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

[Mustawd]

By the way, fat women aren't responsible for being fat

Umm. wot? Did fat women do something wrong? Chubs rule. We gon fight soon Blaine. I see it. Don't fuck with my chubs.

Movie Fridays where the company takes a workday field trip across the street to see the latest and greatest blockbuster movies

Inb4 these are just Feargus home movies.

 

[2house2fly]

Oh yeah. It would be bad form to go airing dirty laundry like that in public.

Hello everyone, I'm from Something Awful and I genuinely can't tell the difference between blowing the whistle on shitty treatment of employees and publicly announcing that individuals are afflicted by this or that mental illnesses.

By the way, fat women aren't responsible for being fat, should never be mocked, and refusing to date them is sexist; but short men are responsible for not being tall, mocking them is hilarious, and women are entitled to their preferences. Only short, involuntarily celibate fucking white males find this even remotely hypocritical. If you agree, come join us on our forums where we can all agree together for a one-time payment of $10.

To be honest I assumed "genuine personality disorders" was meant colloquially, as in "massive assholes". Of course, especially since it seems either the colloquial or medical definition could well apply to EFens himself, it was certainly not cool to bring it up. But hey, kept it anonymous at least

 

[Danlok]

Is system shock still happening Chris? Not sure what else you have going on but that project completed is all I want in life

 

[2house2fly]

what's up with the increasingly complex Inconceivable pics

Someone had a go at him for constantly posting the spinning What Am I Reading gif so he started constantly posting something worse

 

[Chris Avellone]

Why did you stick with Obsidian for so long?

Only the last few years were poor, to be honest. As an owner, it isn’t as easy to leave, either, but it got easier as time went on.

Also, when you’re at a company with the same people for so long, it’s hard to tell what else might be out there or what else you could do – it wasn’t until FTL and Wasteland 2 happened I realized I could do something else, and these projects were nice breaks from the Obsidian routine (and less meetings, more doing things).

 

[Mustawd]

Chris Avellone , did Obsidian use in-house or outsourced accountants? Sorry, I'm an accountant. I'm just curious.

 

[Imoens pet]

Why did you stick with Obsidian for so long?

Only the last few years were poor, to be honest. As an owner, it isn’t as easy to leave, either, but it got easier as time went on.

Also, when you’re at a company with the same people for so long, it’s hard to tell what else might be out there or what else you could do – it wasn’t until FTL and Wasteland 2 happened I realized I could do something else, and these projects were nice breaks from the Obsidian routine (and less meetings, more doing things).

I hope everything works out for you man.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

How much more do you accomplish when you don’t have to wear pants? I find that once you put on a belt, you have already lost.

 

[2house2fly]

I would be unable to work from home, my willpower is too weak. I'd just snack and masturbate until I got fired

 

[Chris Avellone]

Chris Avellone , did Obsidian use in-house or outsourced accountants? Sorry, I'm an accountant. I'm just curious.

Outsourced, was a long-time friend of the CEO/CFO, we almost never heard from her and maybe saw her in the office once or twice (?) in the 10+ years I was there.

 

[Mustawd]

Chris Avellone , did Obsidian use in-house or outsourced accountants? Sorry, I'm an accountant. I'm just curious.

Outsourced, was a long-time friend of the CEO/CFO, we almost never heard from her and maybe saw her in the office once or twice (?) in the 10+ years I was there.

Yah sounds about right. Thanks Chris.

 

[Phanax]

Fucking hell Chris.

 

[2house2fly]

"Chris, did anyone ever get murdered while you were at Ob-"

"Yeah, by Feargus, a bunch of times"

 

[Pirata Alma Negra]

Someone summarize the last 20 pages since yesterday please

 

[Lycra Suit]

working on Van Buren before BG3 collapse was a lot of fun

About that, do you remember why something as potentially successful as BG3 ended up being cancelled? Do you recall any interesting tidbits about the gameplay and story?

