People News SHOCKER: Chris Avellone leaves Obsidian Entertainment

[Zorba the Hutt]

Whoa... that avatar confused me for a second, thought it was another post by that Figaro newfag, then wondered why he was quoting MCA

 

[Kem0sabe]

So... I concur and still hate myself for it to this day.

While this doesn't excuse the length (nothing can, and a number of people at the studio refused to give the DLC a chance on play days because of it), after numerous... discussions concerning how much more the context of Dead Money needed to be explained at the outset (which I fiercely disagreed with and its the reason Elijah goes on so long), the Old World Blues intro was designed as a response to prevent further such time-wasting discussions and I never should have bent the knee to the thought because, hey, players don't need to have everything explained to them if they see it working in the actual world they're exploring.

But I did write it, so I deserve the blame - it goes on too long, and it kills the momentum, frankly. The only part I probably could have chosen to remove with little consequences is the mockery sequence for anyone attempting to speed run through the DLC and claim it was too short (which was part of the reason that we had ending slides based on how many labs you found when you explored) and maybe the Barter sequence thread (I always feel like Barter gets shafted in Fallout if there's not enough stores), but I added the Barter sequence after one of our senior level designers, Jeff Husges, mentioned it would be a lot more fun to be able to outwit/show up the brains, and like most of what Jeff says, I agreed with it.

True story: the intro was based off the Venture Brothers (shocker! if you weren't already aware) where Dr. Girlfriend is being interrogated by the Guild of Calamitous Intent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVjuwhEWonU

Oh, well. That said, I did think it was the one DLC that was going to be burned in effigy when it was released since it came close to scaling the 4th wall.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

True story: the intro was based off the Venture Brothers (shocker! if you weren't already aware) where Dr. Girlfriend is being interrogated by the Guild of Calamitous Intent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVjuwhEWonU

Isn't there a saying somewhere that the difference between a good and a bad artist is the quality of their thievery?

 

[Curious_Tongue]

So... I concur and still hate myself for it to this day.

While this doesn't excuse the length (nothing can, and a number of people at the studio refused to give the DLC a chance on play days because of it), after numerous... discussions concerning how much more the context of Dead Money needed to be explained at the outset (which I fiercely disagreed with and its the reason Elijah goes on so long), the Old World Blues intro was designed as a response to prevent further such time-wasting discussions and I never should have bent the knee to the thought because, hey, players don't need to have everything explained to them if they see it working in the actual world they're exploring.

But I did write it, so I deserve the blame - it goes on too long, and it kills the momentum, frankly. The only part I probably could have chosen to remove with little consequences is the mockery sequence for anyone attempting to speed run through the DLC and claim it was too short (which was part of the reason that we had ending slides based on how many labs you found when you explored) and maybe the Barter sequence thread (I always feel like Barter gets shafted in Fallout if there's not enough stores), but I added the Barter sequence after one of our senior level designers, Jeff Husges, mentioned it would be a lot more fun to be able to outwit/show up the brains, and like most of what Jeff says, I agreed with it.

True story: the intro was based off the Venture Brothers (shocker! if you weren't already aware) where Dr. Girlfriend is being interrogated by the Guild of Calamitous Intent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVjuwhEWonU

Oh, well. That said, I did think it was the one DLC that was going to be burned in effigy when it was released since it came close to scaling the 4th wall.

I don't get it.

 

[Irenaeus II]

I don't get it.

He's implying that, years later, Sawyer used this (the long opening of Old World Blues) as an excuse to cut content on Durance and GM.

 

[Cosmo]

But I did write it, so I deserve the blame - it goes on too long, and it kills the momentum, frankly.

I'm not into fetch quests and the like, but in that case setting up simple tasks at the beginning would have been an ideal expository complement and would have given this (very good) dialog a bigger and much needed breathing space...

Oh, well. That said, I did think it was the one DLC that was going to be burned in effigy when it was released since it came close to scaling the 4th wall.

Frankly you guys (and by that i mean you and your ex-colleagues) need to stop feeling guilty about that kind of thing, cause your willingness to manipulate tropes and turning them upside-down is the exact reason why people love you and your work (and frankly isn't it why you love your work ?).
The only issue was you shooting yourself in the foot with too much exposition, and even then believe me when i say it was a case of too much of a good thing.

