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RIP Vigil Games (2005-2013)

T

thumb

Banned
tragic said:
My name is Ben Cureton, and I was the Lead Combat Designer at Vigil Games. I'm sitting at my desk among... what appears to be a warzone. The walls look bare. It's quiet.

The seats are empty.

We've all been on edge for the past couple months... and more so, the last couple weeks. I mean, I'm sure you can imagine what it's like to wonder if you will have a job tomorrow. Most of us here joked about it just to keep the mood light, but we all knew what could happen. Now I look around and I realize... it did happen.

Am I sad? Well yea. I've been in this industry for 20 years. Seriously. Two decades. I've been laid off more than once. It sucks every time. But am I sad I don't have a job? Not really... I'm sure I'll get another one eventually. I'm sad because it won't be THIS job. It won't be at Vigil. That's why I'm sad. The people I waged war with are no longer together. The people that I bled with, vented with, argued with (often times LOUDLY), and kicked back with... these people will never be together again in the same combination.

Not that it was perfect. But what is perfect? Did I like coming to work? Yes. Was I proud of the work that I did? Yes. More importantly, was I proud of the work that WE did? Absolutely. I knew, without a shadow of the doubt, that the project we were working on (Codenamed: Crawler) was going to blow people away. In fact, it DID blow people away. We did, in TWO months, what many companies haven't done in a year. The pride of knowing that no one was doing anything like us was so satisfying, it kept us coming to work and giving 100% every single day, even through the dark times.

... so maybe you can imagine what it feels like when you read the list of who bought what only to discover your name is not on the list. Why? Did we do something wrong? Were we not good enough? Were we not worth 'anything?' Imagine that.

Vigil was filled with people that I would put up against the best in the industry. People that made my work better, people that made me a better designer, and people that made me a better person. And now they are gone.

Their seats are empty.

It's OK, though. I guess this post makes it sound a bit melodramatic. Seriously... if you work in the video game industry you have to be resilient. Doing what you love often comes with a price - anyone who has been around for a while can tell you that. Today, that price has been paid. That being said, I'd still never dissuade anyone from following their dreams if their dream is to make video games. While it's not as romantic as it sounds, it's sure a hell of a lot of fun.

So don't cry for the people at Vigil. We made games for game players. I have no Horror stories from working here... only Honor stories. Through both praise and critiques alike, our goal was always to make a product as if we, ourselves, were the end-user. We may have gotten pushed and pulled in certain directions by forces out of our control, we were always in it to make games for game players. And that's what we did.

I can only hope that those spared from the other companies remain employed long into the future. There is not much worse than false hope, and these people deserve to continue making great games. You may not know their names, but they exist, and they bleed, sweat, and cry for your entertainment. I mean that honestly, with no negativity. They do it... no, WE do it... because we want you to have a good time.

In closing, I can only say thank you to the fans of Vigil games. Your support means more than you can imagine. Your feedback (both positive and negative) gave us long-lasting insight that we will all take with us, wherever we may go. You are the reason we made Darksiders 1 &2... and you are the reason we will continue to make games.

And with that... my seat is empty.


Ben Cureton
Lead Combat Designer
Vigil Games


P.S. This is no place for a horse.
Click to expand...

I loved both Darksiders, bought the DS 2 season pass and the art book. Was really looking forward to the future of the franchise. I hope you know just how many people had a fantastic time with these games.
 
Kacho

Kacho

Gold Member
Darkflight said:
Image%202013-01-24%20at%2012.10.29%20AM.png


Google Translate gives me:
Click to expand...

Man, that would be AMAZING.
 
S

speculawyer

Member
They probably suffered because the Darksider's IP was not very strong. The publishers missed out on getting a good studio. But perhaps the publishers will try to poach the employees one by one since that is cheaper than bidding on the whole studio.
 
W

Worthintendo

Member
I loved the first Darksiders, currently playing through 2 on the Wii U. Sucks to see Vigil not make the cut :( Was hoping Nintendo or someone would pick them up as I think they would go great along with Retro in making really western focused games for the Wii U.

