Telltale Games Hit With Major Layoffs As Part of a 'Majority Studio Closure' (theverge.com)

Telltale Games, the video game developer behind The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Batman: The Enemy Within, laid off a large number of its staff today. According to The Verge, "the company will retain a small team of 25." From the report: "Today Telltale Games made the difficult decision to begin a majority studio closure following a year marked by insurmountable challenges," the company said in a statement. "A majority of the company's employees were dismissed earlier this morning." The remaining employees will stay on "to fulfill the company's obligations to its board and partners," according to Telltale. Staff were informed of the layoffs today and were given roughly 30 minutes to leave the building, according to one source.

Telltale had previously announced a second season of The Wolf Among Us and a game based off of Netflix's wildly popular show Stranger Things. The company has not yet commented on the status of those projects, though the outcome seems dire. On Twitter, one former lead writer wrote, "I'm so sad we won't be able to show you all Wolf." The layoffs come a few months after revelations that Telltale was a studio mired in toxic management that included employees being subjected to constant overwork. Once an industry darling that worked on iconic brands like Game of Thrones and Minecraft, Telltale quickly spiraled.

Comments

Alas

[Presence Eternal]

That's a damn shame. Poker Night at the Inventory taught me that I actually like poker.

Very Sad

[SuperKendall]

I was *really* looking forward to the second season of The Wolf Among Us. It seemed like they were doing so well...

I wonder if they ended up squandering a lot of money chasing big names, licenses to use properties like The Walking Dead and Stranger Things can't have come cheap. Maybe they burned up too much capital on those without getting the traction they needed from sales.

I thought they always did an excellent job with story and gameplay in the stuff I played from them, so I hope all those laid off can find other work they like.

Re: Very Sad

[Anonymous Coward]

Their game engine doesnâ(TM)t scale (very single threaded) and devices like the Wii/WiiU/Switch and shitty netbooks/ultrabooks typically perform poorly without severe downgrades.

If telltale is shutting down, they should open source their game engines befor some vulture capital company buys their IP

Re:Very Sad

[Dutch Gun]

so I hope all those laid off can find other work they like.

Whenever a studio closes down, there's typically a flurry of recruitment activity. After I finish this post, I'm going to send a quick reminder to contact my current contracting company and client recruiters on Monday. It's partly to try to help fellow industry devs, of course, but its also a great opportunity to grab some experienced people you might not have otherwise tempted away from their current job.

I've been in their shoes, and yeah, it stinks. I've had one game studio close under me, and one large layoff round which I got caught up in. I managed to find new jobs in the same area without much problem, and this was before I had nearly the experience I do now. So, sure, it's going to cause a lot of anxiety for some of them, but I think they're likely to land on their feet.

 

Re:Very Sad

[Darinbob]

We already have an awesome Stranger Things game on Android and IOS.

Re:Very Sad

[SuperKendall]

I'll have to look for that...

Hmm, I also see a "Stranger Upside Down" game, I wonder what that could be meant to remind people of.

Re: Very Sad

[Anonymous Coward]

If telltale is shutting down, they should open source their game engines befor some vulture capital company buys their IP

Well, they aren't shutting down, but if they were then it depends a bit on if they shut down before they are completely sure they have to or if they wait until they have to file for bankruptcy.
In the latter case the assets will be sold off to pay for the debts.
If the facilitator finds out that assets were given away/destroyed before the bankruptcy then someone will be in deep shit as in possible jail time kind of shit.
Essentially it would be considered as if you had borrowed money, given it to your friends and then filed for bankruptcy.
That is equivalent to stealing from rich people, you don't get away with it.

That is why source code "disappears" and licensing for older games is such a problem. Rather than making things available in public domain the rights are sold off for next to nothing to someone who might not even have a plan to use it.

Re: Very Sad

[Anonymous Coward]

They're retaining 25 employees and gave everyone less than an hour to clear the building.

They are done. The 25 are just there for the vultures to pick through the remains.

Let's get to the important part...

[Daemonik]

Are they gonna finish Walking Dead???? Cause we need moar Clem!

Re:Let's get to the important part...

[Kjella]

Very good question... sources may indicate no:

We previously reported that a skeleton crew will remain behind to complete work on The Walking Dead Final Season. That information was inaccurate. Sources who wish to remain anonymous explained that there is a skeleton crew at Telltale, but they will be working on the Minecraft Story Mode project for Netflix. In fact, The Walking Dead team was also laid off today and The Walking Dead Final Season will not be completed.

