People News Brian Mitsoda fired from Bloodlines 2

[Ismaul]

But it would be a perfectly sound reason for why they were fired.

Why would a narrative designer be fired over mismanagement? He has nothing to do with it. Cluney the creative director maybe, but not Mitsoda, especially since he's the original dev and firing him would create a PR nightmare and loss of even more money.

It was a retarded move. If there was an actual problem with management, they should've known and dealt with it way sooner, not after 5 years and in such a sudden manner. Guys deemed responsible such as Mitsoda should've been made aware so they could've done something about it. But with no notice at all? This tells you it's not Mitsoda that fucked up and likely not Cluney or not him alone. Management at Hardsuit Labs and Paradox dropped the ball big time, and are shifting the blame here. Morons shooting themselves in the foot thinking it'll fix their brain tumor.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Nifft Batuff]

How is it possible to fire people while mantaining a non-disclosure agreement on the reason of the firing?

cant share reasoning if there was none provided

This is even worse. How is possible firing people without providing any reason? In my country this would be illegal.

 

[Prime Junta]

This is even worse. How is possible firing people without providing any reason? In my country this would be illegal.

In the USA most employment is "at will," which means the employer can fire you at any time, for any reason.

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-does-employment-at-will-mean-2060493

If you don't like this, unionise.

 

[Horvatii]

Better dead than red!
YOU!
ESS!
AYE!

YOU!
ESS!
AYE!

YOU!
ESS!
AYE!

 

[Grauken]

Better dead than red!

This can be provided

 

[Horvatii]

Better dead than red!

This can be provided

Crimson - like arterial blood on white porcelain.

 

[Grauken]

Better dead than red!

This can be provided

Crimson - like arterial blood on white porcelain.

I hope you like pumpkin

 

[Zed]

But it would be a perfectly sound reason for why they were fired.

Why would a narrative designer be fired over mismanagement? He has nothing to do with it. Cluney the creative director maybe, but not Mitsoda, especially since he's the original dev and firing him would create a PR nightmare and loss of even more money.

It was a retarded move. If there was an actual problem with management, they should've known and dealt with it way sooner, not after 5 years and in such a sudden manner. Guys deemed responsible such as Mitsoda should've been made aware so they could've done something about it. But with no notice at all? This tells you it's not Mitsoda that fucked up and likely not Cluney or not him alone. Management at Hardsuit Labs and Paradox dropped the ball big time, and are shifting the blame here. Morons shooting themselves in the foot thinking it'll fix their brain tumor.

In his role as a narrative designer he could very well stretch out work and lie (or withhold progress report) to management for some serious cost sinks. Especially in a game like this with V/A budget and such.

I'm not saying it wasn't a bad move. I'm just trying to find the underlying cause.

 

[Tacgnol]

How is it possible to fire people while mantaining a non-disclosure agreement on the reason of the firing?

Normally they tie NDAs on termination to things like payouts. He was probably given the ultimatum, sign the NDA or we won't give you any severance pay.

 

[mondblut]

If there was an actual problem with management, they should've known and dealt with it way sooner, not after 5 years and in such a sudden manner.

As is often the case, the higher-up management at PDX are likely even more incompetent than those at HardSuit Autonomous Zone. Only when the money run out yet the milestones that might even have been being delivered on time did not magically transform into a complete finished game, somebody began to get worried. And when the higher-up management is getting worried, it tends to act with all the grace and prudence of a drunken elephant locked up in the museum of porcelain.

 

[GreyWardens Rock]

This is why you leave the classics alone, create a "spiritual successor" or an indirect sequel if you absolutely must. Also, never work in tandem with a publisher/shareholder, always deliver the finished product, and keep the software rights to yourself.

 

[Tramboi]

This is why you leave the classics alone, create a "spiritual successor" or an indirect sequel if you absolutely must. Also, never work in tandem with a publisher/shareholder, always deliver the finished product, and keep the software rights to yourself.

Making a game is expensive though.

 

[True Ukrainian]

Most developers need advances or loans from the publisher to start work. So that means pawning off the IP and accepting their marching orders.

 

[Harthwain]

It was a retarded move. If there was an actual problem with management, they should've known and dealt with it way sooner, not after 5 years and in such a sudden manner. Guys deemed responsible such as Mitsoda should've been made aware so they could've done something about it. But with no notice at all? This tells you it's not Mitsoda that fucked up and likely not Cluney or not him alone. Management at Hardsuit Labs and Paradox dropped the ball big time, and are shifting the blame here. Morons shooting themselves in the foot thinking it'll fix their brain tumor.

The current theory is that both Mitsoda and Cluney were against cutting off parts of the game to be stuffed into the Season Pass content. This would mean having less to work for the team (keep in mind they had to move the release date, again), while at the same time satisfying the Story Packs' requirements. It also gives good enough context for firing both Lead Writer and Creative Directior and hiring up somebody in their place who is supposed to get the game in somewhat working order out of the door on time no matter what.

