One would think that Bethesda, the maker of Morrowind would have done better. That was my one hope for Legacy really... but even Bethesda has been criticized by their fans lately for "dumbing down" Oblivion...although that game is still pretty good. I sense they ran into the same icemen Bethke ran into when he made SFCIII.
I sense that getting any further involved in this discussion is a mistake, but then again what do I care. I have a couple of things to say about that paragraph.
First, Activision had just about zero input on the game mechanics. The design was generated internally, mostly by Josh and myself. Activision had major input on the storyline, but at no time were they raining down mandates upon us about how the game would work. The extent of their involvement with game mechanics was that we had to present our plans to them in order to prove we
had a plan. Standard publisher stuff. As I recall, they liked it and approved it with zero problems. It was the story they fought over, long and hard.
Second, let me explain something about Bethke and SFC3. The only reason he went to Activision and pursued that deal is because no one wanted to give him money for Black9. No one got it, no one believed in it, no one thought it was worth their money. Microsoft hit the nail on the head... they said Taldren didn't have the experience or know-how to make that game. They could tell that much from the staffing plan and the impossible mission it presented.
By this time people were already on reduced salaries and the bonuses from our contracts were cut. The company was out of cash and there was no more money to be squeezed from the employees. So in order to make Black9 he went to Activision and convinced them to do SFC3 with us. The money and time that gave Taldren was used to push forward on Black9 until he jedi mind-tricked Majesco into picking up the game.
To be clear, team members, including myself, were diverted from SFC3 to develop B9. I wan't even on the project when it shipped. In fact, I think only Dave and Ken might have been on it full-time at that point. Josh had already been fired for daring not to be a yes-man, and Brad was also let go fo some bullsh*t reason... two people with influence, who were listened to, who weren't drinking the Black9 Kool Aid.
So please dispense with whatever illusions you have about that guy being your champion against the evil publishers, waving a shield with the Starfleet Command symbol on it. Ok? He didn't give a flying f*ck about SFC3 except that it gave him a way to waste people and money on his pet project. Ironically, of the two games the only one that had a shot in hell of saving the company, if all its resources had been put behind it, was the one he treated like a vehicle.
Topic: Where are they Now ....Is Taldren dead or alive (Read 11380 times)