Company News Rumors are true - Feargus quit

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Fallout 3 (Van Buren); Feargus Urquhart

I've just recieved additional confirmation on the rumors I reported about on <A href="Http://www.duckandcover.net">Duck and Cover</a>. <b>Feargus Urquhart</b>, head hancho and all around party fun guy, has resigned from <a href="Http://www.blackisle.com">Black Isle Studios</a>. What's worse is that there might be others leaving after he does.
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I'd just like to take the time to say, <i>You're fucked now, <a href="http://www.interplay.com">Interplay</a>. Congratulations, you're pissing away the only thing left that's made you money in the last five years.</i>
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Good luck to everyone involved, except you, <b>Herve</b>. Here's to hoping France re-institutes debtor's prison.
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[triCritical]

FU came to the BIS boards about an hour ago for about 10 minutes and said nothing. If the allegations were false, it would be very prudent for him to say so immediately. Just stirring the pot.

 

[Lemon]

When are we going to get official confirmation? Are they digging up a replacement and holding till then?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

When are we going to get official confirmation? Are they digging up a replacement and holding till then?

Tonight or tomorrow is when there will be something official, as stated by one of the plethora of confirmations on this.

 

[jvn3t]

The company of infidels is weakened! Now is the time, let us raise our rifles in a bloodsoaked coup of gooey liberating slaughter! We'll raise the flag high in the glorious spirit of revolution, until we get complacent and abusive! VIVA!

 

[POOPERSCOOPER]

hey

This is the best piece of news I heard in a long time. Hopefully Josh and Chris leave too, and go to Troika.

 

[Spazmo]

I don't see how Feargus would accept having Tim Cain is a boss, or how Tim Cain would accept to work with Feargus at all. More likely, Feargus will take a few people with him and start his own company.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Now, now.. Feargus and Tim are both professional adults who've worked together in the past. I don't think they'd let a little thing like Tim Cain leaving five years ago in the middle of a development cycle stand in the way of what they both know is really important..

Barroom fighting.

 

[triCritical]

Now, now.. Feargus and Tim are both professional adults who've worked together in the past. I don't think they'd let a little thing like Tim Cain leaving five years ago in the middle of a development cycle stand in the way of what they both know is really important..

Barroom fighting.

Or the fact that Tim took a lot of BIS with him.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I was joking about the "Barroom fighting" bit, I really don't think they hate one another as much as people think they do. Sure, there's been some angst between the two camps, but I'd say if you put them in a room together, it wouldn't be long before they found common ground.

 

[Flarnet]

That would be a strange barroom fight to behold. I mean, with Cain fighting in turn based mode and Urquhart going at it in realtime...

 

[triCritical]

That would be a strange barroom fight to behold. I mean, with Cain fighting in turn based mode and Urquhart going at it in realtime...

Yeah but Feargus would be pausing every couple seconds and be limited to 5 hits a round.

 

[HanoverF]

When you wear paper bag hats, no one starts a barroom brawl wth you...
<img src="http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:tt6CfY0_fcQC:skive.ru/images/tim.jpg">

 

[Spazmo]

Sorry, just like at DAC, I confused Feargus Urquhart and Brian Fargo. Ignore me.

 

[EEVIAC]

Can someone fill me in on why Interplay lose so many people? In recent years I can remember Tim Cain/Troika, the guys who made Descent, and Bioware. I also remember reading about migrations and legal trouble with IP in Amiga magazines in the early 90's, so its been going on for a while. Anyone want to give me a history lesson?

Maybe all the hate and elbows-in-the-ribs on the FOBOS boards have opened his eyes.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Can someone fill me in on why Interplay lose so many people? In recent years I can remember Tim Cain/Troika, the guys who made Descent, and Bioware. I also remember reading about migrations and legal trouble with IP in Amiga magazines in the early 90's, so its been going on for a while. Anyone want to give me a history lesson?

Maybe all the hate and elbows-in-the-ribs on the FOBOS boards have opened his eyes.

Tim Cain and crew left because they weren't happy about spending 3.5 years making Fallout and forced to do Fallout 2 so quickly afterwards with such a small time frame. Basically, you have creative people not allowed to be creative.

BioWare left because they were soaking Interplay for as much money as they could with NWN. When that money ran out, they up and left.

Interplay has a long history of screwing over developers, though. They did it under Fargo and they're doing it under Caen, so it's not much of a wonder that people working there get fed up and quit.

 

[Section8]

I doubt Feargus actually reads the boards here but if you're out there:

Chin up, big fella. You've been making the best of a progressively worse situation for years, and even if the Fallout fan in me disagrees with some of your opinions, I have a great deal of respect for being in one of the most difficult positions in the games industry and doing your job well. Good luck with any future prospects, I hope you find somewhere a bit more stable, and I hope leaving your employer of so many years doesn't get you too bummed out.

 

[EEVIAC]

Tim Cain and crew left because they weren't happy about spending 3.5 years making Fallout and forced to do Fallout 2 so quickly afterwards with such a small time frame. Basically, you have creative people not allowed to be creative.

