I came across it, found it interesting, translated it.
The result can be seen below 🙂
Yes, I warn you that I translated freely. And in a couple of places I got it completely wrong, so don’t hesitate to correct it. And somewhere there is an outright gag, yes.

Some time ago I had the opportunity to chat with the great Chris Avellone(it doesn’t seem to be readable – approx. translator) personally, who had a hand in such a famous series as Fallout and the critically acclaimed Planescape: Torment. We talked about almost everything that comes to mind when mentioning RPGs and the Fallout series. Enjoy!

Can you tell our readers about yourself – who you are and what you do??
(A standard question in almost all such interviews. Forgets – approx. translator)

I’m Chris Avellone, Creative Director at Obsidian Entertainment and Project Director for most of the DLC for Fallout: New Vegas: Dead Money, Old World Blues and Lonesome Road. The position of Creative Director means overseeing all of our projects from a design perspective, going through the builds of all the games we release (over and over and over again – which is generally a good thing), overseeing the design department, monitoring the level of our games and their pre-release testing and evaluation (what needs to be corrected, what is not needed, etc.n – approx. translator), testing and interviewing applicants for work with us, as well as working with designers to create a single standard for all our projects.

What are your three favorite games and why?? What games are you playing now??

Well, it’s difficult to single out the top 3, and therefore without numbering – Fallout 1 (for the structure of dialogues and a bunch of ways to solve quests), System Shock 2 (for everything in general, this game is a real textbook for a designer) and Chronotrigger (for the narrative mechanics and the ability to change the plot, which is excellent, by the way).

From what I’m playing now/played recently: Portal 2, Amnesia: The Dark Descent (best $20 I’ve spent, this game scared the crap out of me, I recommend it to everyone), Puzzle Quest 2, League of Legends and I’m playing the DLC for Fallout: New Vegas (currently on Lonesome Road) and Dungeon Siege III at work. In general, if I have free time, I try to spend it on going through builds of our games in order to have time to finish as many points as possible before release. Well, sometimes in short breaks I have time to play Dungeon Raid.

What’s it like to work on important RPG projects for so many years, while the genre has undergone significant changes?? How do you feel about the changes/evolution seen in the genre??

It’s quite interesting that the technology and resources used in the gaming industry are now much more impressive than I once expected (all those voice recognition, motion tracking, voice acting). We’re still a long way from Star Wars or virtual reality, but we’re getting there.
(I tried to avoid the slippery topic: 3 – approx. translator)

Some time ago there was quite a stir on the Internet over a statement by Matt Findlay (Hunted: Demon’s Forge developer and ex-Interplayer) who claimed that old RPGs were "always meant to be action games at heart".» Do you agree with this statement? Can you, as someone who also worked at Interplay, say that some of the games you worked on were developed as action games??

I think Stonekeeper was definitely intended to be an action RPG (Utima Underworld was coming out then). But I don’t think that Baldur’s Gate could become this and remain Baldur’s Gate (at least with that many party members), the same with Torment and Icewind Dale. But it must be said that although Interplay had ideas for action-RPG versions of Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape (not Torment, but an action title like King’s Field in this universe), the result was only one ARPG – BG: Dark Alliance.

Do you think choices work in https://meccagamescasino.co.uk/withdrawal/ games where the player’s decisions don’t affect the story??

If they influence at least something – in terms of the gameplay component, or in some other way, then yes. Also, it depends on the genre of the game – in some genres of games there is so little choice (that I can complete tasks in the order I want?) that even a small choice like the one above can create a lot of excitement, even though it gives the player very few options. Many years ago at GDC there was a lecture on the basics of Splinter Cell – I can’t find it now, otherwise I would have quoted the exact situation and context, but the point was that the choices in this game, technically leading to the same result, were so new in this game genre that players were really hooked by it.

Dialogue ring versus traditional lines of text. Do you think choosing between the two has serious consequences for RPGs?? Has it become easier to roleplay when you choose only based on basic principles or, conversely, more difficult, since you don’t know what exactly your character will say??

I prefer lines of text (Man! – note. translator), because then I see exactly what my character will say, and not some "gist" of what he will say, while I passively watch him do it. This might be strange to hear from a game writer, but I don’t like the emotional epithets in Alpha Protocol, even though I think some parts of that dialogue system are great.

