Well my comments about EQ II seem to have made the rounds. Judging by the response I’ve seen on line and all the mail I got it would seem a lot of people feel the same way I do.
I actually got a mail from John Smedley this morning that I might as well share with you. It seems only fair to give him a chance to respond here.
Normally I like you guys a lot.. even when you dig on us.. but it felt like you went personal on our artists. Low blow IMO
We have some of the most talented artists in the business and EQ II is a gorgeous game. Certainly art style is a subjective thing.. and if you want to bag on the art then that’s certainly your right. But unless and until you’ve had any of your art in a game calling people robots just seems weak.
John Smedley
President, Sony Online Entertainment
I agree that SOE probably has some very talented artists working for them. However none of that talent is making its way into the final product. I think that the problem is EQ II has no unifying artistic vision. It’s a game designed by committee and that’s a sure way to kill creativity. If I were to look at individual portfolios I’m sure I’d have plenty of nice things to say about the artists that work there. But I’m not, I’m looking at EQ II and at looks terrible. Is that their fault? No I think it’s the fault of the corporate machine they are trapped in.
Art is indeed subjective. I gave you my impressions and that’s all. You see it differently and that’s great, good for you. To tell me that I am not qualified to have an opinion on the graphics in a game until I’ve worked on one is pretty ridiculous. Plenty of people tell me my work is shit and none of them ever made a fucking web comic.
***UPDATE***
I had a bit about SOE and Child’s Play here and if you saw it that’s fine. I thought about it some more and I decided to take it out. I’ve always said we need to keep CP separate from PA and I should listen to my own advice.
-Gabe out
