The Daily Populous Monday February 3rd, 2025 day edition
Authored by videogameschronicle.com and submitted by samiy2k

The lead writer of Fallout: New Vegas has returned to developer Obsidian, after 14 years away from the company.

John Gonzalez announced the news on his LinkedIn profile this week, confirming he’s taken up the role of creative director. However, according to the writer, his new job is “not FNV2”.

After his previous stint at Obsidian in 2008 – 2011, Gonzalez was notably a writer for Monolith’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, the lead writer for Guerrilla’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, and narrative director for its sequel Forbidden West.

Enthusiasm for more Fallout titles from the team behind New Vegas has been growing for years. In 2023, original Fallout co-creators Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky expressed their enthusiasm for a potential Fallout New Vegas remaster.

Then, last year, Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer said that he’d be willing to work on a new Fallout title as long as certain creative criteria were met.

In 2022, it was claimed that very early talks had been held about a potential Fallout New Vegas sequel, with Obsidian and Bethesda owner Microsoft reportedly expressing a lot of interest in making it happen.

Commenting on the future of the Fallout series last year, series boss Todd Howard said the franchise was more popular than ever following the successful release of Amazon’s TV show, which has helped drive a massive increase in game sales. Nevertheless, Howard said Bethesda’s willing to take its time with the next mainline Fallout game in order to “get it right”.

“For other Fallout games in the future, obviously, I can’t talk about those right now, but I would say sort of rushing through them, or we need to get stuff out that is different than the work we’re doing in Fallout 76, we don’t feel like we need to rush any of that,” he said.

“Right now, the Fallout TV show fills a certain niche in terms of the franchise and storytelling. I totally get the desire for a new mainline single player game and look, those things take time. I don’t think it’s bad for people to miss things as well.

“We just want to get it right and make sure that everything we’re doing in a franchise, whether it’s Elder Scrolls or Fallout or now Starfield, that those become meaningful moments for everybody who loves these franchises as much as we do.”

SelfQuestions on February 2nd, 2025 at 11:58 UTC »

We could have had a Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines sequel by both Chris Avellone and Brian Mitsoda. Let that sink in.

What a massive loss for fans of the original and for consumers in general.

For loose context, here's some quick older info.

Chris Avellone worked on Hardsuit Lab's VTMB 2 for almost 2 1/2 years and was mentioned in the game's marketing campaign in 2020. Without explanation. An 'iterative' design process doesn't overwrite 100% of that organically. Which doesn’t align with Paradox's statement:

Paradox pulls Bloodlines 2 from dev, cancels pre-orders - Eurogamer

"In June 2020, Paradox confirmed any content designer Chris Avellone had contributed to the game would be removed following allegations of sexual assault."

Chris Avellone files libel suit over sexual misconduct allegations - PC Gamer Former VTMB2 writer Chris Avellone files a libel suit over 2020 allegations, which prompted Paradox Interactive to cut ties and remove his work from the game.

In addition, they also fired Brian Mitsoda and gave misleading and evasive statements on that as well. Brian Mitsoda has been fired as narrative lead on Bloodlines 2 - Rock Paper Shotgun

Paradox also informed consumers that TCR's current iteration of VTMB 2 isn’t even a real sequel to the original anymore! It’s only about the brand/IP recognition. Bloodlines 2 is more spiritual successor than sequel - Rock Paper Shotgun "Not "a sequel to Bloodlines" but "a game that puts you in the World Of Darkness." And indeed, Lilja downplayed associations with the original game when I asked whether Bloodlines 2 would still be some kind of immersive sim. He also suggested that Bloodlines hasn't aged all that well, and that taking inspiration from it too zealously could be counter-productive."

I love when a company's PR lackeys attempt to gaslight the public! Especially a game as strong as the original VTMB, and it's cult status lasting over 20 years not actually being that great. /S

Currently in 2025, Paradox pushing through with The Chinese Room's attempt at VTMB2. Now ripping off Cyberpunk 2077 and both Fallout 4 in the laziest ways. A terribly named and voiced protagonist, a "two people one body" plot line with a two loud mouthed characters that seem to never shut up, worse facial animations than from 2004, fewer bloodlines to play, railroaded and obscured dialog options, lazy weapon animations, along with Mirror’s Edge’s movement mechanics—but worse and less grounded within the themes of WoD and the masquerade.

Riveting. /S

(Instead of Paradox trying to unfuck their own game that's been in development hell for over six years because they fired all the competent writers and purged their work)

You'd be wise questioning the quality of TCR's attempts at making VTMB2 and why it's leaning towards milquetoast, safe, action oriented tripe. Nothing like the actual World of Darkness OR Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines of cult status.

This whole exhausting saga of "what could have been" is the result of Paradox/Hardsuit Lab's poor management and firing of both Avellone, and Mitsoda. This monumental loss of art all because of no evidence, no trial, just allegations. Peachy.

Now we're never going to see any of that writing, and frankly, it's disgusting.

Upset?

You're god-damn right.

You should be too.

pdeaver9018 on February 2nd, 2025 at 06:47 UTC »

Insisting it’s not a FNV sequel doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not a new standalone Fallout.

Negative-Squirrel81 on February 1st, 2025 at 16:11 UTC »

I know he was a jerk, but the American RPG industry really needs Chris Avellone back. His caustic writing would really add so much flavor and we can really see the difference with how how tonally nice releases like Starfield and Dragon Age have become. Then you see BG3 with its willingness to allow the player to be nasty, and it's just so much more fun even if the player doesn't actually take those options.

I think Avowed too is going to suffer to a similar fate.