Disco Elysium creative lead Robert Kurvitz was quietly fired from ZA/UM in late 2021, files lawsuit against them

[AwesomeButton]

What the hell happened to Prime Junta anyway?

He got triggered by some edgy-larper-"nazi" stuff he saw in GD and that was the final drop for him I think.

Nah, he self-ejected after that one suicide thread (would say that it was about SDG, but I can't recall - Roguey probably knows). Although he had already gotten bored of the 'dex for some time, so that was just a convenient way out.

Ah, yes, that was it. And what was SDG?

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Ah, yes, that was it. And what was SDG?

SumDrunkGuy. I think that the thread was about him, but I'm not sure.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Ah, yes, that was it. And what was SDG?

SumDrunkGuy. I think that the thread was about him, but I'm not sure.

I try to stay away from codex drama. So, him leaving over that makes us who remain senseless human trash, I guess?

 

[Heroic Liberator]

I try to stay away from codex drama. So, him leaving over that makes us who remain senseless human trash, I guess?

More or less.

 

[Mitleser2020]

Disco Elysium is objectively the most communist video game, because the story of the game is a story of a group of communist gathering together to build a communist game, before the head communist grabbed the bag and left everyone else to starve. I've been digging and cackling for the whole week.

There was a man named Kaur Kender, executive producer on Disco Elysium. Kender is an advertisement mogul in Estonia, but he's also a radical leftist novelist, famous for his very radical and very edgy writing. Edgy to the point that in 2016 Kender got charged with creating child pornography but was later acquitted (because it was in writing). Here comes the cackle point number one: Kender got his breakthrough in business by commercializing and selling communist iconography.

Somewhere around 2009, Kaur Kender meets Robert Kurvitz, future lead writer of Disco Elysium, and they found the ZA/UM cultural association with their mutual friends. Kender helps Kurvitz write a novel "The Terrible and Sacred Air", but it bombs horribly, selling only 1000 copies, and Kurvitz becomes a depressed alcoholic.

In 2013, there was a state-owned newspaper Sirp. Kaur Kender is friends with the culture minister Rein Lang, and wants more cultural clout. Kender is famous as an author in Estonia, but he's not respected as an author in Estonia. Lang also wants more cultural clout. He's a culture minister, but the more media you control the better politician you become. The newspaper Sirp has lots of cultural clout, but it wants an editor. The previous editor-in-chief retired, and there's currently an open contest for a new editor. So Kender and Lang help each other out. Lang uses his pull in the government to bypass the contest and directly appoint Kender as the new editor-in-chief. Kender immediately fires the entire staff of the newspaper and replaces it with his friends from ZA/UM, including Kurvitz, who starts spending considerable page count printing his own poems.

This becomes a public scandal. A public scandal bad enough that Rein Lang steps down as the culture minister, on accusations of nepotism and abusing his position. Because the public and Sirp's friends in the media call out both that Lang is turning Sirp into his mouthpiece, and that ZA/UM have been shits to the employees of Sirp. Within a month, the communist takeover of Sirp falls apart and ZA/UM flee the paper.

A few more years pass, and ZA/UM decide to turn Kurvitz's failed book into a video game. Kaur Kender sells his Ferrari to get starting capital and founds ZA/UM Ltd, which he still owns and is still the director of the company. Kender's connections lead to Tõnis Haavel being involved (he's the second executive producer of Disco Elysium). Tõnis Haavel is the guy convicted for investment fraud, and Martin Luiga's bitter post paints both of them as the masterminds behind the takeover of ZA/UM. Things get even funnier because Kender and Haavel manage to attract investment from Margus Linnamäe - an Estonian pharma oligarch with a history of financing center-right party Isamaa, and killing healthcare reforms that threaten his pharma business.

Fast forward to 2021, Kurvitz is still an alcoholic, while Kender has left Estonia completely and moved to London, where the new headquarters of ZA/UM is. Kender is the owner of the company, and the company is the owner of the Disco IP. His old friends, who failed at every art project for two decades except for Disco Elysium, are no longer necessary - the studio got loads of money and keeps growing. So Kender cuts Kurvitz and Rostov out of the company, and initiates legal action against Kurvitz to get the rights for the book too. Helen Hindpere, writer on Disco Elysium, gets promoted to Lead Writer for the sequel, but is also fired within a year. Being now located in London, Kender proceeds to fire every alcoholic Estonian bum from the company, and is replacing them with hip and wealthy British anarcho-communists from good schools with good names

Reminds me of the Americanization of CDPR.

Wild they are now moving people from Poland to the US.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

So, him leaving over that makes us who remain senseless human trash, I guess?