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

Someone summarize the last 20 pages since yesterday please

It’s like this:

Spoiler

Darkest of night with the moon shining bright
There's a set goin' strong; lotta things goin' on
The man of the hour has an air of great power
The dudes have envied him for so long

Oooh, Super Fly
You're gonna make your fortune by and by
But if you lose, don't ask no questions why
The only game you know is do or die
Ah-ha-ha

Hard to understand what a hell of a man
This cat of the slum had a mind, wasn't dumb
But a weakness was shown cause his hustle was wrong
His mind was his own but the man lived alone

Oooh, Super Fly
You're gonna make your fortune by and by
But if you lose, don't ask no questions why
The only game you know is do or die
Ah-ha-ha

The game he plays, he plays for keeps
Hustlin' times and ghetto streets
Tryin' to get over
That's what he tryin' to do, y'all
Taking all that he can take
Gambling with the odds of fate
Tryin' to get over
Tryin' to get over
Tryin' to get over
Tryin' to get over
Woo, Super Fly, huh, huh

 

[Quillon]

Someone summarize the last 20 pages since yesterday please

 

[Phanax]

Someone summarize the last 20 pages since yesterday please

 

[Blaine]

what's up with the increasingly complex Inconceivable pics

Someone had a go at him for constantly posting the spinning What Am I Reading gif so he started constantly posting something worse

I've noticed that you're really good at being wrong and mistaken all the time about basically everything. That was Kit Walker: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?search/68562112/

However, I'm quite the trend-following fadbeast and decided I needed to get in on that action.

 

[The_Mask]

Hey Chris,

Long time lurker of the site here, I've finally taken the courage to make an account since you're answering questions.

I also have one for you:

I have met and talked to most of the cast you used for Planescape: Torment, however due to natural circumstances - Tony Jay passing on - I can never talk to/find out what kind of person is/was the person behind the voice of The Transcendent One.

In essence, my question is: as far as you remember what was Tony Jay like? How and what did he bring to the studio as you were recording? Any funny stories you can share that happened during the recording?

It's okay to say that he was a boring old man. I'm just curious.

Thank you very much in advance, and I hope that everything works out for you and your family.

sorinmask

 

[Pirata Alma Negra]

Jesus, I lost all the fun.

 

[Forest Dweller]

Dude stop posting that fucking picture.

 

[Fairfax]

working on Van Buren before BG3 collapse was a lot of fun

About that, do you remember why something as potentially successful as BG3 ended up being cancelled?

Interplay didn't pay the royalties they owed to Atari (again), so they lost the rights to BG3.

From their 2003 Q3 report:

In February 2003, we amended our license agreement with the holder of the interactive entertainment rights to DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ("D&D"). This license allows us to publish the BALDUR'S GATE, BALDUR'S GATE: DARK ALLIANCE, and ICEWIND DALE titles. Pursuant to this amendment, among other things, we (i) extended the license term for approximately an additional two years to December 31, 2008 for an advance payment on future royalties of approximately $200,000 and (ii) extended our rights with respect to certain of the D&D properties. The amendment terminated our rights to certain titles in the event we are unable to obtain certain third-party waivers in accordance with the terms of the amendment. We were unable to obtain the required waivers within the permitted time period and as a result have lost rights to publish BALDUR'S GATE 3 and its sequels on the PC. Subsequently, we relinquished the rights to publish any future titles using the D&D license in exchange for the DARK ALLIANCE trademark.

 

[Inspirer]

I'm shit at googling or there is still only one article (TechRaptor) about this situation in the whole English-speaking section of the internet? I'm particularly surprised because even in my country, where people don't care all that much about gaming industry dramas, at least three major gaming sites reported this (#1 #2 #3), I also remember stumbling upon a few articles in German.

I always had the impression that western media absolutely LOVES when shit hits the fan, but it seems that in this case everyone decided to play an ostrich and bury their heads in the sand for some reason. The only possible explanation I can think of is that they all afraid of possible retaliation from Obsidian, but come on, Obsidian is Obsidian, not Ubisoft or Activision, they don't have a lot of weight in the global scheme of things.

 

[Lycra Suit]

How could they not work this out with Atari? BG3 would yield a good profit for both parties involved under the right agreement that sounds counter productive.