Who gives a shit. It's marketing blabber with no relevant or at least true information.That link is gone. Here is another one:
![]()
If they're bothering to do that, then I have strong confidence in the game actually releasing.They’re definitely hearing the noise of the complaints
Some glassdoor reviews have talked about how Paradox was too hands-off and then got way too hands-on to the point of people being fired.Assuming what you're saying is true, why would've Paradox waited so long to scrap the game if there was something fundamentally wrong with it's direction from the very beginning? Why was Hardsuit even allowed to postpone the launch date not once, but TWICE? It was supposed to initially come out in March 2020, only to get pushed back to late 2020 and then again to early 2021.
Publishers typically don't care about the writing in a game. I can't recall where I read it, but I vaguely recall reading someone claim that Hardsuit pitched and made a game that played like a sequel to Bloodlines 2 more or less, but somewhere in the middle of development Paradox decided that it needed to be "modernized." Hardsuit/Cluney/Mitsoda just ignored that directive and kept making the game they pitched, leading to Paradox's anger when they got milestone builds that were no longer what they wanted. I was skeptical at the time, since that story puts the blame mostly on Paradox (who allegedly turned down that Daggerfall successor when a dumb dev said they needed more money to compete with Skyrim) and not Hardsuit's own ineptitude which is backed up by all those Glassdoor reviews. It could be true that Hardsuit was both inept at trying to make a Bloodlines-like game and they were also suddenly told that it had to be a different kind of game, one that they didn't bother starting to try to make until people got fired for not making it. Wester was the CEO of Paradox when Bloodlines 2 was signed, but Ljungerud took over in 2018, so the "okay, make a different kind of game now" decision could have come from her (one of the many decisions leading to her resignation and Wester's return just last month).![]()
What was that line lol
"Make him fear you"
Well, at least they will learn to NOT offer preorders for a game before that is in its conceptual phase, as they'd then have to follow up on those legally binding contracts with consumers.It seems that Paradox wants to quickly rattle through the marketing cycle and release the game shortly after the last video, and then, buried under the duvet with a bottle of Finnish vodka, forget about everything.
Well, at least they will learn to NOT offer preorders for a game before that is in its conceptual phase, as they'd then have to follow up on those legally binding contracts with consumers.It seems that Paradox wants to quickly rattle through the marketing cycle and release the game shortly after the last video, and then, buried under the duvet with a bottle of Finnish vodka, forget about everything.
Well, at least they will learn to NOT offer preorders for a game before that is in its conceptual phase, as they'd then have to follow up on those legally binding contracts with consumers.It seems that Paradox wants to quickly rattle through the marketing cycle and release the game shortly after the last video, and then, buried under the duvet with a bottle of Finnish vodka, forget about everything.
Indeed, so they learned something.
However, as we can see, it was a costly learning experience.
Who?Apparently, Arone Le Bray has been rehired by The Chinese Room and he'll get to finish up Bloodlines 2.
The Dear Esther people.Who?Apparently, Arone Le Bray has been rehired by The Chinese Room and he'll get to finish up Bloodlines 2.
Who?Apparently, Arone Le Bray has been rehired by The Chinese Room and he'll get to finish up Bloodlines 2.
I don't know why, I don't even care that much about Dragon Age, but this makes me feel incredibly angry.Who?Apparently, Arone Le Bray has been rehired by The Chinese Room and he'll get to finish up Bloodlines 2.
Ex-QA tester from BioWare who was given the job of Principal Narrative Designer for Bloodlines 2. There's some interview where he's justifying the third-person cinematic dialogue decision because he thinks Dragon Age 2 was the better written game over Dragon Age Origins.
those artworks are so bland, it looks like a puzzle-investigation mobile game, or something that you would see on the facebook games some years agoThat link is gone. Here is another one:
![]()
Stay away!
Pros
Some of the games are pretty good
Cons
BE WARNED they go after former employees who say anything negative about the company, they got two people fired from future jobs that I know of, there's probably more
Advice to Management
One of the founders is legitimately out of her mind, she's a liability and should be kept far away from the business if she's not already
Excellent company culture
Senior environment artist
Pros
- Excellent company culture
- Huge potential to grow and develop if you're proactive
- Real lust for developing narrative focussed games
- TCR parties, evening chill and event days
- Sumo company benefits (learning days, duvet days, SDC)
Cons
- Expensive in Brighton
- Production team and project management lacks experience and it shows in Bloodlines 2
- Seemingly random promotions
- Cultural shift after Dan Pinchbeck left
- Needs much stronger Art and Game Directors
- Unbelievable level of crunch on Bloodlines as core-team spread even thinner than buttery thin (i,e. whole departments can literally just be one or two people. Great for ownership and agency, terrible for work-life balance)
Advice to Management
Listen to the team when setting sprint goals. Fewer meetings. Ensure projects have the resources they need to thrive.
Hadda make an account to get full access to the reviews -_-
Stay away!
Pros
Some of the games are pretty good
Cons
BE WARNED they go after former employees who say anything negative about the company, they got two people fired from future jobs that I know of, there's probably more
Advice to Management
One of the founders is legitimately out of her mind, she's a liability and should be kept far away from the business if she's not already
Dan Pinchbeck's wife is crazy eh, that's not too surprising.
Excellent company culture
Senior environment artist
Pros
- Excellent company culture
- Huge potential to grow and develop if you're proactive
- Real lust for developing narrative focussed games
- TCR parties, evening chill and event days
- Sumo company benefits (learning days, duvet days, SDC)
Cons
- Expensive in Brighton
- Production team and project management lacks experience and it shows in Bloodlines 2
- Seemingly random promotions
- Cultural shift after Dan Pinchbeck left
- Needs much stronger Art and Game Directors
- Unbelievable level of crunch on Bloodlines as core-team spread even thinner than buttery thin (i,e. whole departments can literally just be one or two people. Great for ownership and agency, terrible for work-life balance)
Advice to Management
Listen to the team when setting sprint goals. Fewer meetings. Ensure projects have the resources they need to thrive.
Paradox wants it cheap and it wants it now.