Instant karma's gonna get you. Lennon's lyrics come to mind when I take a step back and look at the flaming carnage that is The War Z launch. No doubt there are some fine, honest people working hard at Hammerpoint, but there's no getting around this fact: The War Z is a clone of Dean Hall's Arma 2 mod, DayZ, and Hammerpoint threw out a sub-par product as quickly as possible in an effort to cash in. Now that The War Z has been removed from Steam and become an internet pariah, what does Hall think of it all? The modder turned designer stepped forward on Reddit to express his opinion.
Posting on the official r/DayZ forum, Hall describes the negative impact The War Z debacle has had on him personally:
I know I have been very quiet lately. So this will be really all I'll say for the moment.Now I'm depressed. Hall is responsible for one of the feel good stories of PC gaming in 2012, and his DayZ mod is a fantastic accomplishment. So sad to hear how it's all turned sour for him. I will say this: don't give up, Dean. If there is one good thing The War Z proved, it's that gamers really want a standalone version of zombie survival sim experience DayZ offers (The War Z was at the top of the Steam charts when it was pulled). Take your time, do it right, and I believe this bumpy ride will have been worth it.
I've been pretty depressed about the whole situation. From a personal standpoint, this whole "saga" of the development made me seriously question if I wanted to be involved in the industry and I gave serious thought to cutting my losses and not being involved in the project.
At my Army Discharge medical this week, they noted I now have high blood pressure. Some things in life just aren't worth worrying about.
I've been getting hammered by a massive amount with requests for information about DayZ release, interviews and my reactions to this and stuff and such - but for my own sanity I retreated and have kept to myself. Right now I'm just at home doing bits and pieces on the DayZ development. The rest of the DayZ team is doing the same.
I realize that I went back on my word about releasing an update, and went back into my shell for a bit last week, and I'll come out when the dust is all settled.
If you're just joining us, be sure to check out our shocking interview with The War Z Executive Producer Sergey Titov about its false advertising on Steam, and the subsequent removal of The War Z from Steam by Valve.