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Post by river82 on Oct 13, 2017 3:40:06 GMT
Or he could be like Chris Avellone and snipe passive aggressively at his former colleagues on Twitter and any other forum he can, just to make it clear to all and sundry precisely why he's upset xD What did he say, exactly? I've read something about it, issues the company has about handling the projects/with the management, but anyone familiar with Obsidian would've known that already. Too numerous to go into, and too subtle for any one instance to stand out. When asked a question about how he'd manage a company he'd make small remarks about making sure his team was adequately paid and the like, gloating on Twitter when people leave Obsidian, and just constant remarks about the management style at Obsidian. For example: While I like the developers and wish them all the very best, there's too many other problems at the higher managerial level to ever consider stepping back, especially when you could make a step in a direction that mattered for the franchise. Even leads at Obsidian have said as much (most after departing), and they told me they felt helpless in their roles to do what they felt was the right decision.and I doubt Bethesda worries much about what Obsidian is doing (Bethesda's likely way too busy on multiple fronts), but only they could speak to that, I have no idea. From an outside perspective, however, it appears when Bethesda likes working with a studio or see their potential, they seem to buy them (Arkane). They didn't buy Obsidian, though, even though Obsidian is eager to be bought based on recent interviews. It might be for the best - I don't know what would happen to the devs if Obsidian was bought, but the upper management would likely come out okay with that exit strategy.and No, the departure was largely due to organizational and management aspects – not anything to do with the developers and folks who worked on the games. And please don't think this is somehow implying I'm a great manager, I'm not. I don't read tons of management books, I don't hang around with agents and business development reps, and I often feel lost around managers and CEOs because I don’t understand a lot of the jargon. In general, my management approach is more about establishing hierarchy, setting expectations, trusting people with the proper title and roles, giving consistent feedback (esp. positive feedback – which is more important when it isn't accompanied by negative feedback), don't play favorites or hire family/friends, and recognizing that if one doesn't have enough money and one doesn't have enough time to make a good game, figure out (1) how it got to that point so you don't repeat it, and (2) what can be done right now to fix both for the sake of a project – even if it means personal sacrifice of time, and your own funds to make a good game.It's like, WE GET IT AVELLONE, Obsidian pissed you off. It probably didn't help that they used your name as a marketing tool then shunted you into a corner during development, but on the flip side you're just not that great anymore. Would you just get over it already xD
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Post by linksocarina on Oct 13, 2017 3:40:40 GMT
Don't want to freak out people, but is it true that job listings for Dragon Age have vanished from their site? Didn't really keep track of this. i've read this comment from reddit i'll copy paste here. take your own conclusions. Subreddit Dragon Age guy: "Job listings for Dragon Age have gone as Nirolak from neogaf reports. So, this likely means the franchise is having a complete turn around in game design. They hinted at this with party control changes. Also it doesn't seem like Laidlaw parted ways with EA on good terms, he sounds very irritated, which I can only guess means he didn't agree with the change in direction. It might also be cancelled." Link to this comment please.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2017 3:45:27 GMT
i've read this comment from reddit i'll copy paste here. take your own conclusions. Subreddit Dragon Age guy: "Job listings for Dragon Age have gone as Nirolak from neogaf reports. So, this likely means the franchise is having a complete turn around in game design. They hinted at this with party control changes. Also it doesn't seem like Laidlaw parted ways with EA on good terms, he sounds very irritated, which I can only guess means he didn't agree with the change in direction. It might also be cancelled." Link to this comment please. www.reddit.com/user/innerparty45from the top, the fourth comment it's the one you want to read.
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Post by phoray on Oct 13, 2017 4:21:57 GMT
I wouldn't... Mike seems like a really cool, friendly guy and is probably really talented and good at his job. But he is one person. It takes a village. *edited because it seemed like I thought he was dead* *drinks for edit* True, but at a bare minimum, it will be a negative blow to morale for the whole DA team and disruptive to the current schedule, while a new leader is identified and put in place. If you will allow an analogy to surgery, is losing Mike like losing your spleen, which is survivable, or is it more like losing your heart or brain? Sure, all the different parts of the body do their share of the work and it's a team effort, but at the end of the day, do you have a wounded but living survivor, or an undead corpse aping the behaviors of a loved one? Andraste's knickers, papa, that was graphic.
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Post by Nimlowyn on Oct 13, 2017 4:28:33 GMT
I'm just not comfortable with a creative director leaving in the midst of a project, fam. I hope it's at least somewhere in that sweet spot between pre-production and production.
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Post by vertigomez on Oct 13, 2017 4:37:08 GMT
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Post by PapaCharlie9 on Oct 13, 2017 4:42:49 GMT
Redditor pointed out the update below -- not exactly something to celebrate, but at least an alternative explanation that doesn't read as bleak as what I speculated about. UPDATE: Edmonton attack happened the day before those tweets, and Las Vegas attacks day of, so maybe the tweets were about those horrific events?WARNING: I'm in a negative/doomsday state of mind, so this SPECULATION is probably complete nonsense and hazardous to one's peace of mind. I reread Laidlaw's earlier tweets about BOY TODAY IS A DAY and FUCK and Patrick Weekes's tweeting A DAY THAT LEAVES A LOT TO THINK ABOUT ... and I think this suggests that some major change was made, either structurally or content-wise to the franchise, and Mike quit over it. And when I'm feeling particularly negative, I read PW's tweet as he's also thinking about quitting.
