone wanted Heodan and Calisca to be permanent companions, and presumably romanceable.

Me too. I liked those two better than most of PoE's companions.

I don't remember Heodan too well, but I agree on Calisca. Seemed like a weird move to just kill them off at the end of the tutorial after you went through all the trouble of having that character defining convo with Calisca, then leveling them up, equipping them etc. There should at least have been a way to keep them alive somehow and reunite her with her sister. Kind of a lame.

 

[Big Wrangle]

It was also odd since like, at least before White Marsh, Heodan was the only rogue companion. I guess they forgot the memo when they made Eder a fighter instead.

 

[Mustawd]

Chris already knows what "possible avenues" he can explore. He can go to a lawyer. I suspect that he has little interest in that and just wants to vent a bit and see how much he can fuck with Feargus before getting hit with a C&D. If he actually wanted to escalate things this thread wouldn't exist, because all this thread actually accomplishes, is it opens him to a counter-suit.

Wot?

This is interesting to us, so we’re discussing it. Why do you keep insisting that anyone here is actually trying to give him advice?

 

[Big Wrangle]

He'll eventually stop posting, might as well milk it for a bit.

 

[I'm Big Into Anal]

this thread

 

[Blaine]

[ COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA ]

 

[2house2fly]

It was also odd since like, at least before White Marsh, Heodan was the only rogue companion. I guess they forgot the memo when they made Eder a fighter instead.

They had Eder slated as a rogue for a while but decided a Fighter would be better as an early game companion

 

[Glaucon]

Stop comparing Commies to modern soy addled neo liberals. It does not help the discussion.

The word "neoliberal" already has a meaning. It doesn't refer to those people.

 

[Glaucon]

Lol, am I missing something? When did it become popular again to defend the Soviet Union?

 

[TT1]