Mike Wilson, he of Ion Storm, Gamecock, Gathering of Developers and Devolver Digital video game company founding fame, is also the star and producer of Austin High, a “goofball stoner comedy” that has nothing to do with video games (I think) and everything to do with joints and bongs and slackerdom.
Game designer John Romero and John Romero’s hair ruled the roost during the 1990s. With titles like Doom and Quake, he not only helped popularise the first-person shooter, he defined it. Then the unthinkable happened. He made Daikatana.
Today’s announcement of Serious Sam: The First Encounter HD for Xbox Live Arcade had a hidden bonus announcement buried within, the existence of Devolver Digital. That’s the new production company from the founders of the extinct Gamecock and G.O.D.
Gamecock founder Mike Wilson has been in talks with the owner of eBay-listed gaming magazine Hardcore Gamer about a potential purchase, Wilson confirmed to Kotaku today.
To recap: First Doom creator John Romero (above, flowing locks) blogged that former colleague Mike Wilson (above, skirt) from Gamecock was up to his usual “jackarse stunts” and said Wilson was responsible for those “Bitch” ads. Then Wilson wrote an open letter to Kotaku, telling Romero that his “unparalleled work ethic and strong character has… left only a bloody trail of ex-wives, fatherless kids, and ill advised breast implants strewn across this fair nation.” Ouch. Over the weekend, Romero replied to Wilson’s barbs, writing:
Mr. Wilson needed to email Kotaku a nice long letter to recount his version of events at Ion Storm and slam my personal life – way to go Mike! Media manipulation at its saddest. It’s analogous to a crotch shot of Britney in Hollywood’s media circus.
Anyway, I think we’re both mature enough to end this flame war. I just wanna see the cool games that gamecock is gonna release.
Agreed. Even if Romero started it. In the comments section of his blog, Romero made two comments that both attempt to put out the flames and fan the fire. Hit the jump for those.
It would seem that the ghost of Ion Storm hasn’t quite faded into the night, as two of its more prominent employees, John “Suck It Down” Romero, also formerly of id, and Mike Wilson, now at Gamecock, are engaged in a nasty war of words. Romero posted on his personal blog this week that Wilson was up to his usual “jackass stunts” and recalled his former co-worker’s time at Gathering of Developers/GodGames “where he pretty much just partied all the time and after the whole thing got reined in by Take 2 he went underground for a while, waiting for his next victim/investor so he could go hogwild all over again.”
In the same post, Romero also placed part of the blame on Wilson for the laughable “John Romero’s About To Make You His Bitch” print ads that ran prior to the release of the ill-fated shooter Daikatana.
Wilson responds in an open letter to Romero, sent to Kotaku, that he will “not allow you to rewrite the history of it all, more to your liking and to my public detriment, and I will in no way take the rap for what you did (or didn’t do) with your dream company”, going on to defend his character and refute certain claims.
It gets particularly nasty near the end of the letter, when Wilson says to Romero “your unparalleled work ethic and strong character has [...]left only a bloody trail of ex-wives, fatherless kids, and ill advised breast implants strewn across this fair nation.” Insert stunned silence here, then continue for the full “Dear John” letter.
