Now, your reaction to that is probably "who?" That's OK. When I explain that HK-47 in KotOR was inspired by an old Canadian TV show called the Littlest Hobo I get the same perplexed response. 😅 In short: Concrete was just a regular dude. Who happened to also be a walking hulk of rock. Cue hi-jinx. - ThreadSky

davidgaider.bsky.social • 207 days ago

Now, your reaction to that is probably "who?" That's OK. When I explain that HK-47 in KotOR was inspired by an old Canadian TV show called the Littlest Hobo I get the same perplexed response. 😅

In short: Concrete was just a regular dude. Who happened to also be a walking hulk of rock. Cue hi-jinx.

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smallbronzecat.bsky.social•207 days ago

I’m really trying to imagine how the kids TV show about a friendly stray dog solving neighbourhood problems inspired the creation of a sarcastic murderbot!? It was a long time ago but I don’t remember a mechanical assassin being a plot point?

davidgaider.bsky.social•207 days ago

Inspiration is funny that way. What is the Littlest Hobo? He goes from owner to owner, appearing out of nowhere and helping them resolve their issues and become better people. Now think of the exact opposite of that.

It's definitely not a direct line. 😉

davidgaider.bsky.social•207 days ago

The problem here is I don't remember whether the Concrete thing was part of the original inspiration or something I thought of at the point when I started writing the character.

Because I didn't, at first. That was later. Shale was initially taken on by Jay Turner, then one of our junior writers.

davidgaider.bsky.social•207 days ago

Jay had an idea to make Shale more of a robot, an emotionless automoton killer... think HK-47, but without the layer of sarcasm. I was leery, and told Jay he'd have to be very careful. "Emotionless" can very quickly turn into "boring", after all, unless you're VERY careful. But Jay was determined.

davidgaider.bsky.social•207 days ago

Sigh. This was a fail on my part, as his lead. There's been a couple of times in my career when I've let a junior convince me with their enthusiasm to take on something my experience said they shouldn't. And then watch their confidence crumble despite every effort I made to reassure them it was OK.

davidgaider.bsky.social•207 days ago

This was one of those times. Jay, no idea if you'll read this but: I'm sorry. Even an experienced writer would have found that a daunting challenge.

Tonia, my other Big Fail on a similar situation in DAI: I'm sorry.

Both times, I should have known. You did your best, but I set you up to fail. 😔

davidgaider.bsky.social•207 days ago

Jay did his best, and this version of Shale was certainly interesting... but, when he was done, it was one of those peer reviews where every writer had that look of "I'm REALLY sorry to say this..."

It felt flat. Jay tried numerous revisions, but the issue wasn't his ability - it was the concept.

tevert.bsky.social•207 days ago

This is really funny to see - from a software engineering perspective, this happens allllll the time. Good seniors do at least feel REALLY sorry to have to say it!

davidgaider.bsky.social•207 days ago

I only allowed my writers a certain number of tries before I take it away. This hearkens back to an earlier time at Bio when writers would hack away at something that wasn't working 6, 7, 8 times or more until finally their soul was dust. Mike Laidlaw can attest. Revision isn't always the answer.

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