This matches with the statement issued by Telltale games where the company promised to "fulfill the company's obligations to its board and partners." Our sources say The Walking Dead Final Season is set to end after the second episode launches next week.

Though I'm not sure that makes any sense, I mean they've already sold the full season and it's not a bankruptcy (yet). So if they don't deliver, I expect massive refund demands that will undoubtedly kill it. But I'm not sure they care, the news story said they were all let go without severance. Basically we're toast, doesn't matter what bridges we burn now...

Re:Let's get to the important part...

[Daemonik]

In one way, it's sad, I'd have liked to see the end of the story. In another way, if they were gonna kill my baby Clem I'm glad they closed down first. >.>

Re:Let's get to the important part...

[Golddess]

This matches with the statement issued by Telltale games where the company promised to "fulfill the company's obligations to its board and partners." Our sources say The Walking Dead Final Season is set to end after the second episode launches next week.

Though I'm not sure that makes any sense, I mean they've already sold the full season and it's not a bankruptcy (yet). So if they don't deliver, I expect massive refund demands that will undoubtedly kill it

Well now, I guess the question then becomes, what makes an episode? Could they simply say that whatever they release is a combination episode 2-4? If not, could they simply add arbitrary break points in whatever they plan to release?

Re:Let's get to the important part...

[Blue Stone]

>Are they gonna finish Walking Dead????

Apparently not. They will be keeping 25 employees on to finish the Miecraft thing they're working on, though.

They'll remember that

[DrXym]

Or rather it'll lead to an inconsequential cutscene or line of dialogue.

Re:They'll remember that

[Raenex]

You're not going to get anything deeper until we get AI that can pass the Turing test.

Re:They'll remember that

[Riceballsan]

AI isn't needed, just more writing animating and voice acting.

Re:They'll remember that

[Raenex]

AI isn't needed, just more writing animating and voice acting.

They did, to some extent. They had a few choices that had deep impact, like in Game of Thrones, the last act of the game was split in two, depending on which main character you chose to sacrifice. And there were smaller touches here and there reflected your choices. And each dialog prompt got a different response, depending on what you chose.

But it would have been impossibly expensive to have every choice matter in a deeply satisfying way. You'd need an exponential tree of crafted responses.

Re:They'll remember that

[Riceballsan]

yeah I get the scale of them... but there's also gotta be more of a middle ground IMO. especially with the chapter release schedule system. First game I played was the walking dead. At the time no other chapters were released, so after the maybe hour and a half it took to finish the first chapter I decided I'd replay it doing very different choices... quickly learning almost nothing had noteworthy impact. The first "who do I save" choice, got overridden as I auto failed to save the second option and someone else saves the first one". Then later on when taking oposite sides on 2 peoples conflicts, always siding with one... I found no matter what the same guy tries to kill you, and the other saves you. The only difference is adding "even if you are an asshole" while he saves you if you were mean to him.

Re:They'll remember that

[Tuidjy]

Impossibly expensive? Yeah right.

My wife and I played quite a few Telltale games together and even enjoyed a few of them, like The Wolf Among Us and the one based on Borderlands. But we firmly decided to never replay them, because it was clear that nothing you do really matters, and having it rubbed in our faces on a second run would diminish the memories.

Compare that to the Witcher 2, where the last two acts can be unrecognizable, depending on your choices in the previous acts. And that game came half a dozen years ago. The Witcher 2 developers decided that no one seeing more than 80% of the game's content in one play-through was worth the sense of accomplishment.

Hell, the first time we finished that game, we killed a major character whom we had already met and whom I liked a lot... without even realizing we were doing it. And that did not happen off screen, either. At the end, we agonized over decisions, and saw our choices changing the political map. Before continuing with the Witcher 3, we had an argument on which character we should continue with, and came close to going back to the second installment, to see whether we could combine two major outcomes. We did not, because we decided that they were mutually exclusive (although later we learned they were not, as someone would get saved by a character whose motivations we had not quite understood)

Telltale chose to make their games so that choices seldom mattered.

Re:They'll remember that

[Raenex]

How much did Witcher 2 cost to purchase? It was sold as a AAA game. Telltale was a small studio that sold their games for $25.

Re:They'll remember that

[sysrammer]

You're not going to get anything deeper until we get AI that can pass the Turing test.

Maybe, but there are an awful lot of people running around nowadays that couldn't pass the Turing test.

Re:They'll remember that

[Anonymous Coward]

The Turing test is more of a scale than a set goal. Programs have been regularly fooling humans since the 70s. Arguably some did before Turing was born.

