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[infiniteheteroskdasticity]

Hindu would be cool too. It's so active as a religion though I feel it would be disingenuous to not consider the Abrahamic religions (realistically its no fun because monotheism) but kill Hindu gods instead.

Shinto would be neat, Japan already freely uses it. Though that is probably more explored. Never been done by a western dev though so I would still be interested. Perhaps not for god of war though.

This is probably a discussion for a new thread but I'd think an existing religion is out of the question due to religion being something a lot of people take a little too seriously. Eygptian, Norse and Aztec are less controversial and provide plenty of opportunity for badass epicness that befits a GOW game.

 

[Sid]

At least God of War 4 is safe and secure.

Not even...few (or many) of the vets have left the building son.

 

[injurai]

This is probably a discussion for a new thread but I'd think an existing religion is out of the question due to religion being something a lot of people take a little too seriously. Eygptian, Norse and Aztec are less controversial and provide plenty of opportunity for badass epicness that befits a GOW game.

Yeah, it's been talked about many times before, but threads always end up taking breaks this deep in.

 

[Bluekaveli]

Can we get some posts on the first page that pretty much sum up everything? Reading through all of these pages are mind bobbling.

 

[Some Nobody]

Can someone please tell me why everyone thinks Barlog is working on GoW4. Am i missing something or is that what the insiders have been saying?
I really hope its not true

That'd be sad. He came back to work on the same series he left? I'm suddenly starting to believe the whole creatively bankrupt thing people keep talking about WRT AAA titles.

 

[Anticitizen One]

That's not how that works. You don't continue on a project that will lose money just because the other one will make money. If Sony had 100 Billion Dollars in the bank, it's likely the project still would have been cancelled. Corporations have money, because they don't waste money. The thing Apple is so good at.

You have to spend money to make money. New IP's are risky sure but the prospect of rewards are big. Just pumping out God of War sequels over and over is just going to lead to diminishing returns (as we saw with both GOW Ascension and Gears of War Judgement). New IPs attract more attention and diversify the brand.

 

[sn00zer]

Hopefully stuff eventually leaks...I imagine there is a lot of stellar work over 4 years

 

[Brad Grenz]

It wasn't the entire team either. There were more than 50 people on it, obviously.


Why those 50 (which included temp workers, of course) got fired is what I don't understand. Especially guys that have been there for 10+ years.


I assume Stig will begin working on a new project and make a new team. And with that, there will be hiring. So did they just not think the people on the project that they fired were not good enough? How is someone good enough for 10+ years and then suddenly not?

There are actually a number of reasons a long time employee would be fired in this kind of situation. For one, their compensation is often substantially more than someone who has joined the company more recently. I've worked at companies where people with "seniority" were let go in favor of new hires who would do the same work for a lot less money. Think of it this way, do you fire one guy who has been there for 10+ years, or two people who have only been there a couple years if you save the same amount of money either way?

Another consideration is these long time employees very likely have held leadership positions on the cancelled project. In reshuffling the disposition of the remaining teams it is easier to move around lower level employees who are more likely to just become another rank and file team member in a new group. But if the other projects already have their lead positions settled you may not be able to easily insert someone with the same seniority into the leadership structure. Like, what if an 8 year employee was selected to lead an art team on the remaining project. Do you make the 10 year employee report to that person? What if a lot of the team had previously worked directly for the 10 year person? Does that undercut the authority of the 8 year lead? Is it fair to take the lead position away from the 8 year employee just so the 10 year person can have a place to land?

There's just a lot to think about with this stuff.

 

[TyrantII]

Let me be a little more specific

I'm talking about MP player count/community. Which last time I heard was pretty low.......


It was a good bundle (and non) deal for people looking for another shooter or want to have something else at launch and were just interested because of "new gen new slate" but the series was never a killer app for the mainstream. This is coming from a killzone 2 guy

Yeah, the numbers there are kinda amazing.

Agree, but Sony doesn't really do killer apps. Love it or hate it they're more a conglomeration of different gamers who like different genres or multiple genres, and they tend to try to make them happy with a diverse, sometimes not very profitable lineup. It's why you get a lot more creativity with Sony to take chances, and make mistakes.

If something does organically hit it off with a wider audience, it's icing on the cake and they run with it (your GoW, Uncharted, ect). If it breaks even or just under they keep it going as long as it brings in a niche to the brand, and budget accordingly. If it flops, they hang it up.

Good or bad, Sony doesn't have the money to gamble on a huge game to make or break the system. But what they seem to do is make sure they have a diversified portfolio that attracts gamers and allows them to make out on the back end with licensing.

 

[TyrantII]

The hate here for another God of War is frightening.