 

[Crooked Bee]

So... I concur and still hate myself for it to this day.

Sometimes overkill is good (or can be good if you're targeting an audience that isn't immediately put off by something unfamiliar). Personally I found the intro appropriate for that particular DLC -- and it even got me hooked.

I wouldn't want that kind of intro to migrate to all games or anything, but it did work for me as something different from what you usually get, and set the mood for that DLC just right.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

Eh, it wasn't that bad. I didn't even know people were salty about it. I disliked all these DLC intro slides much more.

 

[TheEntitledOne]

Only bad thing about OWB were the trash mobs constantly spawning few meters from you.

 

[Drax]

So... I concur and still hate myself for it to this day.

While this doesn't excuse the length (nothing can, and a number of people at the studio refused to give the DLC a chance on play days because of it), after numerous... discussions concerning how much more the context of Dead Money needed to be explained at the outset (which I fiercely disagreed with and its the reason Elijah goes on so long), the Old World Blues intro was designed as a response to prevent further such time-wasting discussions and I never should have bent the knee to the thought because, hey, players don't need to have everything explained to them if they see it working in the actual world they're exploring.

But I did write it, so I deserve the blame - it goes on too long, and it kills the momentum, frankly. The only part I probably could have chosen to remove with little consequences is the mockery sequence for anyone attempting to speed run through the DLC and claim it was too short (which was part of the reason that we had ending slides based on how many labs you found when you explored) and maybe the Barter sequence thread (I always feel like Barter gets shafted in Fallout if there's not enough stores), but I added the Barter sequence after one of our senior level designers, Jeff Husges, mentioned it would be a lot more fun to be able to outwit/show up the brains, and like most of what Jeff says, I agreed with it.

True story: the intro was based off the Venture Brothers (shocker! if you weren't already aware) where Dr. Girlfriend is being interrogated by the Guild of Calamitous Intent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVjuwhEWonU

Oh, well. That said, I did think it was the one DLC that was going to be burned in effigy when it was released since it came close to scaling the 4th wall.

I'm assuming your next post is going to be the announcement of your new SciFi-Noir-Highschool uber RPG, right?
RIGHT!?

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

Right, what about that high-school RPG, everyone is waiting for that one and Persona showed that High School setting is one of the most desired things on the market right now.

 

[Jasede]

Ch-, Chris touched us!!

 

[Irenaeus II]

Ch-, Chris touched us!!

You are pathetic.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

No time for high school RPGs, MCA is busy preparing for Van Buren.

 

[Jasede]

Ch-, Chris touched us!!

You are pathetic.

And you're a retard, what of it?
Who goes through the trouble of creating a new account for the express purpose of writing statements meant to incite responses? I can't imagine a more pathetic use of your time.

Besides, I'm better than you by default. Everyone knows Brazilians are subhuman until proven otherwise.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Brazil is a p. cool guy and has a large part of german-descendant population which is 100% white. And when I say Brazil what I mean is Bra71l.

 

[Semper]

Everyone knows Brazilians are subhuman until proven otherwise.

 

[Maculo]

It is interesting to see what was discussed about OWB and Dead Money.

Personally, Dead Money was my favorite DLC with time, and I never thought OWB's intro was too long. If anything, I only got annoyed by OBW because the enemies seemed to become tanky and not in an interesting way.

 

[Immortal]

So... I concur and still hate myself for it to this day.

While this doesn't excuse the length (nothing can, and a number of people at the studio refused to give the DLC a chance on play days because of it), after numerous... discussions concerning how much more the context of Dead Money needed to be explained at the outset (which I fiercely disagreed with and its the reason Elijah goes on so long), the Old World Blues intro was designed as a response to prevent further such time-wasting discussions and I never should have bent the knee to the thought because, hey, players don't need to have everything explained to them if they see it working in the actual world they're exploring.

But I did write it, so I deserve the blame - it goes on too long, and it kills the momentum, frankly. The only part I probably could have chosen to remove with little consequences is the mockery sequence for anyone attempting to speed run through the DLC and claim it was too short (which was part of the reason that we had ending slides based on how many labs you found when you explored) and maybe the Barter sequence thread (I always feel like Barter gets shafted in Fallout if there's not enough stores), but I added the Barter sequence after one of our senior level designers, Jeff Husges, mentioned it would be a lot more fun to be able to outwit/show up the brains, and like most of what Jeff says, I agreed with it.