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Post by river82 on Oct 13, 2017 4:47:44 GMT
Redditor pointed out the update below -- not exactly something to celebrate, but at least an alternative explanation that doesn't read as bleak as what I speculated about. UPDATE: Edmonton attack happened the day before those tweets, and Las Vegas attacks day of, so maybe the tweets were about those horrific events?WARNING: I'm in a negative/doomsday state of mind, so this SPECULATION is probably complete nonsense and hazardous to one's peace of mind. I reread Laidlaw's earlier tweets about BOY TODAY IS A DAY and FUCK and Patrick Weekes's tweeting A DAY THAT LEAVES A LOT TO THINK ABOUT ... and I think this suggests that some major change was made, either structurally or content-wise to the franchise, and Mike quit over it. And when I'm feeling particularly negative, I read PW's tweet as he's also thinking about quitting. Context is everything, and twitter's 128 character limit encourages posters to shed context. Speculating on ominous sounding tweets that lack context is often a huge waste of time, they could be about anything.
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Post by midnight tea on Oct 13, 2017 4:51:03 GMT
Mike just finished his Twitch stream and addressed the whole departure a bit - said that it was a good point in time for him to leave, there was no disagreement and it was entirely mutual and that he's confident that DA is in good hands.
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Post by midnight tea on Oct 13, 2017 5:15:05 GMT
Anyway... it would appear that this whole thing wasn't sudden and Mike actually chose most convenient time for him and the project to leave. And since it's not caused by disagreements and DA seems to be chugging along... I kinda wonder if it's just the sheer amount of travel he did for work that had an impact on his decision? Like, judging from his Twitter alone he was traveling A LOT for a while now - and I recall, a while ago, that he mentioned that he's found it exhausting. So perhaps that was a contributing factor.
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Post by shinary on Oct 13, 2017 5:25:41 GMT
I hope they start giving us just a little bit information about the next step in franchise. I love Dragon Age and this makes me really nervous.
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Post by Julale on Oct 13, 2017 5:36:38 GMT
Wow what news this morning. I’m really sad. Honestly I kind of expected it since he changed his Twitter one or two weeks ago 😥
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Post by blighted on Oct 13, 2017 5:38:38 GMT
The above is certainly reassuring. Thank you midnight tea. I hope they start giving us just a little bit information about the next step in franchise. I love Dragon Age and this makes me really nervous. If Mark's tweet is anything to go by, then perhaps they will. Now would be a great time to drop more hints, as they have everyone's attention.
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Post by Fredward on Oct 13, 2017 5:40:03 GMT
The weirdest and most worrying thing about this to me is the fact that the guy just seemed so invested in DA. I wanna be optimistic but... eh.
What if EA told them DA4 was gonna have to be a multiplayer game or something?
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Post by river82 on Oct 13, 2017 5:45:54 GMT
What if EA told them DA4 was gonna have to be a multiplayer game or something?
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Post by colfoley on Oct 13, 2017 5:55:27 GMT
The weirdest and most worrying thing about this to me is the fact that the guy just seemed so invested in DA. I wanna be optimistic but... eh. What if EA told them DA4 was gonna have to be a multiplayer game or something? that is one of the four possibilities i can think of.
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Post by warrior on Oct 13, 2017 6:09:37 GMT
Oh my god this sucks.
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Post by Obsidian Gryphon on Oct 13, 2017 6:12:44 GMT
This bit of news certainly came out of the blue. And doesn't bode well for DA4. *wonders what comes next*
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Post by House Targaryen on Oct 13, 2017 6:17:44 GMT
Starting to hate EA even more. Bioware keeps losing talent every year.
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Post by Fredward on Oct 13, 2017 6:28:24 GMT
Everything is terrible and also on fire.
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Post by roselavellan on Oct 13, 2017 6:35:58 GMT
Anyway... it would appear that this whole thing wasn't sudden and Mike actually chose most convenient time for him and the project to leave. And since it's not caused by disagreements and DA seems to be chugging along... I kinda wonder if it's just the sheer amount of travel he did for work that had an impact on his decision? Like, judging from his Twitter alone he was traveling A LOT for a while now - and I recall, a while ago, that he mentioned that he's found it exhausting. So perhaps that was a contributing factor. Thanks, midnight. It was my (admittedly totally baseless) suspicion that it was primarily a personal decision.
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Post by Andrew Waples on Oct 13, 2017 8:03:28 GMT
Anyway... it would appear that this whole thing wasn't sudden and Mike actually chose most convenient time for him and the project to leave. And since it's not caused by disagreements and DA seems to be chugging along... I kinda wonder if it's just the sheer amount of travel he did for work that had an impact on his decision? Like, judging from his Twitter alone he was traveling A LOT for a while now - and I recall, a while ago, that he mentioned that he's found it exhausting. So perhaps that was a contributing factor. Well, he had been doing this for fourteen years. That's a long time for anybody to just one thing. Also, seems strange that there hasn't been blog post about this. I mean, they did so with Aaryn Flynn'd departure.
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Post by colfoley on Oct 13, 2017 8:27:20 GMT
Most companies and organizations and sprts teams loose talent every year.
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cribbian
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Post by cribbian on Oct 13, 2017 8:46:03 GMT
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Post by river82 on Oct 13, 2017 8:51:43 GMT
Most companies and organizations and sprts teams loose talent every year. Yeah, you're always going to lose talent. In fact, during Dragon Age Origins, because the game was made over 6 years much of it at full production there was a large turnover of talent just during that one dev cycle alone. If a company can't bring in talent on a consistent basis, they're in trouble. It's worth noting also that Bioware is not just losing old talent but also reclaiming some old talent. Casey Hudson and Karypshyn, two important people to Bioware, have rejoined the studio.
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