Mortal Human

Posts Tagged ‘Rockstar Games’

Rockstar Games’ Agent for PS3 is probably less than a year from release. Remember that interview from PlanetGrandTheftAuto.com? This is why you should be excited about Rockstar Games’ Agent. That is, of course, provided you own a PS3.

Agent is said to be sure to become Rockstar’s next big hit since GTA III – yes, that’s III, not IV – and if this video is any true indication of the quality that Rockstar North intends to achieve with Agent, then this is probably going to end up the reason I cave and buy a console.

Not much is known about Agent as of yet, but is this the title Sam Houser was talking about here? Is it empty Sony hype? Let me know your expectations for Rockstar Games’ Agent.

I like the GTA IV video editor. I am really looking forward to Episodes From Liberty City (pre-order now and meet me in multiplayer) coming to PC. This is probably the best video I’ve done with the GTA IV video editor so far, so I wanted to share it here.

I could probably use some practice, but drop a comment on it here or on YouTube and let me know what you think anyway. Link us to videos you made with the GTA IV video editor :)

I’m quite the excited Rockstar fanboy. The greatest open world game thus far and of all time will be completed on the PS3 and PC soon. Episodes From Liberty City will hit these two other platforms on March 30th.

This of course comes as no surprise to me and many others who speculate our brains out in our over-enthusiasm for this, the greatest open world game thus far and of all time. lol.

I have very high hopes that there will be some kind of modding support added later on down the road – similar to the old Max Payne stuff but less tools… It’s such a waste when they could rule the modding and artist training world.

Rockstar put it all out on a Newswire post a little while ago, see for yourself: Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Coming to PlayStation 3 and PC

GTA San Andreas is the best game for modding, hands down. The reasons are many, but first I will talk a little bit about other game engines. Maybe you are coming over from Unreal Tournament or Source games – this is a whole different world from those!

Let’s take Unreal III for the first example; When you mod that, unless you do some really extensive stuff, the only thing you’re going to be able to do is create arena maps and have death matches in them. The beauty of game modding to me is what the game offers to would-be indies or industry hopeful. Read the rest of this entry »

I went all out to conjure opinion on this subject and found discussions all over the web about it. I even joined in one and started another which isn’t really worth linking – apparently, the biggest fans of the Rockstar family have nothing to say in their defense even when someone is baiting the emotional connection one might feel toward this sort of news. Great site though. Join.

The first link, to Polycount, is a hell of a read. No matter what how you place yourself of the stance that an employee has choice to work there or not, there still remains the truth that more than just man hours are invested in games, and that walking away is more of a failure than being fired when you pour that much love into your product that you go through things that have only been confirmed and not refuted thus far.  There exists an angst that is apparently widespread throughout the gaming industry from over-promising leads that take the risk of their own necks out on employees who weren’t the ones promising the date of completion.

The entertainment industry is volatile stuff. And how productive will a stressed out, worried, beaten artist or designer, programmer or writer be? You might have read my first post about this, then why didn’t you comment?

But I digress to damn much – I linked you to the source of this public display of workplace turmoil – no matter who is to blame and who will be friends at the end of the day, you can see clearly that something needs to change for those people in the game industry who are being stifled and pushed at the same time.

That link again is here @ gamasutra.com Rockstar Wives Open Letter. Read the discussion that has resulted, and witness the allegedly less than glamorous side of being a Rockstar. It really doesn’t matter how much you argue that every bad thing we go through is of our own choosing and that it’s everyone’s responsibility to maintain their own chi; When there are that many people, even from other companies and facets of related industry, speak up and keep speaking when it isn’t even them you’re talking about, you know there is more to it than to each his own.

Good luck to all the Rockstar Wives, Employees, Managements, and Affiliates, no one likes this kind of stuff, but nothing gets done about it until someone speaks up. Better for you to shift out those managers or send them to classes on how to properly manage their team than it is lose the talent that builds the framework that your games run on.

Everyone involved, both directly and in our confused seats as the audience, should learn to value  and respect themselves more – including the leads at San Diego – if this is the way things are for you guys. Your bosses can take a clue from you taking the first step – you’ve claimed your ground with your letter and begun to hold it, now you can ascend and may you gracefully. LEVEL UP!

You know, there was once a time when – if people didn’t like their work – they went and found a new job. If you are having such a terrible time at your workplace that you take it out on people at home, GET A NEW JOB.

I’d yell at people who aren’t good enough to get hired by other people, too. That’s what your wives are making you look like. That’s what you look like for going home and having a hard time there instead of moving on. No offense people, seriously, but since when is that your only employment opportunity in America?

Not to mention, if that is your only employment opportunity, maybe that says something about your worth as employees. I’d rather have my boss yell at me than fire me any day of the week – maybe they do that because they care. Hey, sure, I’m not there, I don’t know, etc – but that’s the whole point. Don’t bring your personal lives to work, and don’t bring your work life to the public.

All you did in my eyes was make me think Rockstar San Diego employees are bad at anger management and take work home, and home to work, which in both cases, are big no-no’s in the employment world. Hurrah.

Either way, I’m sharing the letter the employees forced their wives to stand behind, so everyone can see how incompetent you are. If this open letter is not written by an employee, then I’m Jack Thompson.You’re going through the wrong channels and making yourselves look like incompetents. You failed to leave work AT WORK. Your wives should sue *YOU*, not Rockstar Games. Your husbands had the choice to look elsewhere, and they made the decision to bring work home.

Here’s the letter, if there is validity, I’m sorry for your situation, but damn, find another job if it’s like that. Sounds to me more like the guys spent too much time blaming work for their shortcomings at home: Rockstar Wives Open Letter.