Chris Avellone Claims “Dying Light 2 Lacked My Designs; I Won’t Collaborate with Techland Again”

Chris Avellone on Dying Light 2: Insights and Reflections

In a memorable moment at Xbox’s E3 2018 press conference, game writing luminary Chris Avellone introduced the ambitious Dying Light 2, promising an intricate choice and consequence system that would redefine how players engage with the narrative. This announcement marked a significant pivot for developer Techland, moving from the first game’s action-adventure style to an action RPG format, aiming to enhance player immersion and storytelling depth.

Chris Avellone is widely regarded for his contributions to several landmark titles in the realm of Western RPGs, such as Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II. His reputation is built on crafting intricate narratives where player choices hold significant weight, a hallmark he intended to incorporate into Dying Light 2.

Despite these lofty ambitions, the final version of Dying Light 2 fell short in delivering a fully realized narrative sandbox, ultimately reverting to a linear structure with its follow-up title, Dying Light: The Beast. This raises questions about the challenges of achieving meaningful player choice in video game storytelling.

In a recent interview featured on 80 Level, Avellone revealed that virtually none of his narrative concepts made it into the finished game. He voiced concerns regarding the inconsistent lore and indicated that contributions were often filtered through a select group of leads, which stifled broader creative input.

I love designing reactivity in characters, factions, companions, locations, and anything that allows the player to make a mark on the world. So the design of the lore was to create factions that could change over time, had different agendas, had different approaches to the “survival”theme, and the setting was designed to allow for the introduction of new factions and enemies at points in the game based on clear, player-inspired actions.

That said, none of these designs made it into the game. I recall doing several treatments for a branching, reactive story, but none of them seemed to land… Ironically, some of those same leads expressed similar frustrations… while I lasted the longest, it made keeping a consistent lore and tone approach difficult.

Avellone commented on the talent present within the Dying Light 2 development team, noting the strong bonds he formed with many individuals who subsequently transitioned to other projects. However, he remains firm in his decision not to collaborate with Techland again, reflecting on the complications he experienced during the game’s development process.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that Techland was one of the studios that swiftly distanced itself from Avellone amidst allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment, a situation that led to uncertainty about his future contributions. Interestingly, several years later, those allegations were publicly retracted, adding another layer to the complexities of his professional relationships.

Currently, Avellone is actively engaged in multiple projects, with a significant focus on developing a dark fantasy RPG at Republic Games. He has expressed enthusiasm for this project, describing it as one of the most fulfilling endeavors of his extensive career in game writing.

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