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

[Delterius]

People thought Cleve was crazy for years before some blessed soul uploaded those penisaur concept sketches.

Back then we only thought Cleve was crazy. Afterwards we began sympathizing with his addled, literally raped, mind.

 

[Reinhardt]

And finished reading. After ~200 it's pretty slow so last 20 or so pages took more time than i thought.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

And finished reading. After ~200 it's pretty slow so last 20 or so pages took more time than i thought.

Well done, brother.

 

[FireKing]

Back then we only thought Cleve was crazy. Afterwards we began sympathizing with his addled, literally raped, mind.

 

[Latro]

Chris Avellone

where's my 70% man

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Chris Avellone

where's my 70% man

If you're human your 70% is just water men.

 

[hpstg]

My guess is that he means the Dying Light 2 presentation.

 

[Chris Avellone]

Chris Avellone

where's my 70% man

Not on me to forward, I'm afraid.

 

[The_Mask]

This whole thread looks so different now, knowing that Fergie was opting out on being an owner just as it happened.

It's beautiful.

 

[Lycra Suit]

So it turns out Avellone is a thread necrophiliac uh?

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Does it count as thread necrophilia if it's a thread devoted to him?

 

[DavidBVal]

It's more like a "at the third day he resurrected" thing.

 

[Bigg Boss]

God shows up whenever he wants. Even if it is a couple thousand years too late.

 

[Akratus]

Because he did an outstanding job in structuring the narrative around the faction system in FNV.

Yeah, I gotta admit, whatever else you can say about Sawyer, F:NV was fucking awesome and is easily their best game (bite me). So credit where credit's due.

I seem to remember Sawyer specifically stating the framework of the story was done by John Gonzalez. At first I thought it was Fenstermaker but he was just a designer on New Vegas. .

Also if Sawyer was such a driving force behind New Vegas then how come Pillars is bland in so many ways when he had such a heavy hand in it?

 

[Roguey]

I seem to remember Sawyer specifically stating the framework of the story was done by John Gonzalez. At first I thought it was Fenstermaker but he was just a designer on New Vegas. .

For the most part, I only wrote high-level documents. I didn't write any of the plot-critical characters and I didn't do detailed area development or implementation.

I wrote our RDC (Region Design Constraints) documents, which had a basic overview of the concepts/conflicts for all of the primary locations (e.g. Goodsprings, Mojave Outpost, the vaults, The Strip, Nellis AFB, etc.) and I did the initial write-ups for the companions (just a page each covering their basic concept, background, personality, voice, and intended plot arc).

For F:NV, I designed (but did not write the dialogue for) all of the companions and companion arcs. I did all of the system design and balancing. I wrote all of the high level RDCs (Region Design Constraints) that area designers used to write their ADDs (Area Design Docs). I wrote the dialogues for Arcade Gannon, Chief Hanlon, and President Kimball.

For Honest Hearts, I was also the project director. I wrote the story, designed and tuned most of the gear, designed all of the main characters (the Happy Trails caravan, Ricky, Joshua Graham, Daniel, Follows-Chalk, Waking Cloud, and the Survivalist) and wrote Joshua Graham and Daniel (Ricky, Stella, and the Survivalist were written by John Gonzalez; Jed Masterson, Follows-Chalk, and Waking Cloud were written by Travis Stout).

For Gun Runners' Arsenal, I did all of the design except for scripting, which was done by Jorge Salgado and Jeff Husges.

On the other DLCs, all I did was weapon tuning.

 

[Volrath]

So Sawyer was responsible for the worst DLC and had little to nothing to do with the things that were actually good in the main game. Why did we listen to this fraud again?

 

[sstacks]

If ye invoketh Chris Avellone with a tag, ye canna be surprised when Chris Avellone then appeareth.

Useth the magick circle sparingly, thus sayeth The Tome of the Wyrd.

 

[Nutria]

Why did we listen to this fraud again?

I would marry anyone on the first date if they said they liked Darklands.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

So Sawyer was responsible for the worst DLC and had little to nothing to do with the things that were actually good in the main game. Why did we listen to this fraud again?

He was the director (thus responsible for everything) and he says he had more direct control over F:NV than any other game he’s directed, even describing his management style as dictatorial. It’s not the director’s job to write everything; his job is to make sure other people execute his vision. For all his later failings, he still deserves a ton of credit for New Vegas.

 

[sstacks]

Why did we listen to this fraud again?

I would marry anyone on the first date if they said they liked Darklands.

Legitimate.