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The Community Blog (An Invitation)
New Community Blog (The Unintentional Gatekeeping of Video Games)

Chris Avellone's Blog

A blog by Chris Avellone in General

  • Entries

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About this blog

Musings and uh, Stuff.

Entries in this blog

Un-Ravel-ling Torment.

Some fan-based questions I answered recently, posting them to share - it's about Ravel Puzzlewell from Planescape: Torment and some of the thoughts behind her creation.   What was the origin of Ravel?   We had a number of physically powerful enemies in Torment, and I thought a night hag would be a good adversary, especially if she was a cryptic, deadly puzzle maker. As the game went on, the idea that Ravel was a branching creature whose life resembled a great tree (or bramble

Questions about Work

I occasionally get interview questions from students aspiring to be designers. I try to warn them, but...   ...anyway, if you're curious, here's some answers. And some questions to go along with them.   1. What is a typical day for you as far as working on a project or projects?   I get into work at 9:30, and try to work for an hour without checking email. This work can be writing design documentation, designing a system, doing mock-ups for an editor or toolset, or

Blog o' Romance

So, I generally despise writing companion romances (I think unrequited and/or doomed ones are ultimately more dramatic), but there are some techniques I've accumulated over the years that I try to incorporate into writing and designing romances in RPGs.   A lot of these things came out while writing Gannayev-of-Dreams in Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, and I suppose it could hold true for other inter-party romances in games. What follows is a summary of some points we kicke

NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer + Convention Season

Off to Comic-Con within a week, although we won't be showing Mask of the Betrayer there, the plan is to show it at Gen-Con Aug 16-19, and PAX Aug 23-25 as it currently stands. This may fluctuate, so don't quote me on this.   In honor of convention season, I present some things to look forward to at game conventions.   Enjoy and have a good weekend, folks.

Aliens and the "Action RPG."

There were some concerns floating around about Aliens being an action RPG, so I thought it would best to clarify. While there will be action elements to it, it is still an RPG in every sense of the word.   An analysis of the elements, along with diagrams as to what constitutes an action RPG in the aliens universe, is presented for your viewing enjoyment here. Hypothetically, the diagrams may resemble cartoons. And it may not be a serious analysis. All other standard caveats apply.   Happy

Writing in Computer Games.

Someone wrote me a letter this weekend, asking if I had any suggestions for breaking into computer game writing, and it occured to me I didn't. I had suggestions for breaking into computer game design, but...   Anyway, here's the gist of the response in case anyone else has a similar question about how it all works.   Writing for video games is something of a different beast compared to game design. My experience is that someone will contract a writer (and usually late in the process) onc

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