True story: the intro was based off the Venture Brothers (shocker! if you weren't already aware) where Dr. Girlfriend is being interrogated by the Guild of Calamitous Intent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVjuwhEWonU

Oh, well. That said, I did think it was the one DLC that was going to be burned in effigy when it was released since it came close to scaling the 4th wall.

Just so you know, OWB is my favourite DLC. The one I find the most boring is definitely Honest Hearts - the conflict in that DLC is weak sauce. The Intro Dialogue dump was maybe a bit much in OWB's and might have put all the cards on the table that would have been nicer to learn for ourselves but I loved it anyway and I think it's your strongest DLC.

I also loved the tie in with the other DLC's you did, OWB feels like the chain that linked everything together.

Spoiler

Why did you leave Obsidian and where are you going to work now?

 

[Volrath]

Honest Hearts had the best atmosphere and exploration aspect from all the DLC's, I don't understand why people found it "boring". All DLC's for New Vegas ranged from great to fantastic to me.

 

[Immortal]

Honest Hearts had the best atmosphere and exploration aspect from all the DLC's, I don't understand why people found it "boring". All DLC's for New Vegas ranged from great to fantastic to me.

Fallout universe isn't exactly the embodiment subtle nuances and plot lines. The setting lives and dies with profound extreme characters. I won't argue that you can't enjoy it but will explain why it's boring.

Because it's boring. I don't care about either tribes. I don't know or care about the antagonist (who you never even see until some lame ass final fight). I don't care about the caravan I am travelling with or the people who die.

It was enjoyable visiting all the pre-war locations and reading about the ranger from journal logs but that just wasn't enough. The only character who sticks out is the Burning Man but even he feels a little lackluster in a setting like Fallout. The DLC wasn't bad but doesn't come close to the other ones in quality or interesting characters.

 

[TheEntitledOne]

On a replay, Dead Money remains the best DLC to me, has everything on rights doses. Honest Hearts has nice landscape and a bit of nice exploration related discoveries (the man in the caves), but has like not character interaction outside the 2 faction leaders and the 2 henchmen, and only Graham was really interesting. OWB is fun and silly, the beggining can be a bit dialogue dense in replays. I found Lonesome Road a bit meh, was expecting more from MCA's Ulysses, he just turned to be some edgy guy that was using and screwing you for somewhat weird reasons, also by then combat is completly unbalanced.

DM>OWB>HH=LR

 

[Maculo]

Honest Hearts had the best atmosphere and exploration aspect from all the DLC's, I don't understand why people found it "boring". All DLC's for New Vegas ranged from great to fantastic to me.

Fallout universe isn't exactly the embodiment subtle nuances and plot lines. The setting lives and dies with profound extreme characters. I won't argue that you can't enjoy it but will explain why it's boring.

Because it's boring. I don't care about either tribes. I don't know or care about the antagonist (who you never even see until some lame ass final fight). I don't care about the caravan I am travelling with or the people who die.

It was enjoyable visiting all the pre-war locations and reading about the ranger from journal logs but that just wasn't enough. The only character who sticks out is the Burning Man but even he feels a little lackluster in a setting like Fallout. The DLC wasn't bad but doesn't come close to the other ones in quality or interesting characters.

I agree to an extent. The only thing I cared about was the Burning Man. I never paid much attention to any other character or alternative.

 

[Immortal]

I agree to an extent. The only thing I cared about was the Burning Man. I never paid much attention to any other character or alternative.

That's my point though.

Without googling to jog your memory, can anyone tell me something unique or even the name of anyone except Joshua Grahm in Honest Hearts. Be Honest.

Compare that to the other DLC's..

• Dead Money is amazing, the vibe / feeing / tension is great,

• OWB's is crazy off the wall but really embodies the feeling of Fallout.. The blending of extremely high technology coupled with completely irrational and whacky experiments.

• Lonesome Road was a great ending to the courier plot line but definitely trails behind the other two.

 

[Ulrox]

So... I concur and still hate myself for it to this day.

I thought the opening was very hilarious the first time around - and since you can skip it the second time around, I dont see too much of an issue with it. Depending on people's attention span I guess.