Anyone who has played multiplayer FPS games has probably found themselves playing against bots which seemed lifelike at least for awhile.

Story-teller "AI" has been successful in games like Left 4 Dead and Rimworld.

I think games will gradually add more detail. It won't be just creating general AI and dropping it in.

Re:They'll remember that

[Anonymous Coward]

lol the fuck are you on about?
No you don't.
Decision-trees like this are trivial to do.
See literally ANY expert machine system.
I wrote more complex crap in YaBASIC on the PS2. Admittedly it was a 2D game, but still. (I do intend porting it to Unity, though, since it's the hottest meme engine just now)
It's all just running-states that influence secondary behaviours, all chained in sequence.
If you do a good, proper sequence diagram where you actually plan out everything, it makes more sense.
Then, based on time constraints, you eliminate dead-ends or literally dead-end the story through death (which their games did A LOT OF) or other means. Or combine some choices. Or eliminate them from the story entirely and do a rewrite to fix anything related to it.

They simply had no time to work on anything substantial or complex because, as they said, were horribly overworked and mismanaged.
There's more complex decision-trees in games from the 90s.

Re: They'll remember that

[DrXym]

A "choose your own adventure" book has multiple endings. Many open world games like the Witcher have multiple outcomes. Other similar interactive fiction games like Life is Strange, Heavy Rain etc. managed story arcs / branches. How is it that a company that supposedly specialised in this genre couldn't manage it? Perhaps the reason they are in financial trouble now is players got fed up with the superficiality of these "games".

Re: They'll remember that

[Raenex]

A "choose your own adventure" book has multiple endings. Many open world games like the Witcher have multiple outcomes. Other similar interactive fiction games like Life is Strange, Heavy Rain etc. managed story arcs / branches.

Life is Strange is an odd one to bring up because it was as shallow as Telltale Games. They were basically a "me too" Telltale game, except threw in the reverse time mechanic.

Re: They'll remember that

[DrXym]

It still has more meaningful choice than the typical TT game. And it was produced on a shoestring, had episodic content etc.

Re:They'll remember that

[Cinnamon Beige]

The chapter release system might help, but the schedule of the chapter releases was significant part of what was killing the studio--here's a very good article about what was going on there for a long time, and from some of the various articles about Telltale shutting down, I suspect that the shutdown is ultimately the result of the issues the article brings up. They did try to fix things, but...clearly, the damage was already fatal.

Re: They'll remember that

[Raenex]

It still has more meaningful choice than the typical TT game.

Like what? The only really meaningful choice was what ending you chose.

And it was produced on a shoestring, had episodic content etc.

Sooo, it was like a Telltale game?

Re: They'll remember that

[Anonymous Coward]

It was $60.

That shouldn't matter. From what I'm reading choices didn't matter at all. People aren't saying it needs to be Witcher like.
Just some choice that matters.

Re: They'll remember that

[Anonymous Coward]

A small studio with over 300 employees last year. The real lesson here is what happens when you let the business types take a small studio over with their promises of wealth and success.

Re: They'll remember that

[allcoolnameswheretak]

Like what? The only really meaningful choice was what ending you chose.

Life is Strange has been sitting in my Steam library for years, waiting to be played - which I hopefully will at some point.

I want to take a moment and thank you, fellow Slashdot user, for the considerate manner in which you chose to keep this little argument spoiler free.

Sometimes, people should just stop and say thanks, to make the Internet a better place.

Re: They'll remember that

[Raenex]

Life is Strange has been sitting in my Steam library for years, waiting to be played - which I hopefully will at some point.

It's a good game. I had my doubts about the young girl drama theme, but I really enjoyed it.

I want to take a moment and thank you, fellow Slashdot user, for the considerate manner in which you chose to keep this little argument spoiler free.

I didn't really think about it, so I guess you got lucky. I generally avoid discussions of games/movies if I want to play/watch them at some point.

They hired loser leftists attracted to the success

[Anonymous Coward]

Then, the company turned to shit.

Shovelware

[Anonymous Coward]

Flash games marketed as AAA titles to people who don't know any better.

Made a few bucks before people caught on.

Yeah, I said it.

Re:Shovelware

[Anonymous Coward]

And had to pay licensing fees for the IPs used.

Re:Shovelware

[Raenex]

You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. AAA titles? You could buy a whole series for like $25. Shovelware? No, they had quality writers, and while the artwork was obviously not meant to be AAA, it was good for what it was. Either you liked Telltale style of games or you didn't. But the gamers who didn't went out of their way to hate on their games.

