Chris Avellone

[Anaeme]

I fear for POE now Chris has left Obsidian

 

Does anyone know why he left the company he co-founded?

 

Was it a personality clash? Did he feel under appreciated?

 

What is the man going to do next...does anybody know?

[TheisEjsing]

Chris Avellone knows. 

[Excalibur_2102]

Theres  a topic for this in the consoles and games section, so this might get closed...

 

We dont know why chris left yet, maybe there was just an offer he couldnt refuse elsewhere, or maybe he was fed up of his "managerial" role at the company.  Just speculation.

 

The only thing we know that Chris has done since leaving is give feedback to beamdog for their upcoming expansion for BGEE, Siege of Dragonspear.  Hes done a couple of interviews since but hasnt really spoken about his leavng of obsidian.

 

Personally, Im still confident that PoE will okay without him, as much as I appreciate his work.  As far as I know the main stuff he did on PoE was write Durance and Grieving Mother, so as long those characters arent the only thing you like about the game then I wouldnt be too worried.  Though a fair few people do think that they are the best companions.

[Sedrefilos]

When he's about to do something new, I guess we'll know via media.

 

But I wouldn't fear about PoE. His contribution to the game was not that big at the end (apart that he wrote the 2 best companions! But the game was more than that).

[Cantousent]

There is a thread about this in CnC, as Excalibur said: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/80155-chris-avellone-leaves-obsidian/?hl=avellone

 

As long as this thread doesn't get personal or goofy, I think it should stay open. It's not really any different than any other thread discussing various aspects of the design and the designers are a huge part of that. :Cant's Captain Obvious grin icon:

 

I think Durance is probably NPC hall of fame material, but you never know how things will go. For all we know, Avellone will end up doing some work on future projects. I didn't hear that he parted from Obsidz on unfriendly terms and I hope he didn't. If that's the case, then he could still do work for them even if he doesn't have the same position or even ownership in the company.

 

Remember to be gentle with one another and we can speculate about what this all means for PoE as much as folks want. :Cant's broad smile icon:

 

EDIT: This isn't going to be a gossip column thread. I don't mind a little snark or heated debate. However, if folks make specific unsubstantiated claims of fact, I'm either not going to approve them, I'm going to remove them, or I'll just close the thread. If you want to discuss Avellone's reasons for leaving and the impact it will have outside of PoE, I refer you to existing threads in other sub-fora.

[gkathellar]

Well, that's disappointing. Avellone's name was honestly what got me to back the project, and I'd have backed Torment if I'd known he was writing for it, even though I hate Monte Cook.

 

Not as if I'll stop liking PoE, though. Onward and upward for all parties, I hope.

[bonarbill]

Even though he's gone from Obsidian, it doesn't mean he can't contribute someway to obsidian's newer projects.  He can still offer advice or do some contract work like's he doing in Tides of Numenera and Baldur's Gate SoD. I'm hoping he gets a chance to make another CNPC in pillars 2.

[Tigranes]

Nobody knows why he left. 

 

He did not have a leading role in POE, so it should be relatively unaffected. 

 

I do hope, after a quiet last few years, he gets to make some games where he takes complete charge over the theme and story, wherever he ends up. I'm not really interested in him reading over SoD notes and giving them feedback, that won't substantially change the quality.

[Katarack21]

Theres  a topic for this in the consoles and games section, so this might get closed...

 

We dont know why chris left yet, maybe there was just an offer he couldnt refuse elsewhere, or maybe he was fed up of his "managerial" role at the company.  Just speculation.

 

The only thing we know that Chris has done since leaving is give feedback to beamdog for their upcoming expansion for BGEE, Siege of Dragonspear.  Hes done a couple of interviews since but hasnt really spoken about his leavng of obsidian.

 

Personally, Im still confident that PoE will okay without him, as much as I appreciate his work.  As far as I know the main stuff he did on PoE was write Durance and Grieving Mother, so as long those characters arent the only thing you like about the game then I wouldnt be too worried.  Though a fair few people do think that they are the best companions.

You see, that's why I'm upset. Durance and Grieving Mother aren't the *only* things I liked about PoE, but they are two of my favorite things. Grieving Mother more than Durance--I find her entire story beautiful and disturbing, and the character ultimately sympathetic and terrifying.

