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

[Billy Pilgrim]

Hi Chris, somewhere you mentioned Westwood. I wanted to ask if your path ever crossed with Erik Yeo's? And if so, did you guys ever talk shop?

 

[StrongBelwas]

Chris Avellone Can you talk about the mothballing of Onyx? The official line is that it involved a lot of expensive middleware that wasn't a fit for the projects Obsidian took, was that a mistake on the part of upper management?

 

[crawlkill]

broke my heart a little to read about all this. best of luck to all the Obsidian employees who've made the great art they have, in spite of the environment. sorry you had to suffer in silence, Chris.

in Fallen London terms, Communism is rising...

 

[onemananadhisdroid]

This thread has just changed the nature of a man.

 

[mastroego]

Aliens is better.
Scott is overrated.

You're all welcome!

 

[Cleveland Mark Blakemore]

As a game designer at a large, vibrant, yet unruly company, I deal with terrible managers and producers every day, frequently bringing me to breaking point with their incompetency and lack of structure. I often think they intentionally make things difficult in order to justify their jobs, and things would go so much more smoothly if the leads were in charge instead.

damn maybe i should quit my day job and start consulting with game companies on practices and process... there's clearly untapped demand here

100%.

If aliens landed and gave you their totally objective point of view as independent, neutral observers ... you wouldn't believe what they'd tell you.

In most organizations, you are trying to succeed in spite of, not because of, managers. Their incompetency is not just a rumour - it's a scientifically verified and tested fact.

Particularly pertinent to Australia, where the managers have been rated the most incompetent in the entire developed world for over three decades including in surveys by Australians themselves.

 

[Tacgnol]

In most organizations, you are trying to succeed in spite of, not because of, managers. Their incompetency is not just a rumour - it's a scientifically verified and tested fact.

100% true where I work. When a manager is off sick, the work rate doubles.

 

[Mustawd]

Cleveland Mark Blakemore , can you talk about the best manager you ever worked with? It just feels weird that software dev and game dev seem to be devoid of that shit.

 

[Wunderbar]

Why Cleveland have 962 racist ratings?

 

[Abu Antar]

Why Cleveland have 962 racist ratings?

He’s misunderstood. He’s just a lovable, cuddly teddy bear, but all people sees when he comes near is a towering, monstrous grizzly bear.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

He's one of the last living examples of an Ubermensch. He has a doctor's note saying such.

 

[Cleveland Mark Blakemore]

In most organizations, you are trying to succeed in spite of, not because of, managers. Their incompetency is not just a rumour - it's a scientifically verified and tested fact.

100% true where I work. When a manager is off sick, the work rate doubles.

Every year when the company is off sick with the flu and the managers are bedridden, I am in the office fixing enough problems to keep the dump afloat for another year when they get back. Usually within two weeks of returning to work they have destroyed/torn apart/broken the things I was able to fix when they were away.

At one company in Brisbane I restored Sharepoint access for the entire company so they could actually log into and use Sharepoint. The manager when he arrived was apoplectic with rage and said I had risked the security of the entire company by approving access for people with Sharepoint accounts to actually log into Sharepoint. He ordered all accounts locked with permissions again and then overnight the Sharepoint server turned into a gray dead lump of metal that permitted no human access ever again, just as it had sat for the previous couple of years.

 

[Cleveland Mark Blakemore]

Cleveland Mark Blakemore , can you talk about the best manager you ever worked with? It just feels weird that software dev and game dev seem to be devoid of that shit.

Failure rate for networks goes up when network admins are hired and network availability goes down. With no admins, research shows network remains viable, longer up time and better access for all company members.

Failure rate for any software project climbs up as soon as they get managers and research shows it climbs each successive rung of management that is added.

Three guys in a makeshift home office in their mom's garage in their underwear with takeout pizzas are more successful than entire race of mankind. At anything. True dat.

All things become failure quests when Homo Sapiens is added to the mix.

 

[Cleveland Mark Blakemore]

Why Cleveland have 962 racist ratings?

If you are a beta cuck and you suspect another man may have biologically normal levels of testosterone, that person instantly changes into - literally - Hitler.

 

[Tito Anic]

Cleveland Mark Blakemore , can you talk about the best manager you ever worked with?

Sirotek brothers

 

[Bohr]

Cleve, ever thought of working on a big RPG as part of a team again?

 

[Blakemoreland Hybrid Boss]

Oh shit! Cleve in this thread?

 

[mastroego]

I'm hoping we actually hit the Resonace Frequency of the Codex, trigger the Energy Build-Up and witness the Internet explode.

 

[Cael]

In most organizations, you are trying to succeed in spite of, not because of, managers. Their incompetency is not just a rumour - it's a scientifically verified and tested fact.

Particularly pertinent to Australia, where the managers have been rated the most incompetent in the entire developed world for over three decades including in surveys by Australians themselves.

Do NOT get me started on the incompetence of managers in Australia. The stories I tell to those I trust have their jaws hitting the floor faster than if they saw Selena Gomez doing a strip tease.

 

[GreyViper]

Failure rate for networks goes up when network admins are hired and network availability goes down. With no admins, research shows network remains viable, longer up time and better access for all company members.

Failure rate for any software project climbs up as soon as they get managers and research shows it climbs each successive rung of management that is added.

Three guys in a makeshift home office in their mom's garage in their underwear with takeout pizzas are more successful than entire race of mankind. At anything. True dat.

All things become failure quests when Homo Sapiens is added to the mix.

I think this is the classical to many cooks in the kitchen syndrome. But I will disagree you will need and admin, even you previous stories confirm it. Somebody needs to keep things running. What you you are describing here is bureaucratic corruption. The bigger company gets the more likely Spreading Scourge of Corporate Corruption.
You are right in that regard that one person can achieve great things, being a great example. You made a game by yourself and managed to release it, in spite of nay sayers. That in itself is quite an achievement, that not many can boast about.
But as you found out while developing, programming and searching for bugs, it takes so much time if you do it alone.
Id give Homo Sapiens a chance, they just might surprise you in pleasant way.

 

[hello friend]

In most organizations, you are trying to succeed in spite of, not because of, managers. Their incompetency is not just a rumour - it's a scientifically verified and tested fact.

Particularly pertinent to Australia, where the managers have been rated the most incompetent in the entire developed world for over three decades including in surveys by Australians themselves.

Do NOT get me started on the incompetence of managers in Australia. The stories I tell to those I trust have their jaws hitting the floor faster than if they saw Selena Gomez doing a strip tease.

Please get started.

 

[Cael]

Do NOT get me started on the incompetence of managers in Australia. The stories I tell to those I trust have their jaws hitting the floor faster than if they saw Selena Gomez doing a strip tease.

Please get started.

The customer made the comment that if he were to ever write a book on management, he will use his Australian supplier as a clear example of what not to do.

It goes downhill from there.

 

[hello friend]

Yes?

 

[Cael]

Yes?

What? You only asked me to start...

 

[hello friend]

The rest was implied.