FEARGIE GETS FED UP! (That's not a fat joke--MCA don't cry)

Killzig · Post by **Killzig** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 11:18 pm

[ -> N/A]

Feargie is echo'ing the chants of the Fallout fans, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" Now that my movie reference is out of the way I'd like to give big squeeling, nipple exciting hugs over to <A href="http://nma-fallout" target=_blank>Odin@NMA</a> for spotting this lil gem. First off, prime yourself with the <a href="http://forums.interplay.com/viewtopic.p ... highlight=" target=_blank>IPLY thread of despair</a>. Now hunker down and read Feargus' official response to the situation.

<blockquote>

I've gone through most of this post, and I'm not really sure where to start commenting. The rise and fall of Interplay (and therefore BIS) has been a very long ride. I'm not saying it is over though, and I hope we can rise again.

What I can do is talk about my plans for BIS. I want to finish Jefferson in such a way that everyone on the team is happy with it. I put the producer on Icewind Dale 2 (IWD2) in a tough decision and an even harder position on the project he is currently working on because I took very few resources from Jefferson to help him out. At one point he was down to two programmers on IWD2, while there were nine working on Jefferson. This was not meant to have IWD2 be a sub-standard project, but to give the team the shot to make Jefferson a truly next generation game.



I also want to get Fallout 3 going. Another reason for our focus on Jefferson. We need internal technology to make our games and we've had to put as much focus into that as possible.

Next I want to move the type of games that we make forward. The type of games that we have been making is getting stale. I just finished Age of Mythology and it was a great game. But, I really feel like I've played that same game ten times before. This is where I am torn somewhat though- I appreciated the solid mission design from mission 1 to mission 32 (I think that was the last one), but I was playing a game that I am completely familiar with. Build peons, gather resources, build an army, and invade the bad guys base. For our games, I think people have started feeling the same way particularly because of our probably over-use of the Infinity Engine. I think solid story and quest design can keep them interesting, but not enough without some other changes. Changes that are consistent with the types of games we make - not some other genre. But that is the Catch 22 - if they are consistent with our older games, will they just feel like our older games.

I and the rest of Black Isle have a lot of things in our way to make those things happen. As usual the financial state of Interplay has put a lot of restrictions on us even though we are only somewhat responsible for the state that the company is in. Examples of these things include:

1) We have only lately been able to start upgrading people from computers that were bought two years ago. And I think Dave Maldonado is still on a P3-500 which hasn't impacted him much yet - but many others in Black Isle were impacted by upgrades taking nine months to a year longer than they should have. The upgrades have not been completed and this is the stumbling block.

2) Marketing and PR being handled by our distributor instead of in-house has added a middle man which we are still trying to deal with. Many of the snafus like poor advertising and in store promotions on IWD2 were because of this coordination. I am not blaming IPLY or Vivendi in this - but more the coordination between them. This has to be fixed for us to become successful.

3) The last is that people need to be able to come into Black Isle every morning and not have to worry about their next pay check or that if what they are going to do that day is going to be compromised by IPLY. In a new age way, the people in Black Isle also have to believe that there is a future and they the problems they are going to have to deal with on a daily basis are those having to do with the games they are making and not the soul draining crap that has been going on with IPLY the last 18 months.

As of writing this, I don't have any solutions for any of those things. I'm working on them, but unless they get resolved doing what I think is best for the division and the games is going to be hard. I know that doesn't answer all the IPLY solvency and wacky Titus questions, but they are the things I have been thinking about lately.</blockquote>

Sure, there's a bit of CYA going on in this post but looks like Feargie wants out and to take BIS with him. He's right, the financial woes at IPLY aren't BIS's fault. It's poor management from the top, you guys want to go play some Messiah? How about Sacrifice? Anyone? No? Ok. Thanks to Ausir and Brios for pointing me in the right direction.

Silver · Post by **Silver** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 11:42 pm

Finaly someone wakes up. He talks the talk, now let's hope he can walk the walk.

Please god have mercy on our souls in these darktimes. We shall not folter and hold on, only to grow more strong. Hooyah! Now lezz play ball.

Red · Post by **Red** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 11:43 pm

Dude, I SOOO want to play Run Like Hell...

Mad Max RW · Post by **Mad Max RW** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 12:15 am

Same old bullshit from the same old bullshitter.

Section8 · Post by **Section8** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 12:21 am

IPLY should liquidate Digital Mayhem. Hunter:The Reckoning was utter balls.

BlackDog · Post by **BlackDog** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 12:35 am

now I'd love to see Black Isle change hands to a decent publishing house or whatever. But WHO? I don't know if it'd be good or not. I was thinking Electronic Arts...they seem to be a good publisher...I was going to say Vivendi's $ierra, but then I would like to take that back since they have done fuckall to their fanbase. :evil:

Red · Post by **Red** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 12:36 am

Well at least said bullshitter now admits he's IN the shit...

