 | For the Fallout characters named Chris Avellone, see Chris Avellone in Fallout. For Chris Avellone (Fallout Tactics), see the Chris Avellone in Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel. For other characters in the Fallout universe named Chris, see for the Chris Avellone in Fallout 2. |
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I think players should have the freedom to create their own destiny because at the end of the day, their story is the one that’s the most important - despite what you intended. What you should be giving them is a playground for them to roleplay their opportunities.
”— On what he thinks is a proper RPG[2]Christopher Frederic Avellone (born 27 September 1972[1]) is a video game designer who has worked on Fallout 2, Van Buren (the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios), and Fallout: New Vegas. He has also compiled the Fallout Bible. According to Ed Orman Chris Avellone, along with Chris Taylor, helped Micro Forté to develop Fallout Tactics.[3]
Career[]
Before Interplay[]
Avellone is a descendant of Sicilian immigrants. After receiving his high school diploma at the renowned Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, he attended the College of William & Mary in Virginia (with Todd Howard) and completed with a Bachelors in English. During that time, he wrote short stories and scripts for role-playing games, some of which were published in the Dungeons & Dragons magazine Dragon.
Through Bruce Harlick, then editor with Hero Games, he received the chance to write a book for the role-playing game Dark Champions. After several publications with Hero Games, he decided that game design was a career option.
Black Isle Studios[]
Steve Peterson, one of the founders of Hero Games, provided Avellone an interview with Interplay, a large game publisher at the time. His knowledge of role-playing games and his ideas impressed Interplay, and he was offered a position as a game designer. Around 1997 or 1998, Avellone moved to Orange County, where Interplay was located.
Avellone got involved with the Fallout series when production was started at Black Isle Studios on Fallout 2. While many feel that his "feel" for the Fallout canon was lacking, the design of New Reno has been praised by just as many. Later, he became the lead designer of a project codenamed Van Buren, which was canceled in 2003 and revealed to have been Black Isle's attempt at developing Fallout 3. He wrote the Tibbets Prison design document.
Aside from Fallout games, Avellone was also the lead designer of Planescape: Torment.
Obsidian Entertainment[]
After leaving Black Isle Studios, Avellone, together with Feargus Urquhart, founded Obsidian Entertainment. At Obsidian, Avellone has worked on such titles as, Neverwinter Nights 2 and its expansion, Mask of the Betrayer, and was lead designer on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and Alpha Protocol. He also wrote All Roads, a prequel to Fallout: New Vegas, and has also written a few Star Wars comics such as Unseen, Unheard for the Star Wars Tales series of comics and a few issues of Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures comic series, such as Heroes on Both Sides and Impregnable, all of which have been published by Dark Horse Comics. He was a writer on Fallout: New Vegas and was the lead designer on New Vegas add-ons. He also co-wrote the lyrics for the song "Begin Again" featured in Dead Money add-on.
Larian Studios[]
In June 2015, Avellone announced that he had departed Obsidian for Hogwarts. Although his target destination was a joke, his departure was not.[4] In late September, Larian Studios announced that Avellone had been taken on to the writing team for Divinity: Original Sin II.[5]
Employment history[]
| From | To | Company | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1995 | May 2003 | Interplay Entertainment/Black Isle Studios | Designer, Lead Designer |
| June 2003 | June 2015 | Obsidian Entertainment | Creative Director, Chief Creative Officer, Co-Owner |
| September 2015 | Present | Larian Studios | Writer |
Credits[]
Fallout series[]
| Year | Title | Credited as/for |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Fallout 2 | Designer |
| - | Van Buren | Lead Designer |
| 2002 | Fallout Bible | Writer |
| 2010 | All Roads | Writer |
| 2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | Senior Designer |
| 2011 | Dead Money | Project Director, Writer |
| 2011 | Old World Blues | Project Director |
| 2011 | Lonesome Road | Project Director |
According to J.E. Sawyer, Avellone was directly responsible for Cass, Lanius, and some minor characters at Mojave Outpost, as well as possibly General Oliver. In addition, his work on Old World Blues was split with Travis Stout.
Other work (excerpt)[]
| Year | Title | Credited as/for |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Planescape: Torment | Lead Designer |
| 2003 | Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader | Special Design and Testing Thanks |
Notes[]
- When you fight along side Marcus the Broken Hills sheriff he will yell out "Chris Avellone loves you!!" before attacking.
Videos[]
- Chris Avellone developer presentation at Rezzed '13
- Planescape Torment with Chris Avellone
- Memories of the Mojave With Chris Avellone Part 1
- Part 2
External links[]
- Chris Avellone at Wikipedia
- Chris Avellone at Wasteland 2 Wiki
- Chris Avellone at Wookieepedia
- Chris Avellone blog at Obsidian
- Chris Avellone on Twitter
- Chris Avellone on MySpace
- Bethesda Blog: Inside the Vault - Chris Avellone
- Fallout Official Site: Developer Diaries - What's Old is New Again
- Extrasode Episode 61