Incline Chris Avellone Appreciation Station

[Jaesun]

Bethesda have single-handedly completely ruined the entire Fallout setting. There is not much MCA could do anyways to salvage such an abortion...

 

[Irenaeus III]

Bethesda have single-handedly completely ruined the entire Fallout setting. There is not much MCA could do anyways to salvage such an abortion...

Agree 100%. Fallout setting:



Sorry, MCA. You should really look at something different to work with, unless you really need money or something. My 2 cents.

 

[Diablo169]

I'd be fairly surprised if he gets to work on Fallout again. I also get the distinct impression that while he would probably like another chance, it wont be the end of the world if it doesn't happen.

Would love to see Chris lead another project, but i think that this "part time gigs" bit is going to continue. And that's cool if it's what he wants.

 

[Shin]

Bethesda have single-handedly completely ruined the entire Fallout setting. There is not much MCA could do anyways to salvage such an abortion...

Agree 100%. Fallout setting:



Sorry, MCA. You should really look at something different to work with, unless you really need money or something. My 2 cents.

At this point I think every Fallout fan considers the Bethsoft games to be set in an alternative universe. I still wouldn't mind if Bethsoft would allow Obisdian (or any other somewhat capable rpg studio) to make another Fallout game even though at this points it probably better to hope for a well-done Wasteland 3 or some new scorched earth/post-apoc RPG IP.

 

[Ninjerk]

There's only one Fallout game.

Spoiler

 

[Fairfax]

1 is the PoE novella, which, according to Obsidian, just needs cover art.
The 2 awaiting outline approval are probably the TTON graphic novels.
The one split in 5 parts is the WL2 novella, which turned into a novel at some point, and seems to have been split in 5 novellas.

 

[Fairfax]

Didn't know about the minor faction. Hope it's not just a minor faction quest.

 

[Lacrymas]

Ugh, just give the man a whole game to make already! They all have their hands on him but they keep wasting his talent on minor things (1 companion is not that minor, but still). It's like they don't want to make a creative game. I don't know what he means by "story and design reviews" though.

 

[Prime Junta]

Ugh, just give the man a whole game to make already! They all have their hands on him but they keep wasting his talent on minor things (1 companion is not that minor, but still). It's like they don't want to make a creative game. I don't know what he means by "story and design reviews" though.

I have the feeling that he just can't be arsed to take creative control of an entire game. It's grueling work.

 

[Lacrymas]

I have the feeling that he just can't be arsed to take creative control of an entire game. It's grueling work.

If MCA has proven at least one character trait it's that he doesn't shy away from difficult and grueling work.

 

[Fairfax]

Ugh, just give the man a whole game to make already! They all have their hands on him but they keep wasting his talent on minor things (1 companion is not that minor, but still). It's like they don't want to make a creative game. I don't know what he means by "story and design reviews" though.

Part of the team gets together to review the story/design as they make progress. Chris takes part in these meetings and provides feedback. MRY does it as well.

Ugh, just give the man a whole game to make already! They all have their hands on him but they keep wasting his talent on minor things (1 companion is not that minor, but still). It's like they don't want to make a creative game. I don't know what he means by "story and design reviews" though.

I have the feeling that he just can't be arsed to take creative control of an entire game. It's grueling work.

The opposite. He said he wants to be a Project Director again.

 

[Hugh Vagoth]

So, is the Codex gonna turn on MCA now because of the SoD debacle?

 

[Fitz]

So, is the Codex gonna turn on MCA now because of the SoD debacle?

He was just paid to write an ad blurb, I fail to see how that would diminish his splendour.

 

[Neanderthal]

The opposite. He said he wants to be a Project Director again.

Thought MCA had some personal stuff that prevented im goin large on a big project again, or do I remember wrong?

 

[Alienman]

This is bigger than the PoE "scandal"now right?

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

This is bigger than the PoE "scandal"now right?

This isn't going to be bigger because not that many people care about it. The audience for this 'expansion' isn't as big as PoE.