Mad Max RW · Post by **Mad Max RW** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 1:15 am

Vivendi is thinking about pulling out of the gaming biz anyway. I hate admitting it, but Microsoft is the only safe choice. They have the money to cover everything including a good marketing campaign. That's hard to come by. Also, they probably won't alienate PC fans because they own practically everything.

Saint_Proverbius · Post by **Saint_Proverbius** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 2:37 am

Mad Max RW wrote:Vivendi is thinking about pulling out of the gaming biz anyway. I hate admitting it, but Microsoft is the only safe choice. They have the money to cover everything including a good marketing campaign. That's hard to come by. Also, they probably won't alienate PC fans because they own practically everything.

One word.. Halo

Mr Carrot · Post by **Mr Carrot** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 2:54 am

Thats one game, theyve been pretty good on every other account. And TBH halo wouldnt have been the same without the co op debauchary.

As for Feargus, im not going to look at this like its bullshit because couple this with some of the other outpourings on v13 last year, he really has matured in his role and deserves a modicum of respect.

Mad Max RW · Post by **Mad Max RW** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 2:58 am

Supposedly Halo is finally coming out for the PC, but I don't really care. The game wasn't all that good to begin with. It was all about making money, anyway. At the time not everybody had a powerful enough computer to run Halo.

Xbox is the best platform, and that's life.

BlackDog · Post by **BlackDog** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 3:12 am

Mad Max RW wrote:Xbox is the best platform, and that's life.

Console. Not Platform. CONSOLE.

Besides, my PC will always be superior to any console microsoft brings out. Unless MS gives me the ability to upgrade it free of charge. But it's MS, so that is never happening. Oh well. The x-box will be in museum in 10 years and the PC will still be around. Not hindered a bit by it.

morris · Post by **morris** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 3:35 pm

Mad Max RW wrote:Supposedly Halo is finally coming out for the PC, but I don't really care. The game wasn't all that good to begin with. It was all about making money, anyway. At the time not everybody had a powerful enough computer to run Halo.

Xbox is the best platform, and that's life.

I strongly disagree.
1) Halo is a very very good, well designed game...do you play many FPS's? there are few games that I still play religiously for a year after I get them, and halo is one of those games.
2) "It was all about making money"... well no shit... almost ALL games are about making money. I doubt Fallout or Fallout 2 would have been made if the programmers worked for free (example: fallout 3 might have been made already if games didn't have to make money)

Forty-six & Two · Post by **Forty-six & Two** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 4:47 pm

I thought Messiah was pretty good... but, ahm. Good, good. Great. Go Fergie, go fergie! Youre our man. If you cant do it, nobody can! Wuhuu! :P

Mad Max RW · Post by **Mad Max RW** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 7:14 pm

First person shooters are crap on consoles. People who say otherwise are fooling themselves. As for Halo's singleplayer, it was OK at best. 2/3 of it was copied and pasted from the first 1/3 of the game. Even the developers admit to this. It's not as great a game as everyone says.

Fallout 3 will only be made if everybody else is making post apocalyptic RPG's. That was my point about the "money making" comment, morris. Major developers follow fads and rarely break away to try something different. Right now the big fad is realistic war games and that kinda bullshit. I wouldn't be surprised if Jefferson was an RPG set in Nazi Germany. Although, that's a little too original for Black Isle.

Pastorius · Post by **Pastorius** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 7:57 pm

Speaking of WWII RPG's: Has anyone here played Another War? I was wondering if it was worth a try.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 8:45 pm

RPG in Nazi Germany? That would be interesting... You could choose to follow the fanatic movement or aid jews and other people who're hunted down or just try to survive in the middle as neutral character! :)

Heheh, too much "bad" reputation would end up Gestapo knocking at your door and either taking you away or chasing you down. And enough "good" reputation would earn you a one-way ticket to London or something :P

First Force · Post by **First Force** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 9:51 pm

i have the solution! we shall all buy all of the budget titles of fallout from the stores, we shall start ordering multiple copies of a game on their website.......

*starts crying agan* :cry:
i read it today on the net, i was shocked that interplay was going out of bussness

Mad Max RW · Post by **Mad Max RW** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 11:04 pm

Does anyone besides me remember the days when making games was part of the fun? It didn't matter what the story was or anything because we were lucky to have them at all. Now they're treated like big budget movies.

God dammit I miss Commander Keen :P

Briosafreak · Post by **Briosafreak** » Wed Jan 08, 2003 12:31 am

Fergus posted some more http://forums.interplay.com/viewtopic.p ... &start=165