Last week saw the ‘Framework’ conference in Melbourne, and Kotaku Editor David Wildgoose attended a lecture given by Chris Avellone – he of Planescape: Torment, Fallout 2, and Knights of the Old Republic 2 fame. In a nice recap, Wildgoose talks about how Avellone turned his disdain for RPG clichés and conventions to his advantage:
In Knights of the Old Republic 2, Avellone hated Star Wars and the Force. In particular, he hated the concept of predestination implicit within the Force. So he built the game’s story and characters around this idea. He focused on what a Jedi might gain from turning away from the Force or what they may lose when they embrace it.
Hit the link for some more anecdotes on how Avellone used his annoyance at ‘predictable encounters’, the concept of death, and being burnt out on RPG’s as a motivator for some rather novel design decisions.