I mean, I like this story more than the one in which Paradox fired Mitsoda and Cluney as part of some penny-saving plan, because they went over the budget as they had to delay the game's release multiple times.

Although it's possible to be a mix of both.

 

[Spectacle]

I think it's likely that whatever management droid made the decision to fire Mitsoda had no idea who he was or his relation to the WTM:B franchise. The just saw a senior collecting a high salary who wasn't doing much at the moment since the story was complete but development was behind schedule.

If Mitsoda was actually underperforming or somehow being an obstacle to the development process, it would have been smarter to sideline him into a position with no responsibilities but to keep him on the project for PR purposes. So to me this suggests it was some clueless bean-counter who decided to fire Brian simply for money reasons.

 

[Ismaul]

It was a retarded move. If there was an actual problem with management, they should've known and dealt with it way sooner, not after 5 years and in such a sudden manner. Guys deemed responsible such as Mitsoda should've been made aware so they could've done something about it. But with no notice at all? This tells you it's not Mitsoda that fucked up and likely not Cluney or not him alone. Management at Hardsuit Labs and Paradox dropped the ball big time, and are shifting the blame here. Morons shooting themselves in the foot thinking it'll fix their brain tumor.

The current theory is that both Mitsoda and Cluney were against cutting off parts of the game to be stuffed into the Season Pass content. This would mean having less to work for the team (keep in mind they had to move the release date, again), while at the same time satisfying the Story Packs' requirements. It also gives good enough context for firing both Lead Writer and Creative Directior and hiring up somebody in their place who is supposed to get the game in somewhat working order out of the door on time no matter what.

Still retarded to fire your top creative staff over a difference of opinion about monetisation. Ridiculus, even, to deal with such a disagreement in that way, since this is likely something that must happen often between business guys and creatives.

 

[Mastermind]

Any credible information on why he was canned (other than the same regurgitated speculation about DLCs)?

 

[Roguey]

Any credible information on why he was canned (other than the same regurgitated speculation about DLCs)?

Just the official statements in the OP.

 

[Eli_Havelock]

Any credible information on why he was canned (other than the same regurgitated speculation about DLCs)?

Just the official statements in the OP.

Unfortunately for Paradox's PR efforts (hah) their answers only raise further questions. The vanishing of ownership icons on the Steam forums confirms how dubious this looks.

With that, we are excited to announce that Alexandre Mandryka has come aboard as Creative Consultant, filling the Creative Director role for Bloodlines 2, and will help us in the final stages of development. Alexandre is committed to following the vision that is in place, and successfully bringing Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 to the fans.

Alexandre has been in the industry for more than 20 years and has worked on iconic franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Warhammer 40,000, Far Cry, and more. With a long history of shipping excellent franchises, we are excited with what Alexandre brings to the game and the World of Darkness.

Those points are at odds with each other. Either it is keeping to the True Vision or is going to be skullfucked Ubisoft-style. Which is it going to be?

People are right to worry and guess the likely outcome: Ubisoft + Paradox = Stage 4 DLC Cancer

 

[Mastermind]

If Brian got fired because he fought against DLCs he's a fucking retard tbh.

 

[Harthwain]

Still retarded to fire your top creative staff over a difference of opinion about monetisation. Ridiculus, even, to deal with such a disagreement in that way, since this is likely something that must happen often between business guys and creatives.

No argument here. But why so much secrecy over the reason they were kicked out? It must be something really bad for the Paradox - and they know it - otherwise I imagine they'd disclose it to the public.

 

[agris]

You guys can't stop focusing on the DLC stuff huh? The answer is likely more prosaic; he couldn't manage the team size increased (20 to 80 is a huge jump), made promises without the team's buy-in, and was working people until the turnover and culture were so bad that they quit, and he was fired. That's consistent with the earlier interview with whoever on the team who kept talking about trust, and the anonymous post from someone inside.

 

[Eli_Havelock]

You guys can't stop focusing on the DLC stuff huh? The answer is likely more prosaic; he couldn't manage the team size increased (20 to 80 is a huge jump), made promises without the team's buy-in, and was working people until the turnover and culture were so bad that they quit, and he was fired. That's consistent with the earlier interview with whoever on the team who kept talking about trust, and the anonymous post from someone inside.

So a Sr Narrative Writer now does the job of a Producer? DLC actually involves his job given how much the narrative would have to be altered to accommodate squeezing out more Paradox DLC Diarrhea.

Speaking of which roles are what at Hardsuit, this seems like a good page to keep an eye on. I wonder who will pick up the clues and piece them together.

 

[agris]

Eli_Havelock are you telling me he didn't have a managerial role? Focusing on his title isn't very informative when thinking of all the roles Mitsoda played. He was deeply involved with the creation, publisher pitch, and marketing of the game. From my cursory reading, it sounds like he brought the team together to make BL2, and helped secure funding from Paradox.

To think that such a person doesn't have a large presence at a company, outside of the title of their position for a game, is quite naive.