Junta fled after dropping another "I hate being here" Reddit speech without reading the thread

JFC this thread, the Codex, truly the best and the brightest of the White race

To the OP: put down that beer can and get help. If you have IRL mates, call one and get them to come over. If not, call a priest, a hooker, or a suicide prevention hotline. Do not do anything stupid(er) and irremediable while under the influence. And log the fuck off the Codex, this place is bad for you even if you're not falling apart mentally, and it's poison if you are.

Yeah, look at all the virtue-signalling retarded npcs in here:
- seek help
- but suicide is for cowards
- stop drinking, everything will be fine
- but God loves you
- suicide is bad, you'll end up in Hell
- too bad we can't have him locked up
- ...

Pathetic! Feels like reddit.

No, you are the reddit. It's reddit tourists who think places like the Codex are "supposed" to be shitty.

Learning that he backstabbed the people who worked on the game he was shilling here gives me a weird feeling, like it's satisfying to know but also not surprising. Very mynonlike.

 

[Alienman]

How is it known he backstabbed people? Trying to catch up on the lore.

 

[mediocrepoet]

So, him leaving over that makes us who remain senseless human trash, I guess?

Junta fled after dropping another "I hate being here" Reddit speech without reading the thread

JFC this thread, the Codex, truly the best and the brightest of the White race

To the OP: put down that beer can and get help. If you have IRL mates, call one and get them to come over. If not, call a priest, a hooker, or a suicide prevention hotline. Do not do anything stupid(er) and irremediable while under the influence. And log the fuck off the Codex, this place is bad for you even if you're not falling apart mentally, and it's poison if you are.

Ok, but like, he's not wrong.

Yeah, look at all the virtue-signalling retarded npcs in here:
- seek help
- but suicide is for cowards
- stop drinking, everything will be fine
- but God loves you
- suicide is bad, you'll end up in Hell
- too bad we can't have him locked up
- ...

Pathetic! Feels like reddit.

No, you are the reddit. It's reddit tourists who think places like the Codex are "supposed" to be shitty.

Learning that he backstabbed the people who worked on the game he was shilling here gives me a weird feeling, like it's satisfying to know but also not surprising. Very mynonlike.

Eh. Jobs require you not to publicly shit on your coworkers and/or the company line, big surprise. It wouldn't even surprise me if there was a requirement for remaining employees to be in support of their communications narrative. I'm not entirely certain some people around here have actually ever held a job.

 

[Harthwain]

Eh. Jobs require you not to publicly shit on your coworkers and/or the company line, big surprise. It wouldn't even surprise me if there was a requirement for remaining employees to be in support of their communications narrative. I'm not entirely certain some people around here have actually ever held a job.

Also, we have no idea how the inner relationships were like. Just because someone is good at his job doesn't mean he is a pleasant person to interact with. Had I been working with some piece of shit who got fired, I assure you I wouldn't be having any nice words to tell about him or her. That said, I probably wouldn't be going public about it on my own accord either.

However, I am pretty sure this case is mostly Stalin-esque purge of people who stand in the way (actively or potentially) of owning the Disco Elysium's brand by the suits who smelled big money. If there were any interpersonal issues within the company, they are likely secondary or tertiary by comparison and not the real reason behind this takeover.

In addition, smearing people who got kicked is to ZA/UM's benefit as an attempt to try and shift the narrative, considering the public opinion is viewing them in the negative light at the moment. Regardless of whether people are encouraged by the company to post negative stuff about Kurvitz and other outcasts or not, it is ultimately in the company's interest to kick as much dirt as possible to divert attention from their own actions.

 

[Roguey]

How is it known he backstabbed people? Trying to catch up on the lore.

Suppose it's not so much backstabbing as it is looking the other way when they took them out back while continuing to cheer the company and the good work they do.

 

[Longes]

Eh. Jobs require you not to publicly shit on your coworkers and/or the company line, big surprise. It wouldn't even surprise me if there was a requirement for remaining employees to be in support of their communications narrative. I'm not entirely certain some people around here have actually ever held a job.

Also, we have no idea how the inner relationships were like. Just because someone is good at his job doesn't mean he is a pleasant person to interact with. Had I been working with some piece of shit who got fired, I assure you I wouldn't be having any nice words to tell about him or her. That said, I probably wouldn't be going public about it on my own accord either.

However, I am pretty sure this case is mostly Stalin-esque purge of people who stand in the way (actively or potentially) of owning the Disco Elysium's brand by the suits who smelled big money. If there were any interpersonal issues within the company, they are likely secondary or tertiary by comparison and not the real reason behind this takeover.

In addition, smearing people who got kicked is to ZA/UM's benefit as an attempt to try and shift the narrative, considering the public opinion is viewing them in the negative light at the moment. Regardless of whether people are encouraged by the company to post negative stuff about Kurvitz and other outcasts or not, it is ultimately in the company's interest to kick as much dirt as possible to divert attention from their own actions.

