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Torment Chris Avellone and Shanna Germain on Shane Plays Radio Sat 19th talking Numenera

Zed

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Codex USB, 2014
So good news... Chris Avellone has offered to also include discussion about Divinity: Original Sin 2 in the special podcast.

If you missed the news, he's now attached to that game.
ask him if he ever played D:OS and what he thought of the writing
 

Roguey

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"Probably"? C'mon, Roguey. You're slipping.

I can't say for certain, but he was responsible for the design of that area. The silly "my dad can beat up your dad" argument with that kid feels like Josh-humor.
 

Sannom

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Edit: If Sawyer did write Yxunomei and all that sequence then i've got to hand it to him, then again it's not unexpected as I thought Survivalist were damn well done.
From Honest Heart? That story is credited to John Gonzalez. Sawyer wrote Joshua Graham.
 

Neanderthal

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Didn't know that, thought it was all Sawyer, cheers. Did I hear some rumour that that Gonzalez blokes new studio would be doing an expansion for Fallout 4?
 

hemtae

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Didn't know that, thought it was all Sawyer, cheers. Did I hear some rumour that that Gonzalez blokes new studio would be doing an expansion for Fallout 4?

Doubt it. He's at a Sony first party studio now. Guerrilla Games.
 

sstacks

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Just an update, the special podcast with Chris Avellone is still on, he and I have been working out the best day. Probably late October.

Best,
Shane
 
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Hey RPG Codex, there were still some leftover questions from the Shane Plays interview on Numenera a while back, and since my schedule is a bit insane at the moment to do another podcast, I decided to spare Shane some scheduling agony and answer you guys directly and not leave anyone hanging.

Obviously, I can't answer anything intended for Shanna, she's tough enough to answer on her own.

So (and forgive the wall of text):

Fairfax: How does the extent of your involvement with the game compare to Pillars of Eternity? Are you designing areas for the game?

It's less than Eternity, but more at the same time - let me explain: I have only one companion in Numenera to write (and I'm enjoying it immensely), but the amount of input on story and design materials has been far greater than PoE (Colin, Kevin, and Adam regularly looped me in on story discussions and we spent entire days going through each Act of the storyline at inXile). In addition, I was allowed to weigh in on faction quests as well as well as offer designs for their progression, which was awesome b/c the factions in Numenera felt very Gene Wolfe-inspired.

Beyond the mental dungeon for Eternity (which was interconnected prose, not a physical level layout) I wasn't involved in any of the area or world design for Eternity. Similarly, while I was allowed to weigh in on area designs and narrative hooks for each area, I'm not designing areas for Numenera, George Ziets is already doing a great job orchestrating that with his twisted sensibilities.

Mustawd: 1. Can you provide a bit more color on how inXile approached you with Torment? What kind of ruleset or setting were they looking for that made Numenara the right choice?

Brian Fargo asked Obsidian if I could work on it, and as Brian has said, compensation was paid to Obsidian for use of some of their tools. Brian had secured the license before anyone else (he was watching it carefully) and I already wanted to work on Torment (not as a Project Lead, that wouldn't have been possible while at Obsidian), so it seemed a good fit. Also, I believe my involvement was seen as both a project benefit and a Kickstarter benefit considering the ties to the original product.

As for Numenera as a setting, D&D was pretty much out (it seemed), and Colin is good friends with Monte (who helped with the original Planescape setting for TSR/Wizards), and it was felt that Numenera allowed a lot of the flexibility in locations, characters, and situations that Planescape: Torment did.

2. Can you talk a bit about how Monte Cook Games interacts with inXile now? Do you provide feedback on the game's setting? Are you able to influence any creative decisions (i.e. That thing wouldn't be like that in Numenara!)? Or is it a pretty much carte blanche?

Well, Torment: Tides of Numenera has different physics (the Tides) than most of the PNP setting, and the area where it takes place is far removed from the core locations. I don't have much interaction with Monte and Shanna on a day to day basis, but I do know that Shanna definitely reviews the materials generated (ex: Pat Rothfuss comic) and provides feedback. I hope she's as kind with my two graphic novels.

3. When adapting PnP rulesets to cRPGs, the two main camps seem to be turn based and RTwP. Do you have a sense of which works better to capture the PnP experience? Are there any alternatives to turn based or RTwP that you'd like to see implemented in a cRPG?