Also, I don’t really like RPG games where they force a voice into my character – but that’s just my cockroaches. This sometimes works (Mass Effect), and sometimes it seems like a fifth wheel on the cart and a waste of time… Although it depends on your type of roleplaying. If you are playing a specific character (which may sound strange in context wagering) (Man x2 – approx. translator), then the voice fits perfectly. But if they let you create your own character, I prefer no voice.

But again, this could all be old school whining, so take this with a grain of salt.

Listen, let’s talk a little about Fallout. Can you tell us your favorite/most memorable story or dialogue choice in the games in the series??

In Fallout 1, the choice in the final conversation with the Master to use the upgraded speech and the evidence found was truly an epic moment.

In Fallout 2, it’s hard to say. I had the pleasure of outwitting Myron, with my science-leveled character, confronting Cassady with his tribal squabbles in Vault City… And if you have a good relationship with Lisette, you can force the Vault City Security Captain to give Cassady his bar back.

In Fallout 3, Ashur from the DLC The Pitt was an interesting character, with his own interesting philosophy (or work ethic, you might say), the very structure of this city (making you immerse yourself in its culture) did a great job of giving him a name. This was a conscious decision by the developers (I read the design documents) and I think it worked great.

In Fallout: New Vegas (^_^ – note. translator), I liked talking to Nelai (No-Bark) and Vulpa, using Barter when talking to the Legate and Oliver (I always thought this skill was underused) and telling Oliver that you would destroy his entire battalion in a moment with your army of securitrons. Oh, and thanks to Charlie Staples, our level designer, for making the scene where you ask the Securitron to throw Oliver’s body off the Hoover Dam.

Van Buren was a project that was originally supposed to be the third part of the series. Although it was never released, elements of it can be seen in Fallout: New Vegas. How did you decide what to discard and what to implement??

Well, we just took and selected those elements that could still work and that we would like to resurrect. This wasn’t just a formal process, we tried to bring pieces of the past back to life (the FNV Old World Blues DLC especially – I always wanted to see Big Empty come back to life in a computer game).

As far as we know, New Vegas means the end of your involvement in the Fallout franchise in the near future. How do you feel about this?

It’s sad, but look, I left the series before when I was at Black Isle and this time it’s going to end with a big bang in the form of Lonesome Road… if you want. It’s very nice to be able to put a full stop at the end.
(If I don’t play this DLC for Fallout: New Vegas, I’ll eat my shoes – approx. translator)

Fergus Urquhart said ten years ago that you don’t want to think about Torment 2. Let’s be honest: you still continue to think so? Can you imagine yourself returning to this game, or to other old projects??

Torment 2 – no, Planescape 2 – yes. I’ve always enjoyed working with Fallout, and developing Icewind Dale was always fun because no one took the game too seriously, even the campaign setting was a little lighter than the rest of Forgotten Realms. Icewind Dale 2, especially, was absolutely crazy in terms of level design and playability, but the designers at Black Isle had fun making the game… we took that principle into Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues to see how people would react to it, and I think it worked. There is a whole scattering of locations to find and explore.

Some time ago you talked about creating a compelling image, as well as the importance of elections and their consequences. How to balance these two things?

They don’t need to be balanced – the very fact that your decisions change something at the global/state/factional level creates a convincing image.

Creating a world that feels alive and reacts to the player’s actions is a very difficult task. What lessons or techniques have you learned from your days creating Dungeon & Dragons adventures??

The point is that the response doesn’t have to be a big deal – it just has to be clear, simple and to the point. In Fallout 1, even one guard noticing Killian’s choice over Gizmo in Junktown is enough to make the world seem alive – and that’s just two lines. I think the more this can be coupled with game mechanics (like faction reputation in Fallout: New Vegas depending on the player’s decisions), the better.

Is there any aspect that is performed worse and poorer in computer games compared to tabletop RPGs, or what elements from tabletop games would you like to see in computer games??

I would like immediate feedback from players. There was a special report in ME2 that did a good job with this function (in general, such measurements are indispensable for developers), and Twitter also helps… although it’s strange at times.