Earlier this month, a former employee 343 Industries Eric Lin shared on social network Bilibili a video in which told about the development of a shooter Halo infinite, as well as your general impressions of working in the famous game studio Microsoft…
In the video, Lin gave some careless evaluative comments regarding Halo infinite and work processes 343 Industries, which were replicated by the media, which ultimately upset the developer very much. In an attempt to explain himself, the specialist recorded another video, where he addressed the fans Halo, as well as representatives of the press, trying to explain their position in more detail.
“I am recording this video in order to clarify some of the points from the previous video. To bring more context to my only partially translated [на английский] speech. The first and most important thing that I, by the way, have already said – I in no way speak for the entire studio 343. I can only express my own opinion based on the experience of working in this company – an experience that was mostly positive. Don’t mistake me for the official Halo news source. Again, I’m not the official news source for the Halo franchise. I am just one specialist from a large team of professionals, my personal experience cannot reflect the experience of other developers, “explains Eric Lin.
Next, Lin spoke about the reasons for his departure from 343 Industries… The developer has mentioned his own quote about “luggage 343“, explaining that by this he meant the studio’s attachment to the series Halo… The artist himself now wants to work on a new original project, which is why he left the studio.
“By baggage, I meant the fact that, while staying in the studio, I would not be able to work on a new original game. I want to try myself in something new, and with 343 it is unrealistic, since this team focuses all its efforts on development. Halo. I left the company on good terms, without any animosity. I even emphasized the fact that I almost burst into tears when I left 343. I will really, really miss the studio and the people who work in it. “
Lin went on to focus on his own words of ambition. Halo infinite, as well as deleted content, which, in his opinion, will not make it into the final version of the shooter.
“The news reports write that I claim that the game [Halo Infinite] overly ambitious. Do I really think so? Yes. But this is just my own opinion. Am I sad that some of my work never gets into the game? Sure. But these are the working realities in any related field, be it filmmaking, creating entertainment products, TV series, game development, it makes no difference. I don’t make such decisions, but I think anyone would agree that the most important thing is to have a well-tailored project without unnecessary fillers. “
Also a former employee 343 Industries walked through my own cure that Halo infinite won’t “epoch-making masterpiece“. Lin explained that in this way he hoped to convey to some users the idea that high expectations often lead to great disappointment.…
“Fan forums and media have mentioned my idea that [Halo Infinite] will not become a masterpiece. I said this because we live in an era when an unthinkable hype is inflated around games, on which fans are building excessively high expectations. I did not say that the game would be bad, on the contrary, I really look forward to it and will support it in every possible way, since I understand how much work has been invested in the project. Talented scriptwriters are assigned to the game, so you don’t have to worry about the plot. The semi-open world should be entertaining. In that video, I simply advised the audience to look at things without any prejudice. Ultimately, this is the first time Halo has existed in a new, more open format in its entire history. It is possible that the project will not satisfy all your requests, but it will definitely not become a bad game from this. “
Mentioned Lin and the engine SlipSpaceon which the Halo infinite, and the creation of which, according to the developer, significantly complicated the production of the expected shooter.
“As for the engine. Some publications wrote that it is allegedly out of order. This is a misinterpretation of my quotes. I said that the engine needs improvements. It needs to be improved, and this is a completely normal technical process. The same Unreal 4 continues to receive updates and patches. , even in spite of its age and the imminent launch of Unreal 5. As I said before, the Halo Infinite engine is getting better and better every day, they are working very hard on it. more and more features. Productivity is also showing growth. I’m sure the situation has only improved since I left. “
More Lina insulted the press headlines about the recycling in 343 Industries… Fearing for the studio’s reputation and his own resume, the specialist hastened to correct his previously voiced thoughts.
“Now to the issue of revisions, it upset me the most. Everyone snatched one sentence from the 15-minute video, which did not even have a direct bearing on what I was talking about, and now this quote was taken away into headlines. I explain that I have never stated that all employees must work overtime, and I never said that I was personally forced to work overtime.
The reasons for such practices are very different, sometimes it all comes down to banal deadlines. But for many of us, the motivation remains the desire to give our best, artists like me can just catch the wave and work without stopping. It was such that I fired up with work and even forgot to take breaks for food – I so badly wanted to finish what I started. I didn’t want to lose inspiration. This happens with creative people.
Also keep in mind that we have been working from home for a year now. It is not always possible to concentrate on business because of the children; you also have to be distracted by the issues of their remote learning. You also need to cook yourself, because dining out is not safe. Because of this, sometimes I did not start work until after I had put the children to bed, that is, at about nine o’clock in the evening, which makes working hours easily go past midnight. But I am making a second emphasis – no one forced me to recycle, no one works in this mode on an ongoing basis.
But the press is now pretending that recycling is the norm for 343 things. I am furious with such accusations, because each employee has his own concerns. Someone works harder than others, yes, but this does not apply to absolutely everyone, and does not happen all the time. We could and can take weekends to distract ourselves and spend time with our family. Think for yourself, if I literally lived at work, then where would I have time to run a YouTube channel and upload videos to BilliBilli? I mentioned working late only to show fans that the game [Halo Infinite] we are not indifferent, we are rooting for her soul. I do not exclude that sometimes you need to fit into a rigid framework, in my eight years in the studio this happened extremely rarely. But again – I speak exclusively for myself, I cannot take responsibility for other people and their work schedule. You don’t have to look at my personal experience and project it onto the rest of the team. It doesn’t work that way. ”
Finished my story Eric Lin appeal to the gaming press and bloggers – the developer encourages everyone to carefully check the information before publishing…
“I understand perfectly well that large gaming sites and channels need content, you need traffic. I run a YouTube blog myself, but take a post left on the forum based on an inaccurate translation of someone else’s words, and later turn it into a full-fledged article – this is irresponsible, and to be honest, extremely lazy. Nobody began to contact me personally for explanatory comments – neither journalists, nor bloggers, nobody. I even sent emails to some myself, offered to better explain the situation, but there was no reaction. Why is that? It’s very sad that a well-intentioned video ended up being used in this way. If you are a member of the press or have a news blog, please take responsibility for verifying sources. And if you are a fan of the Halo series, don’t believe me on word, not in my right to make statements about a huge project on behalf of the whole studio “, – concluded Eric Lin.
It is noteworthy that according to Halo infinite now a separate journalistic investigation is being prepared – promises to tell about the production of the shooter Jason Schreierwriting for publication Bloomberg…
Release Halo infinite should take place in the second half of this year at Xbox one, Xbox Series X | S and PC…
Read Also: “Response Pending”: Epic Games Offers Sony $ 200 Million for 4-6 PlayStation Exclusives on Epic Games Store…