 

[Fairfax]

So, is the Codex gonna turn on MCA now because of the SoD debacle?

What happened?

Thought MCA had some personal stuff that prevented im goin large on a big project again, or do I remember wrong?

Yes. He said here that he wants to be a Project Director again, that it works out better than being Lead Designer for him. In another question he said he has personal issues preventing him from taking on a full-time job.

 

[Roguey]

So, is the Codex gonna turn on MCA now because of the SoD debacle?

He didn't notice/care/told them it was hamfisted and they didn't care, pick one. No need to jump to conclusions.

 

[Infinitron]

So, is the Codex gonna turn on MCA now because of the SoD debacle?

He didn't notice/care/told them it was hamfisted and they didn't care, pick one. No need to jump to conclusions.

You've got to admit it's a bit funny how he called PoE too linear on Twitter without uttering a word about the much more fundamental linearity of BG:SoD. There's no way he could have missed that.

 

[Roguey]

You've got to admit it's a bit funny how he called PoE too linear on Twitter without uttering a word about the much more fundamental linearity of BG:SoD. There's no way he could have missed that.

Kinda par for the course. Devs don't criticize their own games before or shortly after release because honesty, while appreciated, doesn't move copies. He waited a while before criticizing Pillars.

 

[Infinitron]

You've got to admit it's a bit funny how he called PoE too linear on Twitter without uttering a word about the much more fundamental linearity of BG:SoD. There's no way he could have missed that.

Kinda par for the course. Devs don't criticize their own games before or shortly after release because honesty, while appreciated, doesn't move copies. He waited a while before criticizing Pillars.

Sure. The Beamdog devs themselves actually sort of admitted it before the game's release: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...ragonspear-twitch-stream.106805/#post-4369018 (although they also made it sound like they'd completely fixed it)

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Maybe he died to wolves everytime he went off the set path.

 

[Hugh Vagoth]

So, is the Codex gonna turn on MCA now because of the SoD debacle?

He was just paid to write an ad blurb, I fail to see how that would diminish his splendour.

I thought he was some sort of creative consultant?

 

[Fairfax]

So, is the Codex gonna turn on MCA now because of the SoD debacle?

He didn't notice/care/told them it was hamfisted and they didn't care, pick one. No need to jump to conclusions.

You've got to admit it's a bit funny how he called PoE too linear on Twitter without uttering a word about the much more fundamental linearity of BG:SoD. There's no way he could have missed that.

I asked him a few questions via DM on twitter and I'm still waiting for some replies before I post the whole conversation, but here's a relevant one:
He explains something he mentioned in an interview ("If you don't have something nice to say, keep your mouth shut.")

"If you don't have something nice to say, keep your mouth shut." I'd clarify this is that this should never prevent you from making an informed, polite critique. I may have mentioned this in the Design Lessons presentation but it's the difference between "opening doors in your games sucks dick," vs. "I'm used to the Door Open/Action command always being mapped to the A button on the controller, so whenever I hit a door in your game, I have to mentally switch to the B button to do it, which feels counter-intuitive for a game of this type."
If that makes sense - I used to work with a lot of people that were afraid to speak out because they'd be seen as troublesome, but I always tried to encourage them a well-thought critique isn't being an asshole, it's being helpful and the end state of the game and its success depends on everyone weighing in. (Forgive typos, it's late)

On the converse of this, devs also need to expose themselves to brutal critiques and then attempt to drill down to try and figure out what the problem is that's causing the player's frustration (that's part of a dev's responsibility). Past the bile, you need to recognize someone was frustrated or disappointed - try and figure out why.

I think most here have noticed that he's harsh with projects he worked on, but rarely bashes other games in public. He was hired as narrative consultant for SoD, and I have no doubt he provided honest feedback about their writing, but that doesn't mean he'll share his criticism on social media. PoE is a game he worked on for years, and even then it took a while before he criticized it. Not to mention he still praises the game and the team when people tell him how much they liked PoE on twitter.

 

[Fairfax]

Huh.