Incline Chris Avellone Appreciation Station

[Quillon]

I think nobody would blame him. In the FNV era they had John Gonzalez, Chris Avellone, George Ziets, Eric Fenstermaker and Travis Stout. I wonder what happened to the industry, because there hasn't been any other team nearly as strong since then.

Yeah, they had an amazing talent back then in the writing departure.
Of all these names I still don't understand why let Ziets go. I mean, the others had better offers from richer studios, left over some differences about management or the direction the company was taking (MCA) and Fenstermaker because he wanted some time with his family and his new-born child, but Ziets has ended up working with inXile, so it's not like he was hired by EA, Activision or Bethesda which covered him with money, Obsidian could've probably kept him if they wanted to.

It was Fargo, who comes in Obs studios as a friendly face, talks them into handing out tech and steals talent as well when Feargus' not looking, he was the one who confused poor Chris, left him permanently emotionally damaged, which is why Chris is acting like a jerk towards Obs for the past 1.5 years.

Yes, I was there.
In spirit.
I saw it through my mind's eye.

 

[Fairfax]

It seems he really liked Roxor's article:

 

[Rev]

He has been guilty of writing very long pieces of course but they were also very interesting, more often than not. The worst thing is when you have terribly long texts that are also bad/mediocre.

 

[Neanderthal]

Yeah sometimes MCAs been a bit scattershot wi prose hes thrown at us, but equally other times hes used a few words to really strong effect: Endure, in enduring grow strong. Almost all barks for Torment characters, so sharp, concise an distinctive, perfect summations. Kreia commenting on the Jedi Masters judgement of you on Dantooine. Finding its not the hard part, its letting go. Apathy is death. An of course the doozy, what can change the nature of a man?

Sometimes of course a concept needs detail, like when Friar Lawrence explains the situation at the end of Romeo an Juliet, he says "I shall be brief" then launches into probably longest speech in book, which is arguably needed to resolve the situation in Verona.

 

[Quillon]

what can change the nature of a man?

Leaving Obs.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Workin for bethesda

 

[Fairfax]

Yeah sometimes MCAs been a bit scattershot wi prose hes thrown at us, but equally other times hes used a few words to really strong effect: Endure, in enduring grow strong. Almost all barks for Torment characters, so sharp, concise an distinctive, perfect summations. Kreia commenting on the Jedi Masters judgement of you on Dantooine. Finding its not the hard part, its letting go. Apathy is death. An of course the doozy, what can change the nature of a man?

Yeah, in older interviews he mentioned one example that inspired him:

Neal Stephenson (with Snow Crash) is not only a huge host of design ideas on just about every page of his books, but he taught me when it was important to describe something and when it was not – there’s a end chapter line in Snow Crash that simply says “and a car chase ensued.” He had no need to describe anything further, that was enough, and it was simple, elegant, and I appreciated he didn’t try to force details and action when none was needed.

 

[Prime Junta]

Gabriel García Márquez is great at this also. When relevant, he describes things in meticulous detail. When not, he just goes "Then it rained for three months."

 

[Roguey]

Any guesses now?

 

[Infinitron]

I'm thinking Bard's Tale IV since the stretch goal wasn't reached and he's miffed about not getting to design dungeons.

 

[Fenix]

Any guesses now?

 

[Fairfax]

 

[Fairfax]

To those who think he's got a problem with Obsidian, it's with the partners.

 

[pippin]

FEARGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS

 

[Deleted member 7219]

To those who think he's got a problem with Obsidian, it's with the partners.

And this is what I'm talking about. Feargus replied to a question about Chris Avellone on the PoE2 Fig page a couple of days ago, saying he wished him the best with everything he was currently working on. He's willing to bury the hatchet. Chris, meanwhile, continues to snipe away. Could have wished Obsidian well with the PoE 2 Fig at the very least.

 

[agris]

FEARGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS

he, umm.. he isn't such a, umm, you know, a uh.. a bad guy right? he's like, just, you know, running the uhh.. running the studio.

 

[Rev]

FEARGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS

The one MCA has more problem with is Chris Parker, tho, the only one that he publicly criticized on these very forums.
Fucking Chris Parker by the way, has he even done anything worthwhile in his time at Obsidian?

 

[Fairfax]

To those who think he's got a problem with Obsidian, it's with the partners.

And this is what I'm talking about. Feargus replied to a question about Chris Avellone on the PoE2 Fig page a couple of days ago, saying he wished him the best with everything he was currently working on. He's willing to bury the hatchet. Chris, meanwhile, continues to snipe away. Could have wished Obsidian well with the PoE 2 Fig at the very least.

It's easy for Feargus to say that stuff while Chris has NDAs preventing him from sharing his side of the story.

 

[Prime Junta]

Speaking of Feargus, I LOLed at the micro-expression at the end of the Figstarter pitch. Like a puppy hoping for a treat. Would've screenshotted it but it doesn't work as a still.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

FEARGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS

The one MCA has more problem with is Chris Parker, tho, the only one that he publicly criticized on these very forums.
Fucking Chris Parker by the way, has he even done anything worthwhile in his time at Obsidian?

Gotta wonder how in the fuck Chris Parker is still at Obsidian. He fucked up Alpha Protocol by all accounts. He's meant to be "Chief Development Officer" but Sawyer's the go-to guy at Obsidian if you want to actually get a good game developed. And Sawyer reports directly to Feargus. What are the other owners for?

 

[Prime Junta]

Gotta wonder how in the fuck Chris Parker is still at Obsidian. He fucked up Alpha Protocol by all accounts. He's meant to be "Chief Development Officer" but Sawyer's the go-to guy at Obsidian if you want to actually get a good game developed.

It is extremely difficult to get rid of partners if they don't want to go.

 

[Infinitron]

I don't think we've truly heard anybody's side of this story.

 

[Ivan]

Would you back a barebones MCA studio RPG?



yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

 

[pippin]

I think people had the precedent of PST and AP (both games with bumpy development processes, and both had MCA as a key figure) and tried to keep him from having more control in other stuff. Granted, both had their own problems both on the inside and due to external influences, but it's easier to cut out the weakest link.

 

[Fairfax]

I don't think we've truly heard anybody's side of this story.

And we won't hear anything (in detail) from MCA unless Obsidian is sold or goes under.

I think people had the precedent of PST and AP (both games with bumpy development processes, and both had MCA as a key figure) and tried to keep him from having more control in other stuff. Granted, both had their own problems both on the inside and due to external influences, but it's easier to cut out the weakest link.

PS:T had a troubled development mostly for MCA himself, as he was working insane hours that harmed his health. Otherwise it went fine, Guido had a falling out with management and left the project, which was ultimately good for the game.
AP had MCA as Lead Designer, but he came halfway through development to save it from the huge mess Chris Parker had created.

EDIT:
I'm sure other members of the team had to work insane hours as well. By "fine" I mean on schedule, few bugs compared to similar games, creative freedom, etc. The game was only delayed by a week, and it was because of a technical issue.