Sadly this was expected

[Luckyo]

Telltale games were very new and fresh when first walking dead came out. They looked like you had a huge amount of impact on the story by acting in certain ways at certain points, which was reinforced with many psychological tricks.

Problem is, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me". Once you tried to replay these games for a few times, you understood the underlying mechanisms tricking you into thinking that you had an impact when you really didn't have all that much. So the next game, you came armed with this knowledge, reducing the enjoyment. And this effect cumulated rapidly.

So it was inevitable that eventually most people who were in the target audience got mighty bored of essentially being constantly tricked into thinking that their actions matter when they really don't. And so, sales tanked. They had a good run though, and I think most of us still remember the first walking dead with some degree of warmth, as is the case with the wolf among us.

The final nail in the coffin was the blatant cash grabs with new episodes that were clearly just there to cash in. I guess that killed whatever was left of any good will from the customers.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Jason1729]

I disagree. You know right from the start that it's only an illusion of choices matter. It's like a slightly more interactive TV watching experience. The games are exactly as repayable as a DVD of a TV season is re-watchable. But you know that when you buy it.

Re: Sadly this was expected

[Presence Eternal]

I've heard that before, but on the other hand, it means people thought the games were worth replaying in the first place.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Luckyo]

Actually, you don't. The games were marketed early on specifically on "your choice matters" and "find out what happens if you choose differently".

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Anonymous Coward]

I added the Telltell Batman game when it was free on PS+, and then I searched for game-play video after the fact and discovered that it's just a glorified flash animation, so I didn't even download it, but now it's not possible to remove this garbage from my list of "purchased" games.

tl;dr: Nothing of value was lost when this studio closed.

Re: Sadly this was expected

[Luckyo]

One of the key sets psychological tricks used in telltale game formula is specifically "you should find what happens if you chose differently at those specific points we'll show you after the ending of each episode".

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Raenex]

Once you tried to replay these games for a few times, you understood the underlying mechanisms tricking you into thinking that you had an impact when you really didn't have all that much. So the next game, you came armed with this knowledge, reducing the enjoyment. And this effect cumulated rapidly.

Sure, it would have been nice if all those choices could have had deep impact that molded the story. But practically we know that with today's tech this was basically impossible, because they made finely crafted stories, with quality writers and voice actors. So you either accepted it for what it was, and enjoyed the games on its terms, or you stopped playing.

The final nail in the coffin was the blatant cash grabs with new episodes that were clearly just there to cash in. I guess that killed whatever was left of any good will from the customers.

Could be. They did seem to expand pretty fast into several new series. I personally stopped buying their games after testing out Batman, which played like crap on an (admittedly) older laptop. But their other games before that were all right with the settings turned down.

But I don't regret any of my purchases. Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, those were all great.

Re: Sadly this was expected

[Presence Eternal]

If that is the case, I retract my comment.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Luckyo]

I think we're in agreement. I mention that I enjoyed the first two as well in my opener.

Problem being, this formula got stale, and you don't seem to have gotten any of their newer games either.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Anonymous Coward]

That is the adventure game formula. Pretty much all the games of this style are like that. I think you may have played the wrong type of game for yourself. Try an open world RPG. It may fit more along the lines of what you are looking for.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Raenex]

I didn't get their newer games because of my experience with Batman, as mentioned. Older laptop, new engine performed poorly on it. Their engine performance for their first Batman was a common complaint on Steam reviews, by the way.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Luckyo]

You appear to be forgetting the topic, that being this company going under. It seems that even if you're right about "this not being a right game for me", same applied even to the adventure game fans.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Anonymous Coward]

They're slightly fancier versions of those dumbass visual novels the japs have gone crazy for. At least the Americans knew how to write a decent story though, all the Japanese ever write about is having sex with their relatives.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[loonycyborg]

All issues you pointed out are common among adventure games and story-heavy rpgs so it can't explain studio's closure alone. Adventure games in particular tend to have particularly light gameplay, basically ending up computerized variant of "choose your own adventure" book. Nonetheless, entire genre exists for decades and there always exist people looking for more games like this. In fact Telltale's original rise was caused by this lingering interest after previous mainstream adventure game producers died off during the 3D transition era. You can't expect game's reaction to player's action be both unrestricted and well-written at same time nonetheless exploring such poly-linear narrative can be great fun, even if you understand that it can't ever respond intelligently to everything due to the fact that the writing can't be auto-generated fully and merely consists of prepared discrete alternatives or some templates with some details filled in algorithmically.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Anonymous Coward]

It seems to me that you found out what would happen if you chose differently... nothing. This does not invalidate the marketing, just makes it somewhat cheesy.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Luckyo]

Notice how I didn't point out a single issue with gameplay.