Well, the big question is do you want to capture the *PnP* experience, or do you want to create a *digital* game experience. The inputs and mindsets between the two are different, and I don't think the two meet evenly - but at the risk of detouring from your question with my dissembling nonsense, if you wanted to capture the *PnP* experience, you would use turn-based by default, since that's all PnP uses. I don't think that's always best for a computer game, however.

Neanderthal: Lot of folk talk about how you should just pump WIS and INT in Torment, but I found a high STR build really viable: Use the specialisation bonus to go to 19 from base 18, train with Vhailor to gain a further 3 points, this without spending a point while levelling and so you can still round out most of the rest of your attributes. You can make a superlative arsekicker who'll beat Vhailor like a red headed step child, but has access to all the content high WIS and INT gets eventually. Will we be able to kick arse like this in Numenera?

The goal is to make intellectual attributes as powerful/dangerous as physical ones, yes. The setting definitely supports that playstyle (and even our Numenra pen-and-paper sessions supported it, too).

Shammy (I believe this is a multi-parter): ya i got a few questions mmk: 1. The parallels to Planescape are obvious in setting, theme, the PC, etc., but what are some small differences in the two are particularly interesting to you as a writer?

The technology bent of Numenera (hey, it's a graveyard of nine worlds of tech) makes me pause before introducing a plot element b/c I have to think about what the device/area/event was in general terms before I complete the design - example: was the temporal distortion chamber an advanced icebox for keeping meat cold and now it's used as a chronological delivery service and potential bomb? Those kind of questions haunt anything I do in Numenera.

Shammy: 2. How is a companion generally designed? Do you start with their overall impact in the world, or start from them as a personality and build from there?

With my companion, I first reviewed the arcs and looks of the others and tried to think of a space that wasn't being filled that fit in with Torment's themes. In this case, I realized most (not all) of the companions were pretty dark, grim, and unhappy, and a core part of Planescape is Morte (who's comical, but secretly unhappy), so my companion filled that hole in the roster where a bit of comic commentary on the setting is allowed and it compliments the themes of PST, imo.

Shammy: 3. What are some challenges presented by the Numenera setting? (in terms of narrative/writing/ya)

Mostly the "technological backstory" aspects, above.

Shammy: 4. Has it been difficult translating the tabletop rules into the game?

I haven't been involved with the system design (Adam's being leading the charge on that), but so far, I haven't seen any issues in translation to CRPG format we don't normally encounter in CRPGs.

Roguey: Question for Chris: Are you going to figure out a way to include an 80s song in ToN?

I have not tried, but if the song is appropriate, fire away with a suggestion ...although I think I may have answered this in the podcast, strangely enough.

Infintron: Consequences of Sleeping: This varies, and sometimes letting things... elapse... without taking action can have some surprising, sad, and terrifying consequences, and that's only in Sagus Cliffs.

Zed: Well-endowed women: This was not my decision, I am very much of the "Crazy Jane from Doom Patrol is the epitome of what makes a female/male fantasy NPC intriguing to me."

Sacibengala: One character to import into the setting from past works: That's tough. Maybe Vhailor, because I can see his armor being similar to the Y-17 Trauma Override Harness in Old World Blues - it was a technological marvel designed to keep the consciousness downloaded and intact in the event of an emergency.

The imported character that would cause the most ideological conflict: Probably Darth Sion. The companion in Torment: Tides of Numenera wouldn't understand him at all (Atton, he might).

Immortal: Leaving Obsidian: It was time, I'll miss the devs, and life's short. Money's not important to me, it's not why I got into this business - entertaining, learning, and evolving is what matters, and I just want to make fun games with cool people. I'll do it for free (and already have since Obsidian) if the project's interesting enough (VR dialogue design, or working with a developer I really enjoy) or if I think I can help things along with advice or introductions.

Athelas: 3 studios I would work for: Larian (thanks to you guys, already done), I'd like to work with Ken Levine on a project (I know him and like his writing sensibilities), and I'd love to work with Mary DeMarle (Homeworld, Deus Ex: HR) at Eidos on... well... anything. She's great. There's a ton of others, but I've likely already reached out to them (or they reached out to me).

Anthedon: Pursuing a Full-Time Position: Family matters preclude this, unfortunately, and it was hard enough to cope with dealing with this while at Obsidian, which is part of the reason for the departure.

