Dean Hall, the lead developer behind hit multiplayer game DayZ, is leaving studio Bohemia Interactive. Hall plans to create his own studio in his native New Zealand.
Hall told Eurogamer that he never intended to be at Bohemia Interactive’s Prague office and originally wanted to stay in his home country.
“And it’s kind of like cooking in someone else’s kitchen: I don’t want to be constantly telling Bohemia that this is how I do it and this is the way we do it,” he added.
That doesn’t mean he’s going to leave DayZ hanging. “I would extend my involvement here as long as Bohemia wanted — needed — me,” he explained.
“Originally I wasn’t going to do this year, but it would be stupid not to, and it would be unfair to the community. I have to be on the project as long as it’s important to. Whether that role is as the leader, whether that role is in a more creative sense… But at a certain point there will be diminishing returns.
“I’ll be always involved,” he said, but stated that he will move on by the end of the year and start building his own studio — a proces he thinks will take “years.” We wish him luck.
Dean Hall to leave Bohemia and step down as leader of DayZ [Eurogamer]
Comments
11 responses to “DayZ Lead Developer Is Stepping Down, Starting His Own Studio”
Good on him.
The hate spewing out on the Dayz Reddit page is a joke. People writing off Rocket and the game because he has “announced” this. He actually mentioned this last year, so it is really not new news. Check out some of the tripe being posted, it really is sickening. He must be thinking “Fuck this, ill just go home now”. The game wont die after he is gone, not after the money it has made for Bohemia.
Do you think anyone will ever get a “survival” game out of beta?
Initially the reaction is ‘Oh dear lord the game will suffer!’ but the simple fact is, that sometimes a fresh vision can bring great things. If Hall is confident in doing this, then I wish him all the best. He’s created a fantastic simulation, the likes of which we haven’t seen before and he’s been a great influence on the gaming world. I hope he does nothing but prosper in future.
Seriously. The dude’s on it. The experience he has gained from this will benefit him to no end. Watch his space for what happens. He did a lot of stuff on his own. Him with a team and him as director? Good things are on their way.
The concept of the fresh vision is a good one but it very much depends on whether BIS bring in someone new or use existing staff. As much as I like their stuff and all, there’s no developer quite as stuck in their ways as BIS is.
The action menu is a perfect example, that bastard was clunky as all hell 13 years ago and hasn’t changed a bit since despite people like Dslyecxi who BIS actually employ to make promo videos still saying how shit it is
Probably a good move for all concerned and I wish him luck.
In related news I just tried the alpha for the first time since sinking 50 hours into the mod a year ago and found the lack of progress (regress even) in every regard but the visuals to be a little concerning.
So he says he will be out by Christmas this year. So really, should we expect him to actually be out by Christmas next year?
Hopefully we still see a Xbox one version end of the year still
Zombies: gggghgrgrrghhhh braiiins…. eh bru
Good on him. He’s made a name for himself, so now is the the time to strike out on his own. He’d be silly to stick around and stagnate in a studio where he can never have full control. Games will only get better for this.
Good to see him bringing it down to the southern hemisphere. My brother country of New Zealand.