All the best to all the staff there, you made 2 amazing games and its a shame whatever shape the future of Darksiders takes won't be in your hands (I assume), I loved the story you were telling and its a shame you won't get a chance to finish it.
 
A

antitrop

Member
My heart and thoughts go out to all those looking for new work in this volatile economy.

Hope the best for all of their families, as well. Godspeed.
 
S

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
I wonder if the absence of Joe Mad had a hand in the lack of interest in buying Vigil.

One of the dangers of having a rockstar/famous guy running a studio is that people don't look at it the same if he left, regardless of whether or not that would actually have an effect on the games.
 
T

Tame

Member
just read the news.

Virgil Dead.

How the f**k. Nobody wants to pick up a studio that created 2 great games

Sad day. Hope everyone finds employment quickly
 
T

tamaster92

Member
Sony should of picked them up and kept darksiders as a playstation answer to zelda.

Alas it's too late.

All the best vigil guys
 
D

Dominic_Shade

Member
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. I loved the gameplay, tone, and mythology of the Darksiders series. Was really hoping that Vigil would find a home somewhere outside of THQ. I thank the employees of Vigil Games for all their excellent work on Darksiders, and I wish them the best in their careers. Tragic, that was a brilliant letter to read and I earnestly hope you find the opportunity to lay your mark on another action franchise as Lead Combat Designer.
 
S

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Darkflight said:
Image%202013-01-24%20at%2012.10.29%20AM.png


Google Translate gives me:
Click to expand...

Tatsuya Minami (President/CEO of Platinum) replied to that tweet with "&#12458;&#12452;&#12458;&#12452;(>_<) ", which basically sounds like he's trying to tell Inaba to shut the hell up. :lol :lol Maybe Inaba's getting too far ahead of himself, or maybe something's being planned and he didn't want Inaba saying anything yet. Who knows. :lol

https://twitter.com/PG_minami/status/294234748363091968
 
R

rdrr gnr

Member
Seraphis Cain said:
Tatsuya Minami (President/CEO of Platinum) replied to that tweet with "&#12458;&#12452;&#12458;&#12452;(>_<) ", which basically sounds like he's trying to tell Inaba to shut the hell up. :lol :lol Maybe Inaba's getting too far ahead of himself, or maybe something's being planned and he didn't want Inaba saying anything yet. Who knows. :lol

https://twitter.com/PG_minami/status/294234748363091968
Click to expand...
Bad sign, unfortunately.
 
Infinity

Infinity

Member
Makes me sick. I just started playing DS1 (again).

What a fucking shame.

Heartfelt wishes out to the employees - as good as they are, I'm confident they'll all land on their feet soon.
 
M

Mauricio_Magus

Banned
tragic said:
My name is Ben Cureton, and I was the Lead Combat Designer at Vigil Games. I'm sitting at my desk among... what appears to be a warzone. The walls look bare. It's quiet.

P.S. This is no place for a horse.
Click to expand...


If there's one thing Darksiders 2 did right was in it's combat... you're amazing Ben, I wish you the best of luck.

You and your team are worth more than any bid that was made today, keep working hard, I'll be sure to buy the next game you work on.

Edit: HOLY SHIT IF YOU END UP IN PLATINUM, ALL MY MONEY
 
G

Glix

Member
I just don't get it...

They have all kinds of pipelines in place and stuff...

I guess NO pubs are interested in opening ANY studios anytime soon? I would think picking up a group that has proven they can ship a AAA (or close) project with tons of HD assets and critically well received gameplay...

Just doesn't make any sense to me.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
The one company I wanted to survive this, and they didn't.

Fuck this shit. Was it because it wasn't purchased, because if so, fuck the companies who were involved. The people working there are just as talented or more than the people at Relic and Volition.

God dammit. Also, sorry for the wordy rant, I need to vent about this.
 
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