Chris Avellone might be teasing new Fallout

[Fairfax]

By the way, aside from Pathfinder: Kingmaker and probably something with Bethesda, what do we know of Avellone's future collaborations?

Lead Writer on the System Shock reboot, VR dialogue stuff with Digital Funk Studios, Lead Writer on Into the Breach, unknown role on Wasteland 3, Wasteland 2 novel+novellas, and an unknown collaboration with Ken Levine. He's also been teasing a "pet project" for quite a while.

 

[Rev]

Thanks, Fairfax, you're always a good source of information on all things MCA.

I hope the pet project comes sooner rather than later and turns out to be something interesting, because beyond that I don't see many promising titles in that list (well, SS is cool and all but it's just a reboot).

 

[Bohrain]

By the way, aside from Pathfinder: Kingmaker and probably something with Bethesda, what do we know of Avellone's future collaborations?

He's also been teasing a "pet project" for quite a while.

Lead writer for Nintendogs 3?

 

[Decado]

I was the World's #1 Fallout Fan for years. From 1997-2008 online, my avatar was Fallout-themed, my username was Fallout-themed, and my signature was Fallout-themed. I worked on FanMade Fallout with DarkUnderlord, back when he used an animated .gif of the "UNITY" video screens from the Cathedral in Fallout as his avatar (or was it a hooded figure on a throne at the time? My memory is hazy). I made elaborate Fallout-themed "cinemagraphs" using captured still images of FO1 and FO2 game backgrounds, ripped sprites, and the actual text fonts used in-game, and animated little scenes frame by frame.

Then 2008 came, and Fallout suddenly meant something else entirely to the majority of people. No one would look at my avatar anymore and wonder what cool old game I'd taken it from; they knew, or thought they did. The Fallout aspect of my online persona sadly slipped into its cave, just like Puff the Magic Dragon, or a naked penis outside during the Finnish winter.

I've now spent nearly a decade since then watching the franchise be repeatedly raped, made to dance like a circus monkey, dismembered, cannibalized, and then reassembled into a mashed approximation of an intact corpse so that the process of raping, dancing, dismemberment, and cannibalization could begin all over again. New Vegas has been the ONLY official blip since then, although of course it too couldn't escape Bethesda's taint.

It's time to let the old soldier rest in peace. There's no sense in getting excited, no sense in getting your hopes up—it's futile. Fallout is a spent force with no future, or at least not one you want to be a part of, ironically appropriate given the game's theme. Chris Avellone shouldn't be getting people's hopes up, either. It's cruel.

It's your fault, for investing so much into a video game.

 

[Metro]

Chris Avellone I have the outline for Fallout: New Orleans! Take it from a native of the city, we can make Fallout great again! Don't let them do to it what they did to Boston!

 

[Jazz_]

''The problem with talking deathclaws is that it's a political landmine, so to speak''

 

[shihonage]

I was the World's #1 Fallout Fan for years. From 1997-2008 online, my avatar was Fallout-themed, my username was Fallout-themed, and my signature was Fallout-themed. I worked on FanMade Fallout with DarkUnderlord, back when he used an animated .gif of the "UNITY" video screens from the Cathedral in Fallout as his avatar (or was it a hooded figure on a throne at the time? My memory is hazy). I made elaborate Fallout-themed "cinemagraphs" using captured still images of FO1 and FO2 game backgrounds, ripped sprites, and the actual text fonts used in-game, and animated little scenes frame by frame.

Then 2008 came, and Fallout suddenly meant something else entirely to the majority of people. No one would look at my avatar anymore and wonder what cool old game I'd taken it from; they knew, or thought they did. The Fallout aspect of my online persona sadly slipped into its cave, just like Puff the Magic Dragon, or a naked penis outside during the Finnish winter.

I've now spent nearly a decade since then watching the franchise be repeatedly raped, made to dance like a circus monkey, dismembered, cannibalized, and then reassembled into a mashed approximation of an intact corpse so that the process of raping, dancing, dismemberment, and cannibalization could begin all over again. New Vegas has been the ONLY official blip since then, although of course it too couldn't escape Bethesda's taint.

It's time to let the old soldier rest in peace. There's no sense in getting excited, no sense in getting your hopes up—it's futile. Fallout is a spent force with no future, or at least not one you want to be a part of, ironically appropriate given the game's theme. Chris Avellone shouldn't be getting people's hopes up, either. It's cruel.

Boy do I know how you feel. However... while the franchise is being necrophilia-raped by Todd Howard, its ideas are not trapped in its corpse. They were out there before Fallout existed - it just, you know, took them. And they are still out there, waiting to be taken. In a non-rapey way.

