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

[Stainless Veteran]

the old BIS forumers are all dead

Not all of them.

Ha! Good fun!

 

[AwesomeButton]

the old BIS forumers are all dead

Not all of them.

Ha! Good fun!

Isn't volourn still there as well? :D

 

[Stainless Veteran]

the old BIS forumers are all dead

Not all of them.

Ha! Good fun!

Isn't volourn still there as well? :D

No idea, I don't frequent Obsi forums. But it was sad to see our Pretty Princess go. r00fles.

 

[Tigranes]

But I do remember how you defended every little thing about PoE during and long after release, both here and on Obsidian forums.

I think POE is a pretty good game. I also think Obsidian has declined, especially their writing. Do you think this is because I am brainwashed by Feargus? I don't give a shit. I come to the Codex to be told why my taste in RPGs is shit and why I should try better games, and I have no time for dumbasses who would prefer to drama all day about which forums I hung out in.

the old BIS forumers are all dead

Not all of them.

Ha! Good fun!

Gromnir is probably the only 'character' left standing. Volourn's been fading away for years, I can't even lure him out now by posting how NWN1 sucks balls.

 

[Blaine]

...and I have no time for dumbasses who would prefer to drama all day about which forums I hung out in.

This is technically incorrect, since you have allotted a non-zero quantity of time to conversing with the said dumbasses not only in the very same post, but in the same sentence.

 

[Crispy]

I can't seem to decide whether having all this stuff go down here on Codex has made us more prestigious or somehow more loathsome.

Both?

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Non-compete clause is the least controversial news out of this whole fiasco.

Umm.. no sweety.

I'm not sure why is it generating so much butthurt in these comments, when it is just good businesses practice. You can't have a guy who has so much in-depth knowledge of inner workings of the company joining the competition within 24 hours.

These clauses are increasingly common nowadays and they rarely last longer then 6 to 12 months. It really is not that big of a deal.

Not always true. It is definitely a good business practice as business practices go when you actually have *critical insight into ideas on the competitive edge*. If MCA was a programmer working on Crytech's latest algorithm to generate the collision models then, yeah he would be taking away potentially damaging information away from the company. In this case, this is hardly the issue.

Chris was one of the owners, pal. He would have access to information that is 100x more sensitive than a couple of algorithms in the engine. Try details of pitches and unannounced projects, specifics of contracts with past and current clients, financial data, development insights they might not want leaked, all in all a lot of data that can be potentially thermonuclear if misused.

Companies try to keep this kind of data tightly hidden for a fucking good reason and they would have to be absolutely dumb if they didn't try to make him sign a non-compete. So again, that is simply a common sense business practice.

 

[Prime Junta]

Chris was one of the owners, pal. He would have access to information that is 100x more sensitive than a couple of algorithms in the engine. Try details of pitches and unannounced projects, specifics of contracts with past and current clients, financial data, development insights they might not want leaked, all in all a lot of data that can be potentially thermonuclear if misused.

Companies try to keep this kind of data tightly hidden for a fucking good reason and they would have to be absolutely dumb if they didn't try to make him sign a non-compete.

Oh bullcacky.

Divulging trade secrets is already illegal. You don't need a non-compete for that. As to the rest of it, game development ain't rocket science, there isn't some magical development insight that, when shared, would give a competitor an edge.

 

[Jarpie]

This whole thing is sad.

When, years ago, I got to go to the WL2 launch on the Codex’s invite, I was struck by how kind and decent and friendly were the whole group of famed RPG developers (many were there). I’d basically had nothing but positive impressions of the folks I’d worked for in the game industry previously; they weren’t all brilliant (many were) but they were all basically well intentioned and nice. Meeting all the folks I idolized, I found them to be just as likable but also strikingly talented.

And, as I’ve mentioned before, I was no less struck by the decency and generosity of my colleagues on TTON.

Yet this whole thread suggests that my positive view was a luxury of being an offsite hobbyist dabbling in games without having to actually be part of the process. Whatever the facts here, there’s no denying the unhappiness among people I’ve always admired and always assumed to be close colleagues and friends, notwithstanding the occasional disagreement. Apparently not.

Fitting that the Codex should be the place such naivety is disabused.

Only doing our duty, brother.

 

[Prime Junta]

Definitely more prestigious. We are now known as the place where MCA hangs out and has heart2heart, tête-à-tête with the natives.

Maybe he has given up on capitalism and has decided to drink away his savings as he slowly spirals towards the gutter.

