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Amy Hennig has left Naughty Dog [confirmed]

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Wow. I wonder what this means for uncharted? All of a sudden I'm not confident about it coming this year...

I guess I'm not too worried in the long run, the story and writing in uncharted has never been anything special imo. Though it's a shame if she didn't leave amicably.
 
Endo Punk said:
So what game got canned? I thought it was Stig's game but if not then I'm glad. And I was hoping Barlog would get to create a new IP, I guess him returning to GOW is for the best but only if he can make it the RE4 of the franchise.
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It was Stig's game. Presumably, the people who lost their jobs are the people who's positions on GoW4 were already filled.
 
StuBurns said:
It was Stig's game. Presumably, the people who lost their jobs are the people who's positions on GoW4 were already filled.
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So... no new IP from SSM?

th_gorilla.png
 
Endo Punk said:
I don't see it like that I see it that he just doesn't acknowledge that ND still has as big of a talant as Amy. Not surprised since that particular talent sorta put BI in its place in terms of story telling last year.
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You don't have to see everything as an insult. And saying she left big shoes to fill doesn't say anything about whether the people left behind can fill them or not. It's not like he said something along of 'nobody will ever be able to fill the big shoes she left behind'.
 
Endo Punk said:
So... no new IP from SSM?

th_gorilla.png
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Yes, no new IP. Search the forum for Sony Santa Monica, and you will come across a locked thread that has all the information you will need.

On topic, this is sad. I loved her work on the previous Uncharted games. This COULD mean that the tone of the game may change drastically. Does anything else think so?
 
So if Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann are taking over U4, then what happens to Naughty Dogs secundo team? Will this mean they are a 1 game studio again? And what happens to Justin Richmond?
 
Bad news, but not overly horrible. She was good and it was great to have such a high profile woman in such a big studio. Not too concerned with where ND go from here, she's not exactly irreplaceable.
 
Endo Punk said:
So... no new IP from SSM?

http://th207.photobucket.com/albums/bb268/localvagrant/th_gorilla.png[IMG][/QUOTE]
I think we have to question what a new IP really means in terms of value to the user though. TLoU could have nearly been an Uncharted game, it could have been set in a city that had been abandoned, you don't need to share characters, etc. Or if you think of the Far Cry series, all that really means is a first person game in an open, or semi-open environment, they're not linked by characters, or locations, or game design.

GoW4 could effectively be a new IP in terms of originality, being only GoW in name.
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Since we've already seen some mo-cap from U4 already does that mean most of the story was written? If so does it need re-writing / re-shooting? Also really hope Amy finds something else maybe a new IP. Good luck Amy!!!
 
The issue stands what forced her out? Creative control or some new development happening? Seriously this is a big news and I hope ND shed some light on the situation.
 
So the bald guy with villain mustaches is actually evil? NICE.

But yeah, dont believe everything you read on the interwebz people.
 
StuBurns said:
No, there isn't a 'GoW Ascension' team, two of the leads from Ascension left, the majority of the team transferred to Stig's IP, and Barlog started building a team to make a game that "will live up to the standards that I helped establish here at SMS" and "feels instantly familiar yet completely different; something that feels like home on an alien planet with a nitrogen atmosphere."

It's going to be God of War.
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Still, this absolutely nothing at all.
But of course you can read a lot of things into his comment.
Carl said:
Holy shit. RIP Naughty Dog
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This will probably make me unpopular, but I've never really enjoyed the story or writing in an Uncharted game. Last of Us was a huge leap forward in those areas and I really hope that this decision was made so they can push things in a similar direction to TLoU.
 
Amy Hennig is a massive talent. Her leaving can only be bad news for a developer. It's like a top draft pick leaving your team - even if you had no place for them, they're going to improve one of your rivals. It's not like she's some 'cancer in the locker room' type person. Naughty Dog will do fine without her. But wherever she lands...that developer is gonna do GREAT.
 
RamzaIsCool said:
So if Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann are taking over U4, then what happens to Naughty Dogs secundo team? Will this mean they are a 1 game studio again? And what happens to Justin Richmond?
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It's a large shoe to fill, but they could always hire another Creative Director, or promote someone internally to the role.
 
Seems like such a weird move by ND. I mean to force her out? I don't get it. But on the bright side I'm sure she will be quickly snatched up by another team.
 
RamzaIsCool said:
So if Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann are taking over U4, then what happens to Naughty Dogs secundo team? Will this mean they are a 1 game studio again? And what happens to Justin Richmond?
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As long as we're in the dark, who knows, but my guess is that they're restructuring and going through those questions right now.

It's definitely a blow, and will certainly affect both teams.
 
It must be so freeing not having to crank out another uncharted. Maybe she'll even get to make something other than a third person shooter! Good luck Amy.
 
Woah, kicked out? That would be crazy. She was a huge part of the uncharted franchise

Anyway I'm sure she wont have a problem finding a new studio.
 
AniHawk said:
the word arrogant gets thrown around a lot and there definitely was some of that coming from ken kutaragi, but maybe not sony as a whole. it sure as hell came from jason rubin though, especially when he was talking about the genre he primarily worked on.
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Jason Rubin quit Naughty Dog because nobody recognized him as a star. This shit ain't even a lie. So he went off to write comic books and possible work on "bigger" mediums where he would get recognition.
 
Guys, this means Elena and Chloe in UC4 will have giant breasts

From an old interview
But that doesn't mean her perspective as a woman doesn't come in handy on design teams dominated by men, including on Uncharted 2, which features two prominent female characters. "There was an issue with breast size sometimes. I would say to the modelers, 'Let's take it down. How about a C [cup]?' "
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http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/07/business/la-fi-himi7-2010feb07
 
StuBurns said:
And of the worst.
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Which wasn't her fault - one of the main actors had to quit halfway through recording dialogue because he was in The Hobbit. That required a major rewrite and it shows.

Not to mention the fact that they built the set-pieces first and asked her to write them into the story (hence the weird pirate bit).

Considering how they developed UC3, I think she did just fine.
 
This industry terrifies me if strong, brilliant people like Amy Hennig can be "forced" out of their jobs.

I'm devastated by this departure...
 
she wrote my favorite game of all time ;(
wherever she goes, there's a good chance that will be my new favorite studio. If she really was forced out for creative disagreement, I wouldn't be too begrudged if Microsoft picked her for a good well supported studio to work on a new IP. Square sure could use some creative help from a western woman too.
 
StuBurns said:
It's not a joke post, GoW1 was better written than any Uncharted, GoW2 stumbled on the writing side, despite being stronger in every other area, so I'm happy Barlog is back to direct it, but I think they'd benefit from a dedicated writer.
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God of War was well-told for what it was, but they're totally different games with totally different content and tones.
 
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