More abstract concerns included making sure all the NPCs and storylines had clear impact on the player – as in making sure the player cared about what was going on. 'We were only able to get away with that for so long,' he added. As a result, Avellone and Obsidian had to pad out the dialogue with 'trickery' including mute characters who spoke in hand gestures. That 'short experience' adds up to just 10,000 lines of dialogue across all four, Avellone said – a hard maximum. 'Each one was a very self-contained short experience' by design each storyline and setting had to exist in isolation from one another, because the team could not assume that any player would own all four packs. However, they couldn't carry storylines over. For one thing, 'We had the rare opportunity to know we were actually going to do four of these,' unlike most game projects where sequels are not guaranteed, he said. In a narrative-focused presentation at GDC Online, Obsidian Entertainment creative director Chris Avellone outlined the considerations that went into the development of the four Fallout: New Vegas DLC packs.