DO WE NOT WANT MORE OF THIS? TELL ME DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spoiler

Browsers be damned LOL

Sure, we just don't want this guy

3+ resurrections is too much. Move on to a new, interesting story and mythology while updating the deep fighting game in a platformer gameplay.

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

DAMN!

Why the hell would they cancel Stig's new IP? I don't understand!

It sounded like it had a lot of potential. They even got that Babylon 5 guy to help with the writing. I hope that project doesn't die on the vine completely.

Maybe another publisher is interested? Why the hell would Sony kill this project? It had such huge potential!

 

[viveks86]

That's what I think as well. Stig's probably got a small group brainstorming something new. Everyone else is likely moved over to the GoW project and the hiring is likely on hold now, since I think most of the hiring was for GoW, and then they'll expand again once Stig's next project gets going.

I wonder if this means GoW might get accelerated for a 2015 release. The added resources could enable them to ramp up much sooner than they originally planned.

 

[Dead]

The rumored info about the Destiny reveal making them go back and alter a bunch of stuff seems to be the biggest clue about what really happened. They probably got caught off guard and were making a very similar product, and after all the changes they were implementing, they simply lost focus of what the project was at that point.

 

[darkwing]

who was the genius that canceled the project

yes we need more Kratos

 

[BreakinBad]

I wonder if this means GoW might get accelerated for a 2015 release. The added resources could enable them to ramp up much sooner than they originally planned.

I hope not. I have GoW fatigue.

 

[viveks86]

Mort said that's what he's hired for.

I hope he's wrong on this one. Just like Hawken and LoL.

I have a feeling that Mort was just speculating and not stating it as fact. Other than that, we have no evidence one way or the other.

I hope not. I have GoW fatigue.

Haha! I skipped Ascension, so I'm raring to go!

 

[schaft0620]

I don't want to here that the industry isn't doing well. Welcome to a field were contracted salary employees have unrealistic expectations and shit pay. I say Why not, hundreds of thousands of people try to enter the industry every year with their overpaid Full Sail-esque education most people can be replaced.

 

[Kazuma Kiryu]

You have to spend money to make money. New IP's are risky sure but the prospect of rewards are big. Just pumping out God of War sequels over and over is just going to lead to diminishing returns (as we saw with both GOW Ascension and Gears of War Judgement). New IPs attract more attention and diversify the brand.

Both titles "failed" because they weren't main, numbered titles. Gamers aren't stupid, and when you're making prequels because "hey, this franchise sells", you're going to get shitty sales.
Using those two games as some kind of barometer to where both franchises are going is extremely silly.

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

I still don't comprehend killing this project, even if it was somewhat similar to Destiny.

So what? They could have implemented changes to the game to make it more unique and made it more single player focused to distance it further.

Plus its not like they had to release it the same week Destiny came out! If they had some time spacing it out, it would've been fine.

This is just a really dumb move. A total waste of years or work.

 

[Shinjiru]

so, Allan Backer left to save Japan studio and now Santa Monica got into this mess?

I was thinking the same.

I assume moving people to GoW team is temporary while Stig is going back to drawing board for new IP, than when he had better picture of what the new IP will be, he'll start to pull people from GoW team to make prototypes etc.

I doubt they would have him on as Director of another new IP after cancelling this one. I think they would promote someone else instead.

While the move is hardly unsurprising, given the expectation that Sony would not abandon one of its most popular intellectual properties, we’re told a number of ex-scifi IP staff moved over aren’t happy about the change and are lamenting the loss of their original project.

That sure sounds to me like there is only one team currently at SSM beside what help they are giving RAD, The Chinese Room, etc. So, prior to Stig's game being cancelled, SSM was a two team studio and now it's down to one. Some here seem to think they had 3 teams, though, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[coolasj19]

But... after 4 years? How much money has Sony put into this project? Is pretty much saying bye bye to millions of dollars.

Theoretically, they'd be saying bye bye to millions more if they continued.

You have to spend money to make money. New IP's are risky sure but the prospect of rewards are big. Just pumping out God of War sequels over and over is just going to lead to diminishing returns (as we saw with both GOW Ascension and Gears of War Judgement). New IPs attract more attention and diversify the brand.

Excuse my language. But, no shit. Sony knows this, I know this, we all know this. The game got cancelled for a reason. It was being worked on for 4 years and speculatively wasn't up to snuff. You wanna talk the importance of new IP, you're preaching to the choir with SCE. And there's still SSM's second team.

Hopefully stuff eventually leaks...I imagine there is a lot of stellar work over 4 years

Same. I want to know what the hell it was. Even though the wound would heal much faster if I didn't.

