Incline Chris Avellone Appreciation Station

[Fairfax]

Recently I found out that MCA was a guest writer in FTL. What was his contribution to the game's writing?

He wrote some of these events. He never said how many or which.

 

[gestalt11]

I hate the word "lore" as it is used to refer to the backstory and setting of RPGs. Its LARPy and pretentious. Back before MMORPGs I always just referred to it with those words, backstory and setting. Part of the "lore" of Titan Quest is the myths and legends of Roman and Greek mythology but no one refers to those as "lore" except in relation to recent dumb RPG convetions that I am willing to bet can be traced to Everquest. Back in the 1990s if you had referred to some game's backstory that I had done myself as "lore" I think I would have smacked you.

 

[Drax]

Lore is that thing Bethesda did right once, a long time ago.

 

[Beastro]

I hate the word "lore" as it is used to refer to the backstory and setting of RPGs. Its LARPy and pretentious. Back before MMORPGs I always just referred to it with those words, backstory and setting. Part of the "lore" of Titan Quest is the myths and legends of Roman and Greek mythology but no one refers to those as "lore" except in relation to recent dumb RPG convetions that I am willing to bet can be traced to Everquest. Back in the 1990s if you had referred to some game's backstory that I had done myself as "lore" I think I would have smacked you.

I detect more pretension in this post than any lore I've ever read~

 

[Excidium II]

Somebody about 'RPG' 30 years ago.

 

[Lucky]

Some helpful ground rules in that styleguide. Making people aware of simple standardisation can really help lighten the workload of your editors - not too much though, or they'll get uppity.

 

[Perkel]

MCA was against a Kickstarter because he didn't think it'd work. He later changed his stance and now loves KS.

Do you have any source proving this?
I'm following Chris on twitter for a long time, and he was very excited about kickstarter since the first day of Double Fine campaign.

Yeah this part is bullshit. When Double Fine /wasteland2 happened i twitted it to him and asked directly for rpg ks and later that day he said that "many doors opened today" or something akin to it.

edit:
talk about being late to the party

 

[badler]

What was the beef between Sawyer and Avellone? I'm a bit out of the loop.

The beef is a rumour.
This is roughly what we know about the two:

• In a PAX panel Sawyer and other members of the PoE talked about the game's development. They talked about cut content (but not MCA's content), and Sawyer said the cut content they didn't talk about was just "bad" and laughed.
• Sawyer sort of retracted his statement, and said he wasn't talking about MCA's content when he said that.

I don't want to get into any real discussions about Josh or Chris, but I wanted to chime in about the PAX panel.

I am the one that put together that PAX panel (with Adam's and Josh's help). When we put in the cut content slide it was actually referring to areas that were cut. Specifically, there were a couple of late game areas that ended up getting cut (either after blockout, but before render or right after the render phase). At the time they were cut, the areas needed a ton of rework/polish to bring them up to a shippable quality. There were also some quests that didn't make it. I can't remember any off the top of my head, but they would have needed a bunch of rework to get to final quality.

EDIT: Also, wanted to say hello to Chris if he is still reading the thread. =)

 

[Infinitron]

If only we only we had an interview with somebody at Obsidian with lots of questions about cut content.

 

[Fairfax]

MCA and Tim Cain will join two panels in the upcoming GaymerX Australia. David Gaider will also be there, obviously.

Saturday 02/27:

Getting Into the Games Industry
Antony Reed (Game Developers' Association of Australia)
David Gaider (Beamdog)
Manveer Heir (EA BioWare)
Chris Avellone (Independent)
Lisy Kane (League of Geeks)
Tim Cain (Obsidian Entertainment)

Presented by CG Spectrum, join our panel of industry experts and learn how to join the videogame industry.

Big Head Mode Presents: The Art of the RPG
Ben O'Brien (Big Head Mode, Insert Coin)
Rae Johnson (Gizmodo Australia, Bonus Stage)
Carlo Ritchie (Big Head Mode)
Tim Cain (Obsidian Entertainment)
Manveer Heir (Bioware)
David Gaider (Beamdog)
Chris Avellone

From distant, medieval lands to the far reaches of outer space, RPG's give players the choice and freedom to shape the characters, stories and worlds they find themselves in. We've all been captivated by these games, poured countless hours into their immersive worlds, completed every sidequest or read every lore book. But where does that process begin? How does a world as vast and complex as Thedas go from being notes on a whiteboard to being in the hands of a gamer? Big Head Mode will sit down with three titans of the RPG world and over the course of an hour, learn the secrets, the triumphs and the challenges of creating a world from nothing. But it wouldn't be a Big Head Mode panel without a few little surprises along the way...

I have a feeling the first one will be pretty boring, but the second might have interesting bits. Assuming they'll put this on YouTube, that is.

 

[Drax]

What was the beef between Sawyer and Avellone? I'm a bit out of the loop.

