World of Darkness Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 from Hardsuit Labs

[PEACH]

well if the project wasn't completely fucked before, it is now.

hope brian is doing alright, he deserves better.

 

[prengle]

lol!

 

[Zyondyne]

Tbh, I got more hyped. They are not afraid to shake things up.

They are not keeping people around just cause nostalgia.

Let's see what they can salvage out of this.

Even if we start with the (false) presumption that Mitsoda never did anything to help with the development, it's an incredibly dumb marketing decision to fire him AT THE END of development. There's literally no logical reason behind it.

But Bloodlines 2 is already a train wreck in the marketing department. Maybe the most bland/absent marketing campaign I've seen for a game holding such weight. The AR teases they did in the beginning, the absence of promotional materials, almost no footage shown to the public - if someone were to tell me this game even had a marketing budget, I wouldn't belive him.

 

[Deflowerer]

Dunno, Paradox in general seems to shit the bed with their published games marketing and management wise.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

this game is gonna be AWESOME

 

[DalekFlay]

You just don't fire Brian Mitsoda.

Oh come on, this isn't some tiny Kickstarter project. The market they're aiming for doesn't even know who Mitsoda is, let alone care greatly about his termination.

 

[ChildInTime]

That's something. First they got rid of Avellone, and now Mitsoda is gone too - guess he wasn't woke enough and refused to write some more gay muslim bloodsuckers who fight patriarchy.

 

[Fowyr]

Roguey
That's right up your alley.

 

[agris]

Wait, what? How'd I miss this? https://www.bloodlines2.com/en/production-in-the-age-of-covid-19

[...] In some cases, the destination isn’t even really known. Continuing the bus analogy - it’s the job of production to listen to those giving directions and then filter, mediate, and align those voices to one direction; while also marking it down on the map so everyone knows the plan. [...]

[...] The other parts of production come from soft skills that revolve around integrating with teams, understanding their needs, and supporting them in more profound ways than planning. To me, a producer should be someone who can advocate for their team (or teams) and affect real change because they genuinely trust and understand their perspective. They should also have built trust with the members of their team because it has to go both directions. A good producer should be listening to and supporting the developers they oversee - but at the end of the day, they are responsible for getting the project across the finish line. This can result in a conflict between what their department leads want and what the budget, timeline, etc., allow for. Building trust with their team(s) is crucial because it helps make those conversations more about the project’s quality and less about the business aspect of development.

That trust and understanding is not usually something that is easily cultivated or maintained. Like any relationship (work or otherwise) effort needs to be applied to keep things in a healthy state. This has become more difficult in the age of COVID-19 because popping over to someone’s desk to chat or taking a coffee/lunch/walking break with a coworker isn’t possible the same way it used to be. Those types of human interactions help build a relationship more organically and naturally.

This doesn’t mean it’s impossible to build those connections, but more effort is required to develop and maintain them. I guess the easiest way to put this is: the same types of learning and adjusting that we have had to do socially – during COVID - also applies to how production staff have had to shift to maintain the aspects of our jobs that are less about “paper work” and more about “people work”. [...]

:makesyouthink:

 

[zaper]

First, they took MCA from us.

Now they take Mitsoda.

I just hope they take Josh Saywer too.

 

[compvet24]

What in the name of fuck...I knew the game was having some issues and was on a one way ticket to turn into a dumpster fire, but literally firing Brian Mitsoda?

I am now completely convinced that there is not a single person working at Hardsuit Labs nor Paradox that has a functioning brain.
We're at the point now where even redditors are saying 'fuck this game'. What a monumental waste of 5 years and resources. Hope all the ones behind this decision never work or touch any other beloved franchise again, let alone another job. Truly saddening.

 

[Wunderbar]

You just don't fire Brian Mitsoda.

Oh come on, this isn't some tiny Kickstarter project. The market they're aiming for doesn't even know who Mitsoda is, let alone care greatly about his termination.

vtmb isn't some household name like fallout, paradox were heavily banking on fans of original.

 

[Morgoth]

First, they took MCA from us.

Now they take Mitsoda.

I just hope they take Josh Saywer too.

No, Josh is safe because he has no artistic integrity.

 

[DalekFlay]

vtmb isn't some household name like fallout, paradox were heavily banking on fans of original.

Fallout was not a household name with the mass market before Fallout 3, so you're making my point for me. Also "Fallout" is different from "Brian Fargo."

 

[Zyondyne]

You just don't fire Brian Mitsoda.

Oh come on, this isn't some tiny Kickstarter project. The market they're aiming for doesn't even know who Mitsoda is, let alone care greatly about his termination.

The poor marketing they've done pretty much ensures newcomers won't care about the game either.

They just alienated most of the fans of Bloodlines 1. That means lost sales and angering the vocal minority of old Bloodline fans in exchange for...what?

And let's be honest, if the game is in a poor state, it isn't because of the narrative lead. We've all seen that one gameplay trailer and story & dialogue were the last problem it had.

What's the new narrative lead gonna do in the little time they have left? Redesign all the game by himself? Restart the game from scratch? Redo all the disappointing facial animations by himself?

They identified the wrong problems and they stirred sh*t for nothing.

 

[Prime Junta]

Brutal. Poor Brian, he must be devastated.

 

[Wunderbar]

vtmb isn't some household name like fallout, paradox were heavily banking on fans of original.

Fallout was not a household name with the mass market before Fallout 3, so you're making my point for me. Also "Fallout" is different from "Brian Fargo."

no one on Fo3 was loudly fired just a few months before the release, no one famous at least. Plus Fallout wasn't a brainchild of a single person, Fo1 and Fo2 were designed by different people.

Firing Mitsoda now would be like firing Avellone from the official PST sequel. Or firing Kojima from MGS5.

 

[compvet24]

Brutal. Poor Brian, he must be devastated.

Don't know how anyone would recover from that shit. Seriously blows.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Brutal. Poor Brian, he must be devastated.

Don't know how anyone would recover from that shit. Seriously blows.

Quislings deserve everything they get.

Edit for Prime Junta: Once you tacitly approve of IdPol lunacy (which is a given in most Western gaming studios), then there's no pity to be had when you get burned by the radicals.

 

[Nevermore]

We should demand explanations.

 

[Infinitron]

Roguey
That's right up your alley.

Roguey would say that this is now the second time Mitsoda has gotten fired from his pet project. Holy shit.

 

[Alienman]

Roguey
That's right up your alley.

Roguey would say this is now the second time Mitsoda has gotten fired from his pet project. Holy shit.

What was the first?

 

[Turuko]

yup gonna refund this shit

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Brutal. Poor Brian, he must be devastated.

Don't know how anyone would recover from that shit. Seriously blows.

Quislings deserve everything they get.

Well, nobody liked his own partisanen Dead State I guess?

 

[Infinitron]

Roguey
That's right up your alley.

Roguey would say this is now the second time Mitsoda has gotten fired from his pet project. Holy shit.

What was the first?

Alpha Protocol ofc.