 

[injurai]

Haha! I skipped Ascension, so I'm raring to go!

Yup same. It was an executive decision. A decision better than what Sony just made.

 

[Dead]

I still don't comprehend killing this project, even if it was somewhat similar to Destiny.

So what? They could have implemented changes to the game to make it more unique and made it more single player focused to distance it further.

Plus its not like they had to release it the same week Destiny came out! If they had some time spacing it out, it would've been fine.

This is just a really dumb move. A total waste of years or work.

Sony sure are going out of their way to market Destiny on PS4 though. Wonder if their deal with Activision played a part in it.

 

[Some Nobody]

The rumored info about the Destiny reveal making them go back and alter a bunch of stuff seems to be the biggest clue about what really happened. They probably got caught off guard and were making a very similar product, and after all the changes they were implementing, they simply lost focus of what the project was at that point.

There's a LOT of variety in sci-fi, and a ton of gamers love science fiction. Unless it was also a "persistent online world" and an FPS, it really can't have been that similar. Just making it an offline game would change a ton, and if it were more TPS/action-based then most core gamers would basically consider that a completely different title just with similar settings.

 

[EatChildren]

That sure sounds to me like there is only one team currently at SSM beside what help they are giving RAD, The Chinese Room, etc. So, prior to Stig's game being cancelled, SSM was a two team studio and now it's down to one. Some here seem to think they had 3 teams, though, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Not necessarily. Often studio staff with multiple operating teams will move around on and off projects depending on how far they are in production and the need for additional staff. BioWare is a good example of this. People who worked on Mass Effect also work on Dragon Age in some capacity even while the two are made at the same time. When one project hits the full production phase the bulk of staff will move over to see it through to completion.

For all we know God of War for PlayStation 4 is deep in production and thus the most viable project for now free staff to jump on and help it get finished as quick as possible. No point throwing them at something where they're not needed just yet.

 

[coolasj19]

I was thinking the same.

I doubt they would have him on as Director of another new IP after cancelling this one. I think they would promote someone else instead.

That sure sounds to me like there is only one team currently at SSM beside what help they are giving RAD, The Chinese Room, etc. So, prior to Stig's game being cancelled, SSM was a two team studio and now it's down to one. Some here seem to think they had 3 teams, though, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, sam. How odd. Wonder how important Becker was/is to the studio.

Maybe. Maybe not. We'll see Stig's fate sooner or later.

Cory Barlog's team. He just came back roughly a year ago and is putting together his dream team. Forgot the name of the 3rd lead.

I still don't comprehend killing this project, even if it was somewhat similar to Destiny.
So what? They could have implemented changes to the game to make it more unique and made it more single player focused to distance it further.
Plus its not like they had to release it the same week Destiny came out! If they had some time spacing it out, it would've been fine.
This is just a really dumb move. A total waste of years or work.

Did you miss the part where there were reports of the game changing direction and it not being able to come together at the same time? 4 years of dev time is pushing it.

 

[LastNac]

GOW:A(which i still enjoyed) didn't have the impact its predecessors did because it wasn't given the attention of a numbered title. I'm fully convinced GOW4 could easily return that series to its mainstream status.

I say keep the gameplay and presentation, just bring in a revolutionary new story.

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

Is there any chance this project could be resurrected? Surely, they could've given them a chance to get this thing back on track with some new ideas?

I just cannot imagine throwing 4 years of work out of the window! Especially from a team as talented as this one!

 

[Hitokiri03]

If anyone deserves to be get screwed it sure is Cory Barlog.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

LMAO

 

[Dead]

lol, wow

 

[darkwing]

Is there any chance this project could be resurrected? Surely, they could've given them a chance to get this thing back on track with some new ideas?

I just cannot imagine throwing 4 years of work out of the window! Especially from a team as talented as this one!

if Sony only had a huge warchest

 

[EatChildren]

Every time, without fail, I read Cory's surname as Balrog.

 

[ramuh]

There's a LOT of variety in sci-fi, and a ton of gamers love science fiction. Unless it was also a "persistent online world" and an FPS, it really can't have been that similar. Just making it an offline game would change a ton, and if it were more TPS/action-based then most core gamers would basically consider that a completely different title just with similar settings.

I agree. Science Fiction isn't a one hole kinda of genre. In my head the perfect sci-fi game would be based on the Owen Deathstalker books (Simon Green). It has the whole perfect setup. Owen is a minor historian in a bad intergalactic empire. Anyways, it always sounds better in my head, I don't know how it would translate to a game but I can hope!

 

[Bishop89]

Sucks to b working on something for 4 years, just for it to go all in the drain. Is STIG still there?