 

[Brozef]

Great to see Chris regaining his freedom and not caving in.
Regarding Obsidian:

 

[Atomkilla]

Hey Chris Avellone, since you're the 110% best Italian on Codex, can you recommend me some good pasta recipe that you love?

Also, mandatory posting in greatest 2018 thread. Stay classy, folks.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[The Great ThunThun*]

Prime Junta
Capitalism, despite your beliefs, is not a one-sided "Corporate rules" ideology. But this is neither the place nor the occasion to discuss the issue. Open a thread an year later on GD and then we can dish it out. Till then fond farewells.

 

[fantadomat]

This whole thing is sad.

When, years ago, I got to go to the WL2 launch on the Codex’s invite, I was struck by how kind and decent and friendly were the whole group of famed RPG developers (many were there). I’d basically had nothing but positive impressions of the folks I’d worked for in the game industry previously; they weren’t all brilliant (many were) but they were all basically well intentioned and nice. Meeting all the folks I idolized, I found them to be just as likable but also strikingly talented.

And, as I’ve mentioned before, I was no less struck by the decency and generosity of my colleagues on TTON.

Yet this whole thread suggests that my positive view was a luxury of being an offsite hobbyist dabbling in games without having to actually be part of the process. Whatever the facts here, there’s no denying the unhappiness among people I’ve always admired and always assumed to be close colleagues and friends, notwithstanding the occasional disagreement. Apparently not.

Fitting that the Codex should be the place such naivety is disabused.

It is only natural for people in a team to have problems. There is hidden jealousy,rivalries ,women,overestimating ones abilities and other problems. Don't see why people react to it as some sort of revelation.

 

[Bocian]

Kit Walker

Stop reposting this fucking gif every time, you didn't even make it.

 

[Delterius]

Divulging trade secrets is already illegal. You don't need a non-compete for that. As to the rest of it, game development ain't rocket science, there isn't some magical development insight that, when shared, would give a competitor an edge.

are you sure

because most rpgs are kinda shit

 

[Iskramor]

the old BIS forumers are all dead

Not all of them.

I wish i could find his geo-location just to challenge him on 1on1 duel.

 

[ArchAngel]

Or there was enough alcohol at that event everyone there was unusually merry

Doesn't work like that. Alcohol is an affect amplifier. If the vibes are good, it makes them even better. If there are hidden resentments, somebody's leaving in a Black Maria, ambulance, or hearse.

Depends on how much one drinks. A bit lets you be a bit merry, too much and you start telling people on your highschool reunion how you cheat on your wife with your coworkers (I had to listed to a guy I have not seen for 10 years tell me all his dirty secrets)

 

[Mebrilia the Viera Queen]

i am more concerned about the people thinking that if a former employer talk bad about the company it used to work is so immoral and wrong... Meanwhile if a company talk bad about one they fired is perfectly fine.... what a sheep mentality guess some people enjoy being slaves.

 

[Quillon]

Meanwhile if a company talk bad about one they fired is perfectly fine

Obs didn't talk about MCA except for wishing well and we don't know if he's fired or resigned.

 

[Azarkon]

That is not a completely accurate statement.

We had Southpark, and shortly thereafter Armored Warfare. We were not in great shape, but we weren't in danger of closing.

What PoE did do, was give us a way to create and own our own IP, and it saved the jobs of a lot people. I am not diminishing what PoE Kickstarter accomplished, it was amazing and it was critical for putting us on a road to successfully being more independent

The PoE team are heroes (at least to me), their vision and their hardwork has been an inspiration to the rest of us and it inspires the Project Indiana team as well.

It might be fairly standard in the industry to announce mass lay offs every other year, but I doubt that is a positive for a company. What I am hearing here is that while the company wasn't in any danger of closing, it was in danger of mass lay offs - just like had happened right before you went to Texas, a while back. Obsidian might have been around for 15 years, but these 15 years haven't all been smooth. A revolving door policy of employment is bound to leave many bitter souls, especially when perceived favoritism is involved. Like you said, the people still at Obsidian wouldn't be writing company reviews. It's the many people who have left, who are writing them; and it's obvious their departures have often been less than pleasant. Perhaps, just perhaps, that is the area that needs to be focused on.

 

[Delterius]

Chris just got pranked. Feargus was trying to get him in the mood to make the real Tyranny -- an RPG about When Evil Wins. But then things got too far.

 

[Gakkone]

Pretty good thread

 

[Prime Junta]

Pretty good thread

It's slowing down though. We need Josh here to explain what's what.