RPG Codex Interview: Chris Avellone on Pillars Cut Content, Game Development Hierarchies and More

[Alienman]

He is clearly smuggling drugs on the side.

 

[Outlander]

Less talk, more memes.

Very appropriate, since Ginobili is also of Italian descent.

Sawyer's face should also be pasted onto Miami Heat's number 34

Ginobili

 

[Haba]

That's quite a remarkable turnaround, and seems outside the scope of what you'd likely be paid for the work you've done in the past three years.

High class prostitution escorting can make surprising amounts.

 

[2house2fly]

Probably a family member died and left him a chunk of change

 

[Ninjerk]

You're right. Sorry.

I'm caught up in the ecstasy where my accounting and business knowledge actually are relevant on a prestigious gaming forum.

This forum is clearly balanced without regard to beancounters.

 

[Average Manatee]

So Chris, exactly how much of Obsidian's financials were open for you and others to see? Were there any significant black holes money went into? Consistently poor financial management, lavish spending when the bank is full, getting angry when it isn't full, general obscurity, it all sort of hints to Feargus looting Obsidian behind the rest of the owner's backs whenever he could. One always says to assume incompetence before malice, but sustained incompetence over decades of mismanagement to continually only barely keep a company afloat without learning from mistakes starts to feel a lot like something more sinister. Don't feel the need to answer this question if you don't want to, just tap your foot once for yes and twice for yes please take Feargus to the cleaners. The microphone will pick it up.

On the topic of games: What do you want to do for the future? Just some enjoyable writing, perhaps more freelancing, or do you want to work your way into a higher level position somewhere to "do things right"? Or even start a new company?

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Didn't he just get married? Chances are the wife is loaded.

 

[HanoverF]

He is clearly smuggling drugs on the side.

Dude is posting on the Codex at all hours of the night, I don't think it's a side gig

 

[AwesomeButton]

Didn't he just get married? Chances are the wife is loaded.

Dude is posting on the Codex at all hours of the night, I don't think it's a side gig he is just married

 

[Drax]

He hides his re-up messages in each of his freelance jobs.
In FTL there was an encounter that went "Our scientists are being attacked by space pirates please go hel3BRICKSOFCOLOMBIANBLISSATTHECORNEROFTHEMAILOFFICEp them!"


Edit: Which reminds me, now that you're loaded GO MAKE YOUR "THE WIRE" RPG FFS!

 

[Latro]

The impression one gets from these posts is that Obsidian is riddled with Avellonian moles/sleeper agents who are feeding him information and will be ready to strike when he gives the command

It was Sawyer. He was a hero the entire time.

 

[Fairfax]

I mean, are you telling me that the Chris Avellone that we see before us today, the ideologue of correct management practices, wouldn't find Troika Games to be a mismanaged clusterfuck?

Didn't Leo & Tim make huge sacrifices to pay out every single employee before they closed the company? Seems pretty cool compared to Obsidian management.

Yes.

I didn’t particularly enjoy running a business, and Leonard and Jason didn’t either, so we decided to shut down Troika while we were still in the black. We could pay our remaining employees severance and insurance, so they could find other employment, and we kept the office open for a month to make their transitions easier. In fact, we kept Troika going as a business for six months, with me running it from my house, so employees could file for insurance under COBRA, which is easy and fairly automatic. If we had closed, they would have had to apply for HIPPA, which is much more complicated. It was the best we could do.

In the end, Vampire shipped in November 2004. We closed the office in February. And Troika officially ceased to be a company in September 2005.

 

[ArchAngel]

The impression one gets from these posts is that Obsidian is riddled with Avellonian moles/sleeper agents who are feeding him information and will be ready to strike when he gives the command

Well I did say that this bearded guy on the left is suspect:

He is just waiting for his word to go BOOOM!
MCA is even holding the phone that will activate him!

 

[Daedalos]

Tim, Jason and Leonard being true bro's <3

God I wish the four of you could start a company somehow.

 

[Flou]

Tim, Jason and Leonard being true bro's <3

God I wish the four of you could start a company somehow.

All four of them would be miserable as hell running a company.

 

[Infinitron]

GameStar, big German magazine: https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/obs...vellone-erhebt-schwere-vorwuerfe,3329320.html

 

[J_C]

This racofer classic only needs a slight modification:

This is epic!

 

[Abu Antar]

Chris Avellone before you topple Feargod's empire, please let the Cainarsky game release.

 

[Bohr]

You went from being in debt in June of 2015 when you left Obsidian, to now being in a position where you have the financial resources to cover 200 years of sitting on your behind?

That's quite a remarkable turnaround, and seems outside the scope of what you'd likely be paid for the work you've done in the past three years.

 

[Korron]

GameStar, big German magazine: https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/obs...vellone-erhebt-schwere-vorwuerfe,3329320.html

RPG-Großmeister Avellone!

 

[J_C]

GameStar, big German magazine: https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/obs...vellone-erhebt-schwere-vorwuerfe,3329320.html

It's kinda telling that most of these articles are from german and russian sites, so it's from Europe. The US big magazines are not really interested, until it is about sexual harassment, racism or any other sjw shit.

 

[Latro]

GameStar, big German magazine: https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/obs...vellone-erhebt-schwere-vorwuerfe,3329320.html

It's kinda telling that most of these articles are from german and russian sites, so it's from Europe. The US big magazines are not really interested, until it is about sexual harassment, racism or any other sjw shit.

more likely they're afraid of blowback from obsidian and related affiliates

 

[Rostere]

With all my respect...

Don't forget Arcananum plz. They became Gods with this game.

Arcananum?

Is that what you get if you mix "Arcanum" and "banana"?

 

[Infinitron]

My experience is that foreign language sites have "looser" editorial standards in general. They're less professionalized - for example, the big English language sites don't work on weekends, whereas you'll see stuff appear on Polish and Russian sites 24/7.

 

[ArchAngel]

GameStar, big German magazine: https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/obs...vellone-erhebt-schwere-vorwuerfe,3329320.html

It's kinda telling that most of these articles are from german and russian sites, so it's from Europe. The US big magazines are not really interested, until it is about sexual harassment, racism or any other sjw shit.

If MCA says Feargus is actually a Reptile, maybe Alex Jones will report on this story.