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

Sony sure are going out of their way to market Destiny on PS4 though. Wonder if their deal with Activision played a part in it.

I really hope to hell that isn't the reason, because if it is, its an idiotic one.

Killing off an internal, original, promising title to help assuage a third party publisher over a similar game? Particularly one that isn't even exclusive?

This isn't like the situation with Titanfall on XB1.

 

[darkwing]

this is Kaz worst decision ever since taking over Sony

 

[Bishop89]

Every time, without fail, I read Cory's surname as Balrog.

I thought I was the only one!

 

[viveks86]

Not necessarily. Often studio staff with multiple operating teams will move around on and off projects depending on how far they are in production and the need for additional staff. BioWare is a good example of this. People who worked on Mass Effect also work on Dragon Age in some capacity even while the two are made at the same time. When one project hits the full production phase the bulk of staff will move over to see it through to completion.

For all we know God of War for PlayStation 4 is deep in production and thus the most viable project for now free staff to jump on and help it get finished as quick as possible. No point throwing them at something where they're not needed just yet.

Couldn't agree more. In context of your original post, all of this makes sense. I'm sadder than I was, but I seemed to have at least gained some sort of closure on this topic.

 

[RoboPlato]

You know what would be a cool outcome from this? If a smaller SSM team made a VR focused experience to give it a killer app. If they keep the art style simple it could have a quick turn around.

 

[Showaddy]

Holy Fuck Jett!

 

[injurai]

Typical depressing Jett

 

[viveks86]

I didn't get Jett's post. What did Cory do? Is this about his previous departure?

 

[BlackBuzzard]

This had me laughing. Im glad he sees the humor in it.

Hi Cory cant wait to see your next project.

 

[Replicant]

http://www.rocketchainsaw.com.au/exclusive-sony-santa-monicas-layoffs-new-ip-00912/

We’ve also been told that after Destiny was formally revealed parts of Santa Monica’s sci-fi project underwent rather significant changes, the original vision apparently quite similar to what Bungie is cooking up, changes applied to distance the two. Based on information supplied, we’re lead to believe the choice to divert Santa Monica’s project away from Destiny comparisons lead to somewhat troubled development, the studio unable to fully get the project back on course, ultimately culminating in its cancellation.

In that case then I'm okay with this. I thought it'd be more along the lines of "Mass Effect" or similar RPG/TPS. But if it's another FPS then I can do without.

Every time, without fail, I read Cory's surname as Balrog.

Damn, it's not?

It's not.

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

this is Kaz worst decision ever since taking over Sony

Was it actually his decision? Does he make these kinds of of lower level determinations? Seems more like something Yoshida would do.

 

[Some Nobody]

Every time, without fail, I read Cory's surname as Balrog.

I keep trying not to, but my brain automatically defaults to this and I have to switch it over.

http://www.rocketchainsaw.com.au/exclusive-sony-santa-monicas-layoffs-new-ip-00912/



In that case then I'm okay with this. I thought it'd be more along the lines of "Mass Effect" or similar RPG/TPS. But if it's another FPS then I can do without.

Maybe it was an RPG/TPS, but had story ideas similar to Destiny. Which, again...I still think sci-fi could withstand that. I doubt visually they looked similar at all, but if it involved a character who traveled around to different worlds who also fought some intergalactic evil empires, it's very possible SSM and Sony got cold feet.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

www.rocketchainsaw.com.au/exclusive-sony-santa-monicas-layoffs-new-ip-00912/

So they canceled a 4 year project? ... Thanks a lot Shu! Run back to what's safe. So Stig's project is gone then, does that mean he works below Barlog on the new GOW? This sounds like something Microsoft would do, yet Sony did the same thing. How disappointing....

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

www.rocketchainsaw.com.au/exclusive-sony-santa-monicas-layoffs-new-ip-00912/

So they canceled a 4 year project? ... Thanks a lot Shu! Run back to what's safe. So Stig's project is gone then, does that mean he works below Barlog on the new GOW? This sounds like something Microsoft would do, yet Sony did the same thing. How disappointing....

My only hope is that the report is right about the project possibly not going completely to waste.

Perhaps they can use the assets they have for an existing game or a new one. At least then, they could utilize from aspects of the game. Letting all those efforts go completely lost would be an absolute travesty.

 

[RoboPlato]

My only hope is that the report is right about the project possibly not going completely to waste.

Perhaps they can use the assets they have for an existing game or a new one. At least then, they could utilize from aspects of the game. Letting all those efforts go completely lost would be an absolute travesty.

I've always wondered if something like this happened if a team could make a game in the same universe but in a different genre or something.