Goldenroad
Member
Not really. Just trying to spice things up a bit. One can speculate can't they?
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BioShock Infinite's Combat Director & AI Lead Leave [And Floating World Specialist]
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
Not really. Just trying to spice things up a bit. One can speculate can't they?
A level design and senior software engine have also left at about the same time.
One of them listed what they did more specifically:
Source: https://twitter.com/supererogatory/status/259416292161888256Superannuation said:
One of them listed what they did more specifically:
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
The second Infinite comes out, Irrational is imploding, isn't it?
SomeOneInaHat
Member
No, people have left Irrational before.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
It just feels like this project is going through quite a bit of personnel. Maybe it's just more emphasized here because it's such a hyped release.
I think the volume isn't that surprising, but rather the seniority.
The skills of all these people are now gone, and a lot of them defined what the game is.
So basically this will make or break it for him?
Gully State
Member
Same thing happened after Bioshock. Levine's team split and became 2k Marin.
Well, he's already moved to iRacing, so he has new employment.
Tho its an interesting move for someone that is coming out with a AAA title as ambitious as Infinite is to make a move to iRacing. Hope for the best
SomeOneInaHat
Member
I will agree with this.
Irrational will definitely be different, but whether or not the replacements (If any are enacted) will create great engrossing material for the betterment of the company will be an interesting point of discussion for future developments.
Good stuff. Much appreciated.
"Floating World Specialist" is officially the coolest-sounding job title.
Quite soon, actually. I had been out of the loop and was surprised when I saw that the release date is February.
I imagine it will also sell very well.
Quite soon, actually. I had been out of the loop and was surprised when I saw that the release date is February.
I imagine it will also sell very well.
It certainly gives the impression that Irrational team managing tends to burn through personnel. I think I remember on an Irrational podcast Levine comparing team building/working in games development to movies (maybe the Guillermo del Toro episode???) so finishing a movie and start over building a team for the next project from scratch seems to be a apt comparison to Irrational way of team managing/games development. It seems a bit ineffective from the outside though, even if a great final product is the end result of the process.
jim-jam bongs
Member
at first I was all "well a game can still be good with terrible ai and combat" but a substandard floating world is officially my breaking point
I feel it also sticks out more this time though since people like Nate Wells had been around since the Looking Glass days 14+ years ago, so it's not like only people who came on for Infinite are leaving.
Yeah, and didn't Levine himself say around Infinite's initial reveal that Irrational had such a large turnover after the end of BioShock's development that the Infinite team was pretty much entirely new?
Plus you add in that nasty dirt sheet from just after Bio1's release that stated everyone was fed up with working there (and with Levine, specifically), and that several senior staff left to form a new studio to make a sequel to BioShock. It then went on to say they left Levine stuck with "project X", which was said to have been a new XCOM game.
Even if the report was exaggerated, it seems to have been at its core seemingly true with 5 senior staff from the Bio1 team ended up working on Bio2, 2K Marin (the Bio2 team) working on an XCOM fps (which potentially could have started at Irrational considering we know the project changed hands several times), and Irrational essentially starting from scratch to form the team that is now currently working on Infinite.
This all points to a seemingly major problems with upper management over at Irrational, and it's a shame because some of the most talented designers in the industry have passed through and/or currently reside there.
SpeedySwaf
Member
Given that there are only four months until release, I'm pretty confident that a majority of it was done already.
show me your skeleton
Member
working at irrational must be hell for these guys, at their seniority, to be leaving, especially as some of them are moving sideways in the industry, not up.
edit: urgh. i really hate adding to the general uninformed, negative noise that can be neogaf but there's definitely something up with that place.
edit: urgh. i really hate adding to the general uninformed, negative noise that can be neogaf but there's definitely something up with that place.
I'm having flashbacks of infinity ward, I hope to god this doesn't reflect on what to expect from the game.
I'm seeing more of an Ion Storm type of situation, personally. Not from an output/quality ratio, but from the way the team seems to be having major issues due to internal conflict rather than something like the publishing big-wigs sticking their heads where they don't belong.
show me your skeleton
Member
but if the company was a good place to work at they'd probably not want to move on, especially to similar level positions at other companies.
There are probably very good reasons for every departure. If nothing else, just wanderlust is probably a factor, and if not now, when? An other five years when Levine's next title ships? That's a very significant chunk of your life, I could see people just wanting to try something else.
Interfectum
Member
I think everyone here agrees that's probably the case. What's concerning is the fact that senior level guys are leaving Irrational. What does this mean for the studio going forward? How troubled was development of Infinite? Will this supposed trouble bleed through into the game? etc
I would say this is the root of most problems.
Naughty Dog for example ships 2.5 titles in that time, and given that BioShock came out in August, at 5.5 years it's much closer to three titles.