Ben-DutkaSince when is February this busy? Geez, I used to be able to look forward to a few months "off" after the holiday blitz. "Off" in quotations because of course, I'm never off. 😉
These geniuses may be tough to work for
When it comes to guys like Hideo Kojima, Kazunori Yamauchi, David Cage, David Jaffe, the peeps at Naughty Dog, Fumito Ueda, and other iconic, proven figures of the industry, you can't help but have respect for the work they've done. However, you hear things…at least, you hear things from my end; I'm not sure what leaks out to the public. You sorta hear that some of these guys can be exceedingly difficult to work for. Because they demand such a high level from themselves, they expect nothing less from the guys and gals under them, and they have little patience or tolerance for excuses and failures. This can create tense work environments. So when I hear there's "very slow progress" on The Last Guardian , I wonder how Ueda and Co. are faring…
Sometimes, you just need a staff that understands the mania of their boss, and are willing to adapt. But when deadlines get missed, situations change (i.e., Ueda's leaving Sony as an employee), and people start to ask difficult questions, one starts to worry. After ICO and Shadow of the Colossus , I say Ueda can do just about anything…but maybe things aren't working out the way he planned.
…and on that same note…
David Jaffe decides to take his leave from the studio he helped create. Again, you hear things… I hope Twisted Metal is awesome; if it isn't, I'll feel like a part of my past has died. But that's another subject; currently, I'm interested to know what Jaffe plans to do. It seems he's not on the mobile/casual games bandwagon, but the rest of Eat Sleep Play is (or something like that). The rumor is that he wants to start another studio in San Diego where he can be on-site more often, and perhaps be more directly involved in the projects…? It's hard to know. Some say he should just go back to Sony and help the Santa Monica team work on God of War IV , but I think he's going to fly solo from now on.
The question is, do some of these old-school developers – if I'm allowed to call them that – feel any pressure to leave something behind? Like they grew up professionally in a different era? Maybe there's some frustration there. …maybe that's why Jaffe is going to let us fire an automatic weapon at an ice cream truck .
Personal gaming update
After a week and a half of The Darkness II, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning , and Shank 2 , I'd like to return to Final Fantasy XIII-2 now. But I can't for very long, as more games are coming this week, Twisted Metal among them. For some reason, I really can't stop playing FFXIII-2. …didn't see that one coming.
In other news, the latest episode of the PSXE Show will go up in the PlayStation Home Community Theater on Wednesday and we'll do another get-together. I plan on giving away a copy of the Resistance 3 soundtrack and maybe something else; not sure yet. I'll post up a headline when it's official. Lastly, it's very nearly Vita time…I've already got all five of Ubisoft's launch offerings and as for the Vita itself, stay tuned. 😉
