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Romero And Hall Sign Up With Midway
Thanks to C+VG for confirming the rumors that John Romero and Tom Hall have been recruited by Midway, eliciting an official response that "the company has employed the talents" of the id Software co-founders, late of the partially ill-fated Ion Storm and the handheld developer Monkeystone Games. The article comments: "Of course, big names don't guarantee big games - Romero's Daikatana will forever remain in our memories, for all the wrong reasons - but it will certainly be interesting to see how Midway fares in this new Hall and Romero era." Update: 10/14 01:42 GMT by S : A report at GameSpot has an insider claiming Romero and Hall will be working on titles including an "already-in-the-works new version of Gauntlet" over at Midway San Diego.
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Whoa... Both of them?
...who thinks that Daikatana MP still really rocks? It's Quake 1, just better! Fast rockets, enormous rocketjump heights, cool weapons and this fantastic atmosphere only Romero can create.
I searched for online servers recently, but they all seem to be gone.
at least eidos got spector and ion austin out of that convoluted deal. though even if DX2 is huge they still won't be able to make up the cash they burnt on daikatana...
i swear, the more i read about the 'business' of hall and romero, the more i can't see how anyone would ever give them publishing cash ever again.
// "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
You know, I think this represents that one of the two parties is desperate. Poll?
You gotta respect Romero for getting into the boys club and proving that even a woman can be successful in the video game developers world.
"I am a kernel in the linux army"
Wasn't Midway on the verge of going under? As far as I can remember they haven't done much in the way of sales of any of their games that they've banked on lately. This seems like a last gasp attempt to get some game designing talent.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
Hopefully Romeo will have learned some lessons about design > all and moved on, and might yet do some good for a game, I'm just worried that midway isn't the place (for both parties) .
Hyperspace Delivery Boy Blitz?
I checked and Ion Storm doesn't even list Daikatana on their list of produced games.
That's almost as sad as... well I can't think of anything worse at the moment.
It would be interesting to see what Romero and Hall could come up with working with Ed Boon if he is still with midway. Boon played the "Carmack" roll to John Tobas on Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam among other games. The three could probably come up with an interesting title. Too bad Tobas left midway awhile back IIRC.
After years of waiting, Daikatana's 3 fans will finally get a sequel :)
In linux libertas
"Re-shape the internal studio?" This seems like a job that anybody in their right mind would not want Romero for. For Midway's sake, I'm hoping "Daikatana John" learned lessons from his past mistakes with Ion Storm, where he spent a buttload of money making the place look "cool", only to have the whole empire crumble around him.
Trolls lurk everywhere. Mod them down.
Will make you John Romero bitch.
Seriously, Romero, shut the fook up and make a game that's worth it.
Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul Ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul
Don't allow John Romero to comment about the games. Ever.
The real news here is Tom Hall, the man behind Anachronox among other things. I only know him from Anachronox but I'm sure many of you can school me. It's too bad that game got shafted by Eidos. Maybe with Hall in a position to direct game development we'll see some greatness come from Midway. Anachronox was actually funny. How many games can claim that? Many try, but really I can only think of Anachronox and Giants: Citizen Kabuto in the recent past.
Ravi
When the axe came to the forest, the trees said, "Look out - the handle was once one of us."
When I saw this article, I thought the headline should have been "Midway Hires Final Nail in Coffin".
Does this mean Romero and Hall are leaving Monkeystone? Unlike many of you, I'm actually a big Romero fan and as a member of both the Pocket PC gaming community and press I think it would be a major loss to lose these guys.
"Midway's About To Make John Romero Their Bitch"
Suck It Down
Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
Romero and hall are "Creative Directors".
They are also overseeing Spy hunter 3 which is in pre-production right now.
Not don't get me wrong, I remember Gauntlet with the fondest of memories....
But ever since it had a sequel it has been trailing behind other games in almost every aspect and has always been just a simple rehash of the original. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it does get old...
So they stick Romero on a project that they know will be stuck in a time warp - he can't lose! If it comes out late and the graphics suck it up - darn, that is what we have all come to expect.
I do hope that Romero can speed it up a bit. Gauntlet has always seemed to drag too much. Daikatana did seem paced (movement, adventure, etc.) about right and did have some fun weapons. Hopefully Romero will add some spice to it and not just delay it until 2006.
although it's difficult to accept that, thanks.
So I am the only one, and I say:
John Romero is a fantastic artist! He is no game project manager apparently...but he is one of the best game designers ever.
Quake 1 and Doom are fantastically designed, and so is Daikatana! Fantastic creatures and sounds and action weapons...
id's engines got better technically, but their style got down since Q2...it's all so redneckish now. There is not one model in Q3 I am really happy with. They look stupid, or they make ugly sounds. Watch the dragon in Daikatana! Which other game has that? Or this machinegun? Or think how a medival door is closing in Q1.
It's so simple and yet so difficult to make a great game. Romero has this taste.
I get the impression Romero really has learned from the mistakes of the past. Not that I know the guy, just a vibe I got from the book.
From the lavish location he chose for a studio, to the methods of employing staff, to his style of management, I get the impression it was in direct opposite to Carmack's just to spite the guy and not with any semblance of sense or logic involved in the decision making process.
If you read Romero's more recent interviews (after the Ion Storm disaster) you can see he has certainly learned from his mistakes. Not the least of which is how to pick staff (Minimum 5 years experience I believe he said - bit stuff, but the point is taken at least).
Romero, like Carmack, just needs to work in their niche. They both know what their niches are. Why fight it? Work with your strengths! Carmack definately knows his (that's why he's the technical director and not CEO). I just hope Romero knows his too. Romero needs to be in design and Carmack on development - to put it simply.
If Tom or someone else can manage Romero (a job in itself it would seem) and keep the company and it's financials in check and leave design to someone who is passionate about games, I think their next game could be everything Daikatana was supposed to be.