Interview Yet Another Chris Avellone Interview

[Linden]

I will add, that from a tech standpoint, the amount of games that don’t have the ability to display italicized text is sadness. Italics communicate so much in tone.

How you recognize a great writer.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

doing free work for FTL instead of drawing the trolls OR playing Arcanum both of which they got paid for? And people call me a heretic for calling Chris Avellone a washed-up has-been. Like I said, he lost his M a long time ago....

If I were forced to watch him play Arcanum, I would have paid him to stop.

 

[commie]

doing free work for FTL instead of drawing the trolls OR playing Arcanum both of which they got paid for? And people call me a heretic for calling Chris Avellone a washed-up has-been. Like I said, he lost his M a long time ago....

Nah, people don't call you a 'heretic', they just call you a 'try hard faggot'.

 

[Forest Dweller]

He's writing a Wasteland novel?

 

[Xor]

Why can't you bang Sis though?

wasn't sis 16 or something? those prude puritans inhabiting america might get offended by that.

Yeah, it's considered pretty creepy (and illegal in every state as far as I'm aware) for a man in his late 20s/early 30s to screw a 16 year old. I'm sure they originally planned to make Sis older when they were going to have her as a romance option, and probably made her younger to make her seem more vulnerable or something when they decided to cut that.

My actual guess is that MCA meant Madison as the romance that doesn't really happen any more, because you don't really romance her, you just end up having sex. It's the only thing I can think of; Obsidian doesn't do gay romances and there aren't any other female characters around for Thorton to bang. Plus, every other romance option can show up in the final mission and has a distinct ending, but Madison doesn't even though she can potentially live through the events in Rome. That would make Sis the romance option that was cut completely.

 

[Duraframe300]

Sis was never a romance option.

 

[Tommy Wiseau]

It's legal in Europe and Asia.

 

[Infinitron]

Obsidian doesn't do gay romances

Not for lack of trying. Gann-of-Dreams was supposed to be bi but WotC wouldn't allow it.

 

[Xor]

It's legal in Europe and Asia.

Obsidian isn't based in Europe and Asia.

Obsidian doesn't do gay romances

Not for lack of trying. Gann-of-Dreams was supposed to be bi but WotC wouldn't allow it.

True, but that's the only case we know of where they tried. Didn't MCA write Gann? I thought he hated romances.

 

[SuicideBunny]

Yeah, it's considered pretty creepy (and illegal in every state as far as I'm aware) for a man in his late 20s/early 30s to screw a 16 year old.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_North_America#State_laws

It's legal in Europe and Asia.

legal in most of america too, but they would still get butthurt.

 

[Infinitron]

True, but that's the only case we know of where they tried. Didn't MCA write Gann? I thought he hated romances.

Yes, and he had some problems: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/chris-avellone-needs-help-on-romance.19765/

Perhaps it wasn't his decision.

 

[Xor]

Yeah, it's considered pretty creepy (and illegal in every state as far as I'm aware) for a man in his late 20s/early 30s to screw a 16 year old.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_North_America#State_laws

...Huh. Well, it's been a while since I cared about the age of concent, maybe it's changed? Or maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about.

It's still creepy, though.

 

[tuluse]

...Huh. Well, it's been a while since I cared about the age of concent, maybe it's changed? Or maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about.

It's still creepy, though.

So there is consent, but child pornography laws are different. Depicting sexual acts with people under 18 causes problems.

Also, there are plenty of states that have consent laws of 17 or 18. So they'd have to sell the game in just certain states.

 

[SuicideBunny]

...Huh. Well, it's been a while since I cared about the age of concent, maybe it's changed? Or maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about.

american media, mainly tv, propagate that idea. i guess it might be so they don't get censored in some states since 18 is a safe age everywhere. or maybe all teevee is run by conservative puritans or something...

It's still creepy, though.

my grandparents had 10 years difference and it didn't stop them from being happily married until they both died...
men 4 years older used to be the standard....
and last but not least here's a contemporary chart on the subject matter: notice how everything up to 9 years older for man is more acceptable than 3 years older for woman....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Age_differences_for_spouses_(USA).png

thornton is implied to be somewhere in his middle twenties which is perfectly fine. either way, enough derail.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

It's kinda ridiculous that he has to juggle so much shit. I am sure that as much as they get screwed by publishers/bethesda, they need to do all of that stuff to stay afloat (unless PoE and KS really work out for them), but this is most likely why he hasn't done anything as good as PS:T and Fallout 2 since those days. If you have to do 30 things at once, ...