Neanderthal: On the Inclusion of Mature Characters and Yxnomei: I include mature characters b/c they often have the "long view" perspective, or simply the maturity to cool down/be the flip side of emotional instinct. From this question, though, I want to go on a detour and say that I loved Pixar's UP b/c the protagonist [Carl Fredricksen] wasn't overshadowed by a kid [Russell] who was "smarter" than the old codger was (Russell was far from it), and it also showed that no matter what age you are, life isn't over as long as you're willing to fight for it - and in UP, it was compelling and wonderful - here, you have someone that would seem to have nothing left to live for, but that's just the beginning of one of the most amazing journeys of his lifetime or anyone else's. I love that movie. So, yeah, I like including mature characters for perspective, potential, and storytelling opportunities, even if it's simply to provide the players with cautionary tales - or inspiring ones.

And I didn't write Yxunomei for IWD, no, although I worked on other characters.

Jedi Exile: Even though you didn't ask the question, the way the dialogue with Mira was written with the intention that she obviously had already considered hooking up with you, which means you were already in her headspace. I tried to imply this with her critique of your fitness. (If you've read Transmetropolitan, a similar situation happens when Spider Jerusalem's two allies also discuss hooking up with him.)

Neaderthal: Survivalist was John Gonzalez. It's why I was sad when he turned in his notice - he didn't need a voice actor or even a living NPC to make a compelling character. Am looking forward to Horizon: Zero Dawn as a result (what Fairfax said).

Zed: I hadn't played D:OS before the Kickstarter opportunity no, but I had played D:OS2, strangely enough. My opinion is that sometimes any RPG writing runs the risk of drowning in the lore of the world (too much exposition kills momentum), but I don't have that feeling about the sequel. I've read the iterations of D:OS 2 story line and given/helped with iterations when I could in story meetings, and it doesn't have that issue at all - Larian is collaborative and open to making the best story possible, and I've been impressed by how much Swen is involved in the process. And again - thanks to you guys for making it happen, I was touched.

Anyway, that's it - didn't want to leave you guys hanging with questions unanswered (and Shane's had a devil of a time trying to arrange a podcast b/c of my schedule, so this seemed easier).
 

Fairfax

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MCA is the man, shame I can't brofist the post. He even answered the question about his departure. :o
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Pretty sure this is the first time anybody here has heard of Chris having family issues.
 

DosBuster

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Mustawd: 1. Can you provide a bit more color on how inXile approached you with Torment? What kind of ruleset or setting were they looking for that made Numenara the right choice?
Brian had secured the license before anyone else (he was watching it carefully)

So, does that mean someone else has the PoE engine?
 

mindx2

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Codex 2012 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire RPG Wokedex Serpent in the Staglands Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
As always Chris Avellone is a true bro for responding and surprisingly more candid than I thought he would be (Obsidian/family issues answers). Still bummed he won't be able to give me that personal tour he offered now that he's left Obsidian... :cry: Maybe he'll show up at Pax East again and he'll find the time to chat (that was a not so subtle hint/hint, beg/beg MCA).
 
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DosBuster

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Yeah, insulting anything Chris does is hard because he's just a genuine good guy, I do hope that whatever family issues exist do end one day and he can go back to being really into a single project. I also believe the reason he left Obsdian was simply due to feeling creatively un-fufilled with all these projects giving him opportunities to work on strange and exciting things it makes sense why he'd want to dedicate more time to that than just working on publisher pitches.
 

Athelas

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It means they hold the exclusive rights to make RPG's starring tormented, quasi-immortal protagonists.

They could sue the creators of Dark Souls. :troll:
 

Immortal

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Immortal: Leaving Obsidian: It was time, I'll miss the devs, and life's short. Money's not important to me, it's not why I got into this business - entertaining, learning, and evolving is what matters, and I just want to make fun games with cool people. I'll do it for free (and already have since Obsidian) if the project's interesting enough (VR dialogue design, or working with a developer I really enjoy) or if I think I can help things along with advice or introductions.

:salute: God Bless you Sir!!

...
Sstacks U jelly?


Also:
I wish you all the best with whatever family issues you are going through.. I think that's something all of us can relate to on some level.
I hope everything works out for the best, if you're ever feeling down - feel free to drop by our den of scum and villainy again and blow off some steam. :D
 
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