To tell the truth I was expecting something much more sordid. There must be something in their management, an inability to communicate with their developers that makes people want to leave. You'd think, after having created one of the finest crpg's of all time, your publisher would cut you some slack, send you on a holiday to the Bahamas, maybe even give you a little more money.

 

[Spazmo]

Pshaw. There's sequel money to be made! It's like wth rock bands: you spend a few months, maybe a year in studio recording the new album, then a year on tour, and then you're right back in the studio.

 

[Section8]

That's not always true, even though Tactics doesn't hold a torch to it's roots, most of the dev team got a very lengthy holiday.

 

[Storn]

Wasn't Feargus the one who recently wrote a rather scathing letter about Interplay, saying that he would love to get started on Fallout 3, but he wants to work in an environment in which he and his folks didn't have to consistently worry about their future? I swear I remember reading something like that somewhere

S.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

To tell the truth I was expecting something much more sordid. There must be something in their management, an inability to communicate with their developers that makes people want to leave. You'd think, after having created one of the finest crpg's of all time, your publisher would cut you some slack, send you on a holiday to the Bahamas, maybe even give you a little more money.

Quite the opposite.. Because they crafted that fine CRPG, Interplay demanded a second one pronto so they could capitalize on the RPG of the Year hype that Fallout got. They weren't expecting Fallout to be as well recieved, so they wanted to bang out another one quickly and hype it.

Wasn't Feargus the one who recently wrote a rather scathing letter about Interplay, saying that he would love to get started on Fallout 3, but he wants to work in an environment in which he and his folks didn't have to consistently worry about their future? I swear I remember reading something like that somewhere

I'm not sure, but I can see Feargus saying that, especially the part about people worrying about their future. The morale at BIS is really low.

 

[triCritical]

Lets not forget all the people at BIS that got the axe, and all the people that left on their own as well. A lot of people from PS:T, stonekeep and IWD1 are now gone. Sometimes you think there is a revolving door there, with Dave M, J.E. and C.A. being some of the noteable personel that have not jumped ship. But who knows, this may all change.

Being a technical person, I am curious to know if is there more to jump, will it be some of the technical people? Noteably the programmers familiar with the Jefferson engine. Even though it might be IPLY proprietary, it would not be hard for them to take with them the basic gutted engine that still might have all ther rendering intact,

BTW, this engine supports Turn based combat. And if FU was totally bad, he would have never let that happen.

 

[Rager_Kaine]

Well, I hope BIS gets gutted of its prime developers and designers and they all make their own company with Feargus in the lead or Troika getting an influx of talent.

Let Interplay finally die.

 

[Drazzil]

Let me first be completely clear on this: This is coming from the viewpoint of someone who hates interplay.

Ive hated Interplay ever since they sold me an empty box (where there should have been game CDs) in a game I paid 50 clams for. (and then later refused to replace them) Im glad that it seems that Interplay is finally breathing its last ragged gasp. My fondest hope is to see the Interplay execs responsible for Black Isle's destruction fighting with homeless bums somewhere for a warm place to sleep under a bridge.

With Feargus Urquhart leaving Black Isle, I think at this point the writing is on the wall for Interplay, They have been weighed on the divine scales and found... wanting. Black Isle was pretty much the only thing keeping Interplay going. It wont be long now before Interplay goes bankrupt and they bite the dust. And I feel wonderful about this.

Again I just cant say how happy this makes me.

Oh and through many many years of dealing with my hopes and dreams for a Fallout 3 being crushed by an endless litany of other games, many that I have had the pleasure of seeing fail HORRIBLY, I can finally say, Fuck Fallout 3. I dont need it.
Fans with the Fallout 2 editor can make a better sequel (even with a six year old engine) then Interplay in its current state could even dream of making.

And before I hear people in the audience say "Oh well Interplay released the editor so they cant be all bad can they?"

I say this:

Releasing the editor for Fallout 2 was the LEAST Interplay could do to reward all its loyal fans of Fallout over the years, for the disappointment of hearing that game after game they promised to release was not Fallout 3 and even when they announced that they would in fact make another Fallout game only to announce 2 or 3 months later it would NOT be Fallout 3.

So getting back to my original topic I am glad to see Interplay go, this means that the core of Black Isle is free to go form their other company and do what they do best, make games that the *FANS* want. No more dragging Black Isle's name through the mud by making them come out with rehash after tired rehash of various D&D licenses.

They will no longer be forced to turn out Baldurs Gate 10 or Icewind Dale 40 or any other stupid sequel that they didn't want to do. I wont fool myself into thinking that Interplay will sell what used to be Black Isle the license for Fallout, however I firmly believe in the core of my being that we haven't seen the half of what these talented guys at Black Isle are capable of due to Interplay meddling and financial incompitence in knowing what the customer really wants. As we see this company and many other *French owned* companies explode, implode, or just sink under the tranquil waters, you will see many MANY other small highly motivated development companies making wonderful highly polished gems, not just popping out one badly concieved game after another just beacuase some french exec without the slightest clue about gaming or what the fuck he is talking about tells them to.

So the death of Interplay is a wonderful thing. The only thing I feel bad about is that it took so damn long, and that IMHO is the bottom line.