 

[throwaway]

When working on Numenera, I feel very much Iike I’m doing a game version of a Gene Wolfe Book of the New Sun novel, which is pretty cool. Or Roadside Picnic, except fantasy-based.

I'm probably overoptimistic but given that Stalker and Torment are amongst my favorite entries of their respective mediums this line got me extremely excited.

That doesnt have anything to do with Stalker, The game. More to do with brothers Strugatsky works.

I meant Stalker, the movie, which was loosely based on the novel.

In general props to the Polish for doing their homework and exploring deviantArt.

PST fanart on DA is incredibly shitty (with a few exceptions like this) so it would be better not to show it at all and post some screenshots or concept art instead.

I've seen all the concept art a myriad times so running into new takes is always interesting. Besides I certainly appreciate some of DA's stuff like [1] [2] [3] [4] and if you're into romances (!) [5].

 

[hiver]

I meant Stalker, the movie, which was loosely based on the novel.

Same as the game.

Yet Roadside Picnic is a specific. And better then either besides.

 

[Roguey]

ITT everyone's wrong about Alpha Protocol. One of the cut romances was a character who was cut entirely, Uli Booi (she had some weird cat backpack). The truncated romance was Scarlet, since unlike Madison, SIE, and Mina, there's hardly any romance banter with her until she's like "Hey do you want to stay?" and Mike's like "Okay/nah."

Nine proposals sounds like desperation on Obsidian's part. The console well is drying up.

Not only do I like the current Snyder run immensely,

Good god man, have some standards.

Often, game companies can’t afford to hire editors (it’s almost impossible to justify that expense) and editing and proofing are such an important part of the process it shouldn’t be left to chance.

Bioware has editors.

 

[Xeon]

They flirt on the plane and in some of china's missions I think.

With Madison you wake her up and sleep with her and that's it I think until the bomb mission.

Edit:
Entire post is "IIRC"

 

[Roguey]

They flirt on the plane and in some of china's missions I think.

Barely though.

With Madison you wake her up and sleep with her and that's it I think until the bomb mission.

Madison has a romance and a hatemance with a lot of alternate cutscenes and animation details.

 

[ghostdog]

so Crooked Bee , when will the codex interview MCA ?

 

[mastroego]

Goddamn that is one ugly Annah

She's actually quite beautiful.
Ok, her face is not really "canon" maybe, but everything's in place and she looks real.

I'm always grateful to artists (professional or not) who can do that, since I'm inept at art and can't do it myself.
Not even in my head.
And sometimes a little gem like this one shows up.

 

[felipepepe]

so Crooked Bee , when will the codex interview MCA ?

- Where is the rest of the Arcanum LP? How can you even look at Tim Cain's face everyday?
- Where are the hand-drawn avatars we payed $200 for, a year ago? Now that people like Felicia Day is part of your new fandom, old fans aren't needed anymore?
- You wrote the Ag. Center in W2. Why it was such a shitty waste of a good setting? Don't you feel bad for doing that in an afternoon and moving on?
- As the years pass, you restricted yourself to "guest writings", less and less important design decisions ion other people's games, but get even more famous. Will you ever be a actual designer again, or are you satisfied with just being a internet celebrity?
- Seriously, where the hell did you even find that horrible purple crochet sweater? Did you honestly thought it looked good, or it was just an ex-fatty thing?

My guess: Never.

 

[Infinitron]

so Crooked Bee , when will the codex interview MCA ?

- Where is the rest of the Arcanum LP? How can you even look at Tim Cain's face everyday?
- Where are the hand-drawn avatars we payed $200 for, a year ago? Now that people like Felicia Day is part of your new fandom, old fans aren't needed anymore?
- You wrote the Ag. Center in W2. Why it was such a shitty waste of a good setting? Don't you feel bad for doing that in an afternoon and moving on?
- As the years pass, you restricted yourself to "guest writings", less and less important design decisions ion other people's games, but get even more famous. Will you ever be a actual designer again, or are you satisfied with just being a internet celebrity?
- Seriously, where the hell did you even find that horrible purple crochet sweater? Did you honestly thought it looked good, or it was just an ex-fatty thing?

My guess: Never.

The truth is that we have no reason to interview him until Pillars of Eternity is out and he's allowed to speak about his work there. He can't talk about South Park, either. There just isn't anything good to ask that hasn't been covered elsewhere already. The guy is already constantly repeating himself in these interviews.

 

[2house2fly]

Bioware has editors.

This is a far more compelling case against having editors.