Just to clear things - I'm posting negative things about Kurvitz and Kender not because I want either of them to win, but because they are both communists and I want to laugh at one eating another.

 

[Harthwain]

Just to clear things - I'm posting negative things about Kurvitz

What was the negative stuff about Kurvitz? Being a depressed alcoholic? Forgotten author? A communist? With Kender as a backdrop all of this really pales by comparison.

 

[S.torch]

Implying that being depressed as an artist is a negative and not a plus.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Junta fled after dropping another "I hate being here" Reddit speech without reading the thread

TBH it takes a very influential presence in order for one's demonstrative departure to be felt. The fact you believe you have that kind of presence, on a place like this of all places, is a strong signal for derangement in and of itself...

 

[rusty_shackleford]

pretty sure he was Unwanted after he threatened to call the feds on DU

 

[None]

Commies get a chance of a lifetime and it's another swing and a miss. If Kurvitz & Co could get the rights to the IP and expand upon it I'd be interested, maybe something like a published pnp setting, but that seems very unlikely.

I'm still hanging on to the hope that other actual games will learn from Disco and give us some more interesting writing and dialogue mechanics in the future.

 

[Infinitron]

Kurvitz was like Avellone on steroids, a micromanaging meltdown-prone artistic genius who caused a lot of drama, including during Disco Elysium's development. ZA/UM's owners should have put up with it and looked the other way because he's just that good, but my understanding is that this was the reason he was booted.

 

[Togukawa]

I will never forgive the role PJ played in Bubbles leaving the codex >: (

 

[Roguey]

Implying that being depressed as an artist is a negative and not a plus.

Artists put out good work in spite of depression, not because of it.

Though it is true that harsh circumstances are more likely to produce good work than comfortable living, but that's separate from depression.

Kurvitz was like Avellone on steroids, a micromanaging meltdown-prone artistic genius who caused a lot of drama, including during Disco Elysium's development. ZA/UM's owners should have put up with it and looked the other way because he's just that good, but my understanding is that this was the reason he was booted.

There are limits. 2K's Ken Levine situation is an example of when the limits should have been met a long time ago.

 

[†††]

There are limits

No.

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

Kurvitz was like Avellone on steroids, a micromanaging meltdown-prone artistic genius who caused a lot of drama, including during Disco Elysium's development.

That was my take!

It's pretty funny how his life looks like a parody/homage to MCA's life. First he made a pretentious CYOA and called it a cRPG. Then he was de-ownered.

What's next? Helen Hindpere will accuse him of harassment/assault and he'll be cancelled?

The only thing is, I thought it would be Hindpere accusing him of harassment. Now I'm leaning towards it being Prime Junta.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

So, him leaving over that makes us who remain senseless human trash, I guess?

Junta fled after dropping another "I hate being here" Reddit speech without reading the thread

JFC this thread, the Codex, truly the best and the brightest of the White race

To the OP: put down that beer can and get help. If you have IRL mates, call one and get them to come over. If not, call a priest, a hooker, or a suicide prevention hotline. Do not do anything stupid(er) and irremediable while under the influence. And log the fuck off the Codex, this place is bad for you even if you're not falling apart mentally, and it's poison if you are.

Ok, but like, he's not wrong.

Yeah, look at all the virtue-signalling retarded npcs in here:
- seek help
- but suicide is for cowards
- stop drinking, everything will be fine
- but God loves you
- suicide is bad, you'll end up in Hell
- too bad we can't have him locked up
- ...

Pathetic! Feels like reddit.

No, you are the reddit. It's reddit tourists who think places like the Codex are "supposed" to be shitty.

Learning that he backstabbed the people who worked on the game he was shilling here gives me a weird feeling, like it's satisfying to know but also not surprising. Very mynonlike.

Eh. Jobs require you not to publicly shit on your coworkers and/or the company line, big surprise. It wouldn't even surprise me if there was a requirement for remaining employees to be in support of their communications narrative. I'm not entirely certain some people around here have actually ever held a job.

And I'm not sure anyone here would miss you if you left instead of doing this passive aggressive shit of complaining about how much you hate it here on every other post. Just don't threaten us on the way out like Prime Shill.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Interesting, considering I've never done that, but sure. Just don't threaten me when I tell you to go fuck yourself.

 

[Rocket-Propelled Game]

Can you share the link, please?

Unfortunately it's dox. Junta was once open about his real name and then became cagey about it, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to post it.

But aren't those people from some wierd eastern-European country? How do you dox somebody whose name sounds like this:

Hire a Welsh private eye since they're the one of the few other countries to have that many Zs in their language.

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]