 

In my head, I have this whole story worked out about Chris Avellone and Josh Sawyer and their epic battles for control over the general atmosphere and aesthetic of Pillars of Eternity, and how it came out a blend between the two of them and amazing because of it but the tension tore their friendship apart.

 

But I'm a paranoid schizophrenic who likes to make **** up. In the real world, we have no idea what happened. I know his job title was "narrative designer" and I know he co-founded the company and recently left. I know the list of games he's worked on in the past. I believe I know about as much as any member of the general public does right now, and that ain't much.

[gkathellar]

Chris Avellone and Josh Sawyer and their epic rap battles

FTFY

[Nonek]

The gentleman ingested a Dark Bird of Ocanthus from a rune covered ale stein and awoke to a new perception and grasp on his situation, he then set forth to change his life, while the crone whom had given him the beverage cackled behind his back and whispered. "How strange, that was your first wish!"

[Nakia]

I am sorry Chris Avellone has left Obsidian but not I am not concerned about PoE.  I think the overall writing is excellent.  Whoever wrote Eder's part is a genius.  It is not easy to write about a simple farmer and make him an interesting and fun person.  Durance and Grieving Mother are more complicated people but Eder is the one I want watching my back or just to chat with around the campfire.

 

I wish Mr. Avellone the best.

[gogocactus]

I am sorry Chris Avellone has left Obsidian but not I am not concerned about PoE. I think the overall writing is excellent. Whoever wrote Eder's part is a genius. It is not easy to write about a simple farmer and make him an interesting and fun person.

Seconded . I love Eder as a character and hope to see more of his storyline in the expansions.

Edited August 14, 2015 by gogocactus

[Cantousent]

Eder is a great character because you like the guy and he's a sympathetic figure with some funny lines.  I especially love the interaction between Aloth and Eder.

 

Durance is a great character because you love to hate him and he's got a lot of funny lines.  Durance is probably the best written NPC in the game, but I enjoyed pretty much all of them except for the druid, but I haven't included him yet in any plays.  I'm going to switch him in on the current run.

[magritte]

Is it too much to hope that Bethesda has snagged him to work on Fallout 4?

[Rosveen]

Is it too much to hope that Bethesda has snagged him to work on Fallout 4?

Yes. But even if they had, it's too late in development for him to make a difference.

[Cantousent]

 

Is it too much to hope that Bethesda has snagged him to work on Fallout 4?

Yes. But even if they had, it's too late in development for him to make a difference.

 

I didn't realize it was that far along in development. It just seems like they announced it recently, but I guess it has been a while. Well, I still hold out some hope that he can get in on some Obsidz projects. Yeah, maybe not, but as long as everything ended amicably, there's always the chance that he could even come in on future PoE franchise offerings.

[Rosveen]

 

 

Is it too much to hope that Bethesda has snagged him to work on Fallout 4?

Yes. But even if they had, it's too late in development for him to make a difference.

I didn't realize it was that far along in development. It just seems like they announced it recently, but I guess it has been a while. Well, I still hold out some hope that he can get in on some Obsidz projects. Yeah, maybe not, but as long as everything ended amicably, there's always the chance that he could even come in on future PoE franchise offerings.

Bethesda officially revealed it quite late, only 5 months before release. It's coming out in November, so it's pretty much finished now. I doubt he was secretely working on Fallout 4 before, but maybe he could join for a DLC? Who knows.

 

There's always his job as a professional stretch goal. He's already been suggested for D:OS 2 and Larian supposedly are considering it.

[gkathellar]

 

 

 

Is it too much to hope that Bethesda has snagged him to work on Fallout 4?

Yes. But even if they had, it's too late in development for him to make a difference.

I didn't realize it was that far along in development. It just seems like they announced it recently, but I guess it has been a while. Well, I still hold out some hope that he can get in on some Obsidz projects. Yeah, maybe not, but as long as everything ended amicably, there's always the chance that he could even come in on future PoE franchise offerings.

Bethesda officially revealed it quite late, only 5 months before release. It's coming out in November, so it's pretty much finished now. I doubt he was secretely working on Fallout 4 before, but maybe he could join for a DLC? Who knows.

