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

[Ninjerk]

Why contain it? Let it spill over in the schools and churches, let the bodies pile up in the streets...in the end, they'll beg us to save them.

EDIT: I wonder how many people in here are posting there now to rile this thing up?

apparently they are quite pissed I even talked about them. I guess they think no one knows about 8chan. ffs, this site is less well known than they are. though I never browse /v/, only /pol/.
one of our members helped do the coding for 8chan. lmao

When that whole schism happened I started poking around 8chan and saw what appeared to be...cheese pizza...boards, and I never went back.

 

[Latro]

urqehart? no! ORC-HEART!

It depends on how much they think Sawyer contributed to Avellone's poor treatment. Many people seem to blame Sawyer for Avellone being excluded from the design process, to which end I can see how they'd place guilt on Sawyer for what happened.

I can't really blame the guy for being too livid to talk to Avellone after he screwed him in the exact same manner that he screwed him with Fallout New Vegas. Chris is certainly a talented, speed-writing guy, but you have to be a team player. Ulysses and Durance/GM hurt the team.

yeah, but every time anyone talks about those games those NPCs always come up as people's favorites

obsidian shoulda just sucked up to their AAA-lister

 

[Latro]

my picture of obsidan, circa 2009:

Urquheart: ok Chris, write an endless amount of content for NPCs, but fuck off
MCA: OK
Parker: FUCK YOU!
Urquheart: NO, FUCK YOU

 

[Bigg Boss]

Haven't read anything in this thread so far.

 

[Sentinel]

When the kickstater takes its place at the five corners of the world

When development starts and promises are reshaped

When the thrice-reviewed fails and the Black Rock trembles

When the Firstborn loses his throne, and Boyarsky falls

When Obsidian lies sundered, kingless, bleeding

A New Studio wakes, and the Wheel turns upon Chris Avellone.

 

[Bigg Boss]

Ok, skimming through I get the impression lots of egos smashing into each other until the Fellowship broke and now MCA is going to destroy the ring alone.

 

[The Wall]

This kind of reckless greed is the exact thing Black Geyser is warning us against! It's obvious Feargus is Zornilsa, dark goddess of greed in disguise. His body is but her form she uses to mingle among mortals and spread her corruption. She even managed to make denizens of Obsidian kingdom to infight over apparently petty loot in form of salary at Obsidian and right to drive at the back seat of Feargus' Ferari (the yellow one not the red one, that one is still being repaired after his wife's chase to run over Chris Avellone) once a month.

If you want to put a stop to her schemes or join her (Sawyer path) then purchase a copy of Black Geyser on Kickstarter and aid the Couriers of Incline in their fight against Feargus Zornilsa!

Zornilsa's human form

 

[Azarkon]

I can't really blame the guy for being too livid to talk to Avellone after he screwed him in the exact same manner that he screwed him with Fallout New Vegas. Chris is certainly a talented, speed-writing guy, but you have to be a team player. Ulysses and Durance/GM hurt the team.

A strong side of me wants to say - Sawyer should realize when he's out matched; none of what he's written ever comes close to Chris's oeuvre, and he should be smart enough to appreciate that and to give Chris what he wants. But viewing events from Sawyer's perspective, why would he be angry that Chris gave him more content than he asked for? You can always edit content down. You just have to be fair about it and to work with the guy who produced it. Budget limitations are budget limitations; Chris has admitted as much, that he's also at fault. But to isolate him within the company is going well beyond due process. The fact that they didn't even include him within the approval process of main plot lines likely cost them more than just his friendship.

 

[Latro]

the real point of contention here is that "obsidian upper management" fucked with MCA's health nets while his family needs it. everything else is he-said, she-said shit, but this is some real sociopathic shit.

 

[agentorange]

Why contain it? Let it spill over in the schools and churches, let the bodies pile up in the streets...in the end, they'll beg us to save them.

EDIT: I wonder how many people in here are posting there now to rile this thing up?

apparently they are quite pissed I even talked about them. I guess they think no one knows about 8chan. ffs, this site is less well known than they are. though I never browse /v/, only /pol/.
one of our members helped do the coding for 8chan. lmao

You retarded crossposters aren't doing this forum any favors by inviting a bunch of retarded 16 year old channers here. Wow you don't browse v only pol? What a fucking achievement. Maybe give up the crossposting altogether and stick to reddit where you belong.

 

[2house2fly]

the real point of contention here is that "obsidian upper management" fucked with MCA's health nets while his family needs it. everything else is he-said, she-said shit, but this is some real sociopathic shit.

Yeah, the stuff with Sawyer at worst makes me think "Sawyer is kind of a dick." it isn't monstrous

 

[Sherry]

we need Sherry's take on what was said

Sherry's too pure for this, how could you think of such a thing?

who is Sherry

Hi.

Gosh, who is Chris Avellone?

Thanks,
Sherry

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

You retarded crossposters aren't doing this forum any favors by inviting a bunch of retarded 16 year old channers here. Wow you don't browse v only pol? What a fucking achievement. Maybe give up the crossposting altogether and stick to reddit where you belong.