The beef is a rumour.
This is roughly what we know about the two:

• In a PAX panel Sawyer and other members of the PoE talked about the game's development. They talked about cut content (but not MCA's content), and Sawyer said the cut content they didn't talk about was just "bad" and laughed.
• Sawyer sort of retracted his statement, and said he wasn't talking about MCA's content when he said that.

I don't want to get into any real discussions about Josh or Chris, but I wanted to chime in about the PAX panel.

I am the one that put together that PAX panel (with Adam's and Josh's help). When we put in the cut content slide it was actually referring to areas that were cut. Specifically, there were a couple of late game areas that ended up getting cut (either after blockout, but before render or right after the render phase). At the time they were cut, the areas needed a ton of rework/polish to bring them up to a shippable quality. There were also some quests that didn't make it. I can't remember any off the top of my head, but they would have needed a bunch of rework to get to final quality.

EDIT: Also, wanted to say hello to Chris if he is still reading the thread. =)

 

[badler]

What was the beef between Sawyer and Avellone? I'm a bit out of the loop.

The beef is a rumour.
This is roughly what we know about the two:

• In a PAX panel Sawyer and other members of the PoE talked about the game's development. They talked about cut content (but not MCA's content), and Sawyer said the cut content they didn't talk about was just "bad" and laughed.
• Sawyer sort of retracted his statement, and said he wasn't talking about MCA's content when he said that.

I don't want to get into any real discussions about Josh or Chris, but I wanted to chime in about the PAX panel.

I am the one that put together that PAX panel (with Adam's and Josh's help). When we put in the cut content slide it was actually referring to areas that were cut. Specifically, there were a couple of late game areas that ended up getting cut (either after blockout, but before render or right after the render phase). At the time they were cut, the areas needed a ton of rework/polish to bring them up to a shippable quality. There were also some quests that didn't make it. I can't remember any off the top of my head, but they would have needed a bunch of rework to get to final quality.

EDIT: Also, wanted to say hello to Chris if he is still reading the thread. =)

Right... or, it could just be like I said. I am the one that made all of the panels that we did for PoE. I am telling you what my specific intent was.

 

[Irenaeus III]

Thank you for your work in PoE, badler

Loved that game.

 

[Drax]

Right... or, it could just be like I said. I am the one that made all of the panels that we did for PoE. I am telling you what my specific intent was.

I'm just messing with you, ya goof.

 

[badler]

Right... or, it could just be like I said. I am the one that made all of the panels that we did for PoE. I am telling you what my specific intent was.

I'm just messing with you, ya goof.

I know. It's the Codex. I would be worried if people WEREN'T giving me shit.

 

[Jasede]

Yes, well, also fuck you for your work on PoE, that game was trash.
But I'm looking forward to that Torment thing! Good luck with that! I can't wait to rip it apart!

 

[Drax]

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

Chris Avellone do you hate Josh Sawyer? Tell us, your loyal worshippers! Should we hate him too?

Spoiler

 

[Efe]

this man promised me an arcanum lets play for my money.
did he do past do any past first 3 episodes or his character is forever stuck in shrouded hills?

 

[Chris Avellone]

I think there should be a Brandon Adler Appreciation Thread!

And an Anthony Davis one, too.

And...

And on a day when I'm not writing Numenera companions, I will try to answer any other questions in this thread (Fairfax has one, although there's probably a dozen more I haven't had a chance to read yet).

 

[Fairfax]

I think there should be a Brandon Adler Appreciation Thread!

And an Anthony Davis one, too.

And...

And on a day when I'm not writing Numenera companions, I will try to answer any other questions in this thread (Fairfax has one, although there's probably a dozen more I haven't had a chance to read yet).

Wait, companions? There's another one besides Erritis?



I agree. First time I played FNV I was pretty sure she'd become a companion.

 

[Excidium II]

There's a mod that does that.

I don't like her anyway, she's like a walking symbol of "optional" tutorials you have to do anyway because they give XP (and other rewards).

 

[Infinitron]

Chris, you seem to have a thing for intro/tutorial characters and keeping them around as companions. Everyone is a potential Morte, I guess.

 

[Fairfax]

There's a mod that does that.

I don't like her anyway, she's like a walking symbol of "optional" tutorials you have to do anyway because they give XP (and other rewards).

Well, she didn't get a lot of character development, but I liked that she was more down to earth type. It's good to have a "common sense" type that can be realistic or even cynical when things become silly. I guess Raul filled that role already, though.

The thing about intro characters is that, for better or worse, they're usually the ones who get you on your feet. I think it's odd when the characters who help you out when you're a nobody die or are forced to be left behind. It's a much better opportunity to develop a deeper connection with the companion, as they can go through thick and thin with the player through the entire game. Better than the people you can recruit when you're already the Chosen One or the badass in the world with a full party.

In PS:T, for instance, bringing Morte along since the very beginning makes the events towards the end much more impactful. In PoE, it's too early for the player to actually care that the prologue companions died, but they still could've been the only ones that shared the first encounter with Thaos and the biwascwq with you.

 

[Excidium II]

I dunno, I always found her calm reaction to that townswoman being ravaged by geckos a bit disturbing.