Just a quickie:

"Disco Elysium" was a critical darling of 2022; a top-down RPG with
deep characters and an unusual setting, it seemingly came from nowhere
and was very well received by audience and critics alike. But hopes
for a sequel were dashed when it was revealed that the developers of
the original were no longer employed by ZaUm, the publishers, and the
separation had not been amicable. The developers themselves then
accused the publisher of, essentially, stealing their company out from
under them.

Documentarian "People Make Games" goes into detail about what
happened, explaining the situation and interviewing all the
principals. It turns out that the story is a lot more complicated than
it would first seem, and that nobody comes out clean. The reporter is
the same person who wrote up on how Valve operates as a company, and
an earlier video about the intersection of video games and gambling
(both of which I've linked here in earlier posts), so if you liked
those, you might appreciate this deep dive as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGIGA8taN-M

Personally, I've only superficial interest in the situation, and the
unlikability of most of the people makes it hard for me to care. But
this video gives a lot clearer idea as to what happened than the
one-sided points of view offered by either side. So, if you're a fan
of the game, maybe watch the video before deciding who wronged who.

On Mon, 19 Jun 2023 13:58:32 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>
>Just a quickie:

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGIGA8taN-M
>

I was down for this until I realized that the video is 2 hours and 30
minutes long.

Just a heads up for anyone going into this.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

On 19/06/2023 18:58, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
> Just a quickie:
>
> "Disco Elysium" was a critical darling of 2022; a top-down RPG with
> deep characters and an unusual setting, it seemingly came from nowhere
> and was very well received by audience and critics alike. But hopes
> for a sequel were dashed when it was revealed that the developers of
> the original were no longer employed by ZaUm, the publishers, and the
> separation had not been amicable. The developers themselves then
> accused the publisher of, essentially, stealing their company out from
> under them.
>
> Documentarian "People Make Games" goes into detail about what
> happened, explaining the situation and interviewing all the
> principals. It turns out that the story is a lot more complicated than
> it would first seem, and that nobody comes out clean. The reporter is
> the same person who wrote up on how Valve operates as a company, and
> an earlier video about the intersection of video games and gambling
> (both of which I've linked here in earlier posts), so if you liked
> those, you might appreciate this deep dive as well.
>
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGIGA8taN-M
>
> Personally, I've only superficial interest in the situation, and the
> unlikability of most of the people makes it hard for me to care. But
> this video gives a lot clearer idea as to what happened than the
> one-sided points of view offered by either side. So, if you're a fan
> of the game, maybe watch the video before deciding who wronged who.
>

I should watch that sometime because there's always been the question of
whether the devs really are the angels that some people have painted
them as.

On Wed, 21 Jun 2023 08:57:43 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

>I should watch that sometime because there's always been the question of
>whether the devs really are the angels that some people have painted
>them as.

It's a long video, so set aside some time.

And, unfortunately, it doesn't really offer any conclusive proof as to
the righteousness of either party. Everyone involved comes out looking
bad. Was there malfeasance on the part of the publishers? They're
definitely seem slimy enough, but it is not clear that they actually
broke any laws. The developers aren't as innocent as they appear
either, and being outmaneuvered by a better businessman isn't
necessarily illegal.

Honestly, it's hard for me to really care one way or the other. I've
only marginal interest in the game and don't buy into the idea of a
savant developer single-handedly behind the success of a game. But
there are a lot of die-hard fans of the game who have picked a side
(usually favoring the developers) and those are the sort who really
need to watch the video to get a broader viewpoint.