Hey, I didn't invite them. Someone else posted it there, I just pointed it out. Besides, it's not like they would actually like it here.

 

[Latro]

the real point of contention here is that "obsidian upper management" fucked with MCA's health nets while his family needs it. everything else is he-said, she-said shit, but this is some real sociopathic shit.

Yeah, the stuff with Sawyer at worst makes me think "Sawyer is kind of a dick." it isn't monstrous

the acts of thin-sawyer and the drama between fenstermaker and MCA are amusing, but irrelevant compared to "upper MGMT" trying to mess with MCA's health insurance during his family situation. they tried to forbid him from being involved with RPGs? his career? wtf?

Realizing my family issues and the debts therein, however, they did make an attempt to leverage that into a far more confining separation agreement that would remove my right to work on RPGs, and my silence on all issues that could pertain to Obsidian or any other company they were involved with

"We'll help your family if you don't work in this industry again" - Obsidian upper MGMT. what other message were they trying to send here?

 

[Quillon]

Gosh, who is Chris Avellone?

Who are any of us, really?

 

[Blaine]

Why contain it? Let it spill over in the schools and churches, let the bodies pile up in the streets...in the end, they'll beg us to save them.

EDIT: I wonder how many people in here are posting there now to rile this thing up?

apparently they are quite pissed I even talked about them. I guess they think no one knows about 8chan. ffs, this site is less well known than they are. though I never browse /v/, only /pol/.
one of our members helped do the coding for 8chan. lmao

You retarded crossposters aren't doing this forum any favors by inviting a bunch of retarded 16 year old channers here. Wow you don't browse v only pol? What a fucking achievement. Maybe give up the crossposting altogether and stick to reddit where you belong.

Hah, you're just mad because this anonymous imageboard user tagged (You) for some odd reason slam-danked your ass.

 

[Fry]

Hi.

Gosh, who is Chris Avellone?

Thanks,
Sherry

Once again showing all the tryhard edgelords in this forum how real trolling is done.

I salute you, Sherry.

 

[Sentinel]

Gosh, who is Chris Avellone?

Who are any of us, really?

Slaves to a broken order

 

[Sigourn]

I'M INFATUATED WITH SHERRY AND I WANT TO MARRY HER!

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Hah, you're just mad because this anonymous imageboard user tagged (You) for some odd reason slam-danked your ass.

lol. I hope some overzealous mod bans you thinking you're really me. nice dubs tho

 

[Roguey]

yeah, but every time anyone talks about those games those NPCs always come up as people's favorites

obsidian shoulda just sucked up to their AAA-lister

That's a pretty weird accommodation to make for a guy who didn't want to be the lead writer. Additionally, Durance and GM implemented as envisioned would result in less content elsewhere. How much, I dunno, but the plot of the game isn't "The Watcher meets and resolves an issue between Durance the mad priest and the Grieving Mother."

A strong aspect of me wants to say - Sawyer should realize when he's out matched; none of what he's written ever comes close to Chris's oeuvre, and he should be smart enough to appreciate that and to give Chris what he wants. But viewing events from Sawyer's perspective, why would he be angry that Chris gave him more content than he asked for? You can always edit content down.

It's a waste of time/resources. I think Sawyer mentioned that removing Ulysses from base New Vegas was almost as painful as it would have been to keep him in and complete him. According to Fenstermaker, the same was true for Durance's cut content. These people have other things to do.

You just have to be fair about it and to work with the guy who produced it. Budget limitations are budget limitations; Chris has admitted as much, that he's also at fault. But to isolate him within the company is going well beyond due process. The fact that they didn't even include him within the approval process of main plot lines likely cost them more than just his friendship.

Avellone didn't want and turned down the position of lead writer. A person wants to lead, they have to accept the responsibilities of leadership. Given his desire for ~clear hierarchies~, Chris should agree with this.

 

[2house2fly]

Instead of making him lead writer, they should have made MCA the Only Writer, and made him still subordinate to Sawyer so he wouldn't have to worry about being in charge

 

[Blaine]

How on Earth could he not want to post on a forum where the only person who doesn't vocally hate his guts is a deranged stalker? The man is truly insane.

Hello, Goon. You must be a Goon, because it's a rare NeoFAG indeed who can browse the Codex without getting triggered and developing terminal PTSD.

The great majority of the Codex user base worships Sawyer, or at the very least supports and approves of him. You people used to be a lot better at trolling back in the day when the front page articles were actually funny, but the transition to a SJW safe space and SRS hangout dulled your edge long ago. In other words, you're completely full of shit.

 

[2house2fly]

Here's your company-issue laptop Chris, take it home and just pound away at the keyboard. Upload your text to Google docs every Friday. Do this every week for six months. You have no other responsibilities.

 

[Sentinel]

Instead of making him lead writer, they should have made MCA the Only Writer, and made him still subordinate to Sawyer so he wouldn't have to worry about being in charge

Yeah. Is there any example of a recent narrative-driven RPG that had multiple writers at the helm and it turned out good? I can't think of any.