 

[Iznaliu]

Pretty sure he is happy with Durance, he uses him as an avatar here

He may have not bothered to change it and has since became disenchanted with the character; alternatively, he could like the original vision but not the final version that made it into the game.

 

[Trashos]

...
It's time to let the old soldier rest in peace. There's no sense in getting excited, no sense in getting your hopes up—it's futile. Fallout is a spent force with no future, or at least not one you want to be a part of, ironically appropriate given the game's theme. Chris Avellone shouldn't be getting people's hopes up, either. It's cruel.

It's your fault, for investing so much into a video game.

You know, I used to hang out at this bar with great taste as a youngster, lots of special moments in it. At some point it was sold and turned into a club where college students get drunk and dance on the tables. Sometimes the towers guarding our special moments fall to the enemy, and there is not much we can do about it. I can certainly see where he is coming from.

Pretty sure he is happy with Durance, he uses him as an avatar here

He may have not bothered to change it and has since became disenchanted with the character; alternatively, he could like the original vision but not the final version that made it into the game.

I doubt he would use him as an avatar then, and besides Durance turned out pretty well. But who knows. I can see why he would be frustrated about Grieving Mother though. She did not turn out bad at all, as far as I am concerned, but much more could have been done with her.

 

[Iznaliu]

but much more could have been done with her.

I'm not really sure that she fit that well thematically with the rest of the game, to be honest.

 

[Bohrain]

but much more could have been done with her.

I'm not really sure that she fit that well thematically with the rest of the game, to be honest.

Thematically speaking I think she was one of the best companions in terms of dealing with the whole "can we be assured of nothing" - stuff without making her companion quest feel anticlimactic kick to the balls in the end like Kana Rua and Eder made me feel like.
The problem was that she felt disconnected to the rest of the cast and more like a short story protagonist. To some extend it was intentional with the psychic distraction shenanigans, but outright having no interaction with the rest of the cast felt out of place.

 

[Iznaliu]

The problem was that she felt disconnected to the rest of the cast and more like a short story protagonist. To some extend it was intentional with the psychic distraction shenanigans, but outright having no interaction with the rest of the cast felt out of place.

That is more of what I was intending to say with my comment; having a companion that doesn't interact with the rest of the cast in a game that has companion personalities as one of the major attractions for casual players is rather jarring.

 

[TT1]

It seems that MCA deleted his facebook account.

He´s back

 

[Iznaliu]

He´s back

Maybe he realised that he didn't want to fake his death just yet.

 

[Luckmann]

By the way, aside from Pathfinder: Kingmaker and probably something with Bethesda, what do we know of Avellone's future collaborations?

Lead Writer on the System Shock reboot, VR dialogue stuff with Digital Funk Studios, Lead Writer on Into the Breach, unknown role on Wasteland 3, Wasteland 2 novel+novellas, and an unknown collaboration with Ken Levine. He's also been teasing a "pet project" for quite a while.

Avellone is seeming more and more like too little butter spread on too much toast. How the fuck can you even be "Lead Writer" on two projects at once? Especially while having at least 3 other commitments *and* the WL2 novel/novellas.

Can the man not say "no"? This looks like a recipe for personal disaster, by a man known to have complained about his career resulting in personal disasters. Just a thought; maybe the issue was never "crunch culture" and he's just an over-dedicated workaholic that is too nice to say no?

Pretty sure he is happy with Durance, he uses him as an avatar here

He may have not bothered to change it and has since became disenchanted with the character; alternatively, he could like the original vision but not the final version that made it into the game.

Yes, it's quite clear that he wasn't entirely aware of how Durance played out in the end. During an AMA on Reddit some time back, he disn't seem aware of how jarring the end of Durance was and the leaps of logic that were present in order to conclude it. At that time, at least, I think it was obvious that he hadn't actually played the finished product, at least not from the perspective of a player. IIRC, of course.

A common issue, I feel, today, is that developers seem to be quite disconnected from actually playing games, likely because they are too busy actually developing games and having careers and shit. They often appear to have severe tunnel vision.

 

[Iznaliu]

A common issue, I feel, today, is that developers seem to be quite disconnected from actually playing games, likely because they are too busy actually developing games and having careers and shit. They often appear to have severe tunnel vision.

It seems to me that that is especially apparent with writers such as Avellone; another related issue is that writers often write without a proper understanding of the in-game context their writing is in. For me, the root cause of this is the ballooning budget and the increasing rigidity of game development; even small teams aren't immune to this.