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RIP Vigil Games (2005-2013)

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
It's also become sufficiently clear from twitter and the other thread that Vigil didn't make it.

You will remember them best for Darksiders and Darksiders 2.

: (

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.
 

BY2K

Membero Americo
No no no no no no no!

Please tell me this is a joke! Please tell me somebody bought them! PLEASE!
 
Ugh, this sucks. I know a lot of people were disappointed with Darksiders II but I really loved it and I was hoping Vigil would get a shot at another one.

Today has been a day of high highs and low lows. :(
 
It never looked good for them. The creative vision for the studio left, and they released a game that sold far less than expectations.
 

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
Yeah saw that coming after i've seen how bad Darksiders 2 sold.

R.I.P
 

skarabrae

Banned
There's so many rumors flying around. First, it was rumored that Take Two got Vigil and its IP. Next, Take Two ONLY buys Vigil IP but not Vigil. Then, Take Two buys Turtle Rock and its IP. I don't know what to believe anymore x_x
 

Totobeni

An blind dancing ho
RIP.

Darksiders was great and Darksiders 2 combat system is amazing, it's really shame that no one want a talented studio like Vigil

;_;

sad day.
 

SovanJedi

provides useful feedback
How could they not get a buyer? Darksiders 1 and 2 were both pretty polished and fairly good titles. Arse gravy. :(
 

TheOGB

Banned
Oh goddammit :(

I doubt my single purchases would've saved them (obviously not), but I think I've had the Darksiders series on the backburner long enough. I'll pick them up in remembrance of Vigil.
 
As bad as the human toll is in a situation like Gas Powered Games facing major layoffs, this is far worse as Vigil was a very, very competent developer. What a shame.
 

BY2K

Membero Americo
Why would nobody want Vigil and Darksiders!? It has so much potential!

I mean... I mean DAT ENDING!

"No... not alone."

God. :(
 
This generation has been a studio killer. I expect to see even more of these sorts of threads in the future.

Condolences to those that have lost their jobs. :(
 
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