 

There's always his job as a professional stretch goal. He's already been suggested for D:OS 2 and Larian supposedly are considering it.

Maybe they could still snag him for the enhanced rewrite of D:OS 1. I dunno if it's really his style, though - a little too high-fantasy, I think. Avellone is at his best when he can do weird gonzo stuff.

[PIP-Clownboy]

 

 

 

 

Is it too much to hope that Bethesda has snagged him to work on Fallout 4?

Yes. But even if they had, it's too late in development for him to make a difference.

I didn't realize it was that far along in development. It just seems like they announced it recently, but I guess it has been a while. Well, I still hold out some hope that he can get in on some Obsidz projects. Yeah, maybe not, but as long as everything ended amicably, there's always the chance that he could even come in on future PoE franchise offerings.

Bethesda officially revealed it quite late, only 5 months before release. It's coming out in November, so it's pretty much finished now. I doubt he was secretely working on Fallout 4 before, but maybe he could join for a DLC? Who knows.

 

There's always his job as a professional stretch goal. He's already been suggested for D:OS 2 and Larian supposedly are considering it.

Maybe they could still snag him for the enhanced rewrite of D:OS 1. I dunno if it's really his style, though - a little too high-fantasy, I think. Avellone is at his best when he can do weird gonzo stuff.

 

 

Uhhhhh no thanks. The writing in D:OS is beyond saving. Maybe he can contribute to the sequel but I doubt it with Larian being based in Belgium. 

 

I'd like to see Chris do something he's passionate about and go all in. This kickstarter stretch goal stuff where he would just write a few lines seems like a waste of his creative talent and basically publicity stunts at this point. 

[anameforobsidian]

Eh, there were rumors of friction between him an Sawyer.  Something like Durance and Grieving Mother were both supposed to have influenced the PC negatively.  Eventually it was to be resolved with a text dungeon inside the player's mind.  Sawyer supposedly nixed the idea because it would have involved too much work to get working / was outside of the already large scope for PE.  That's all rumor.

 

 

That said, I think there's probably a simpler explanation.  Obsidian has been building up a team of writers and level designers for a while now.  New Vegas probably gave a lot of them more creative freedom than they expected due to its large scale, and some of them probably grew a lot.  Also, Obsidian now seems like the most stable its ever been.  That means that Obsidian needed Avellone less, so he was free to do a bunch of side projects right.  As he did more side projects, he probably realized that he liked being a freelance writer more, and his role at Obsidian was replaced through necessity rather than malice.  That's my guess.  It's less salacious than rumor though.

 

I also think Avellone could have a fantastic kickstarter, either as a small team starting a new setting at Obsidian or elsewhere.

[rkade8583]

All I know is the area he designed for Wasteland 2 sucked and if Ulysses from NV was his "voice" on NV than he needs to get his head checked because I didn't understand a word that lunatic was saying. Avellone, if you see this, know that "cryptic" doesn't mean "deep" or "well-written." A lot of really memorable characters in a lot of really famous stories were deep and well-written without being cryptic.

[Katarack21]

All I know is the area he designed for Wasteland 2 sucked and if Ulysses from NV was his "voice" on NV than he needs to get his head checked because I didn't understand a word that lunatic was saying. Avellone, if you see this, know that "cryptic" doesn't mean "deep" or "well-written." A lot of really memorable characters in a lot of really famous stories were deep and well-written without being cryptic.

But clearly, Chris Avellone likes cryptic. It's kind of his "thing".

[rkade8583]

It oozes from everything he touches. I'm diametrically opposed to cryptic. It's nothing against him personally though. Edginess seems to ooze from everything he touches too. Just because it can be nihilistic and dark doesn't mean it needs to be.

 

I guess his personality and mine are too different, creatively speaking. Then again, dude's worth a ton of money through his creativeness whereas I'm a lifelong cripple on government funbucks so what do I know, right?

[magritte]

 

I have a hard time picturing him working on the Divinity series.  It's not just high fantasy, it's outright camp.  His sense of humor is quite different and I don't think it would work there.  If he really wants to stretch, maybe he could work in another medium, like write for the American Gods TV series that's coming up or something.

 

Something like Underworld Ascendant might be a better fit, but I'd think he'd rather do something that was his own baby.