Guys, I've known the truth for a long time now.
Truth is, Jak 4 is being made. Yup, I said it, Jak 4 is being made. This caused a civil war so to speak due to one part of the team wanting to make a open world platformer akin to Arkham City, but with the scale of a GTA game. The other part of Naughty Dog wanted to make a Dark Souls-esque Jak game where the platforming is extremely tough and the world is interconnected, the player can find shortcuts or create them. This creative rift has put the entire team on edge and a lot of people are backing out. Other creative arguments included if Daxter should be in the game, if it would be a sequel or reboot, whether or not to include vehicles, the whole thing is a mess.
I know what what you're thinking, and yes, I know this because I've read tweets and can interpret them with no error. This is the closest thing to the truth and I'm worried.
Druckman joke has now been milked udderly.
Then there are tragically bad decisions like Kelee Santiago going from ThatGameCompany to Ouya
I was tempted :-DFixed
wow.
Another one? What in the world is going on over there?
You're basing all of this on what exactly? Can you expand on your thoughts and why you think them, please?Sony did the same thing with their Psygnosis/Liverpool studio. Making them develop Wipeout sequels and nothing else. It's sad when studios are not allowed to stretch their creative muscles
What narrative are you trying to push?!It definitely feels like something major happened at not just Naughty Dog, but Sony studios as a whole. Tons of leads leaving, across 4 of their top studios. Very few game announcements. Delays of games. Silence from the usually chatty Yoshida and Boyd.
They are coasting on their great PS4 launch, but they haven't done shit for months but put out a steady stream of terrible news.
4 top leads at Naughty Dog, minimum
Lead of God of War
Lead of inFamous SS
Lead of The Last Guardian
Jack Tretton
All gone. Basically no exclusives shown at all, still, besides Drive Club and The Order.
No wonder they got rid of him. That beard and hair looks horrible. No doubt it took some other artist ages to fix.
He cant do hair
There goes my hype for TLOU 2 then. The guy is absolutely amazing sculptor,the game won't be the same without him.
He cant do hair
Are we going to do this for every person that leaves Naughty Dog studios? Many other studios have departures yet we never hear anything about it.
It's offensive to those still working there and to my brain from reading them.Love these threads, people act like there are no talented people left at ND.
You're basing all of this on what exactly? Can you expand on your thoughts and why you think them, please?
Or like ND isn't hiring new talented peopleLove these threads, people act like there are no talented people left at ND.
Can't fault GAF members or gaming journalists for being interested in the comings and goings of development leads of big name studios. It's a shame that these things start leading a life of its own, but that's where people's journalistic chops are supposed to step in. An inquiry to the company could get a simple PR statement that can frame the subsequent reporting correctly. All this tight-lipped business is an ugly breeding ground for sensationalist speculation.THis is getting out of hand.
Naughty dog has perhaps 200+ people in their workforce. Someone leaves, the trend of the days is, "quickly report it".
This guy for example was at ND 2.5 years. He worked only in TLOU. He finished his work and he left.
Do we get similar reports as these when people are hired by Naughty Dog?
No.
Probably ND has made some hiring as well these days. But no. The cool news are about the people leaving. Panic mode on.
Who is to say they're more talented than the previous employees though? Why fix what ain't broke?Or like ND isn't hiring new talented people
The defense force for this company is insane.
God forbid we discuss the merits of a notable turnover. If this were Druckman leaving, I know all of you "nothing to worry about, move on" people would flip out.
Love these threads, people act like there are no talented people left at ND.
Who is to say they're more talented than the previous employees though? Why fix what ain't broke?
There needs to be an official statement pronto.
Nobody threw a shitstorm when Lemarchand and Minkoff literally left the gaming industry altogether after working at ND.
Can you, or anyone here on GAF, even speak intelligently about what was "broke" about working inside Naughty Dog?
Come the fuck on.
No one is assuming this. They're assuming that some shit went down in the office last month that spawned these key departures.
I do, however, love seeing people try to rationalize more than half a dozen top level people leaving one of the most renowned developers all at once. Yeah, they're just moving on...TOTES!
Maybe they all got bored of making Uncharted day after day for the last 8 years.
Maybe they all got bored of making Uncharted day after day for the last 8 years.
4 or 5 people. In a studio of hundreds upon hundreds. Thats it. But let's panic and pretend something horrible is happening, Naughty Dog is doomed, etc.How many is this now?
All within 2 months of each other? Do you realize how insane that sounds? Especially when one of them started the whole series.
Also Nate Wells was there for just over 1 year. I doubt he got sick of never shipping an uncharted game.
Is that a meme now, or something?Another one? What in the world is going on over there?
Their biggest project just finished, The Last Of Us.
It's not strange to see people move around when a company is between games and in a transition phase.
I agree the first two ones could leave for egos affair, but you can´t allow your character lead designer to leave. Even worse, he leaves after having designed the characters of one of the best games of the gen, and along Uncharted 2 the best game of ND.
Nobody made a thread for Will Maiden when he left Evolution a few days ago.
4 or 5 people. In a studio of hundreds upon hundreds. Thats it. But let's panic and pretend something horrible is happening, Naughty Dog is doomed, etc.
Newsflash: top people can do as they please and leave to work for whoever the fuck they want on a whim. Who expects these leads and directors to stay put in the same studio forever? Like someone mentioned, colleagues departing force others to reevaluate their position.
I haven't been following this too closely, but what the fuck is up at ND? Has there been any explanation about all these departures?