You're projecting.

Re:Sadly this was expected

[Luckyo]

It's much worse. It invalidates the psychological trick, and it makes user feel tricked at the same time. It's a short term positive and long term negative action.

And in long term, this studio is going under.

Re: Sadly this was expected

[Anonymous Coward]

Found one of the devs who WASNT laid off. LUL.

Re: Sadly this was expected

[Anonymous Coward]

Or octopus porn.

Death Marches.

[Anonymous Coward]

The layoffs come a few months after revelations that Telltale was a studio mired in toxic management that included employees being subjected to constant overwork.

So when are we going to start laying off the rest of silicon valley?

They had a few good games, sad

[Karmashock]

Never did walking dead or game of thrones.

Did do Monkey's island, Sam and Max, Wolf Among Us, and Poker Night... sad they're closing shop.

30 minutes?

[commodore64_love]

I have so much food, drinks, and spare shoes/suits in my desk, being out of the building in 30 minutes would be impossible. Why did this management team have to be such dicks? (When I was laid-off from Lockheed, they gave us from 8 am to 5pm... basically all day... to clear-out our stuff.)

Re:30 minutes?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd just have them pack up my shit for me and send it to me.

Re:30 minutes?

[Anonymous Coward]

In a management heavy company riddled with poor decision making they likely realize that someone would come back into the office to enact revenge of the exorbitantly paid management that bead the company dry.

Re:30 minutes?

[Anonymous Coward]

Did they still pay you for the next few weeks? This is why I don't bother with giving employers notice anymore. They have no problem laying people off without any warning and immediately stop paying them but still expect a notice from the employee leaving the company.

Re:30 minutes?

[eaglesrule]

In my experience with surprise layoffs, rent-a-cops were hired to be on scene to keep the crowd from getting ugly. Discovering that management had told bold-faced lies up to that point and that no severance was upcoming made people a little cranky. The building was cleared quickly and then the doors were locked.

Re:30 minutes?

[Dutch Gun]

It doesn't have to be that way, but that's probably just more indications of poor management.

When I was laid off at a game company I worked for many years ago, one morning the company was split into two meetings, the folks being laid off, and everyone else, although we obviously only found this out at the meeting. The CEO came in to talk to us personally, was very straight with us about what was happening and why, and took time to answer all our questions. We were given the time we needed to clear things out, and there wasn't anyone hovering over us. We shook hands with our former bosses and co-workers as we left, and that was that.

Afterwards, another laid-off co-worker and I joked that "it was the nicest firing ever." There was little danger of us doing anything untoward, because when people are treated with respect and dignity, they're likely to respond in kind, even in a bad situation. And as a more practical matter, we wanted good references from our employer, and hoped to remain working in the game industry. That wouldn't be likely to happen if someone pulled any particularly malicious stunts, as it's a relatively small industry - and was smaller still back then.

Re:30 minutes?

[Daralantan]

one morning the company was split into two meetings, the folks being laid off, and everyone else, although we obviously only found this out at the meeting.

I remember this happening at a medical company I worked for. It was very awkward in the non laid off group. We had to stay shut in the meeting room until the people who were laid off were out of the building. So it was just kind of an awkward silence for 30 minutes of everyone feeling a little guilty and bad (and you could hear some of the ladies who had been laid off walking past the meeting room and crying).

Re:30 minutes?

[thegarbz]

Why did this management team have to be such dicks?

There's nothing "dick" about it. Expediting getting rid of people limits the amount of damage a disgruntled person can do. Usually you don't actually need to clean out your desk, your food, drink, and suits will be waiting for you to pick up at the reception tomorrow.

Re:30 minutes?

[Anonymous Coward]

Totally "dick" about it. Read some of the other posts and see how it can be made classy for everybody.

Re:30 minutes?

[Cinnamon Beige]

In a management heavy company riddled with poor decision making they likely realize that someone would come back into the office to enact revenge of the exorbitantly paid management that bead the company dry.

From what I can tell, that part of the management's long gone--the question for a while has been more of if they managed to do it in time to save the company. We now know that, well, nope.

Re: 30 minutes?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, they received no severance.

Fortune teller

[manu0601]

You can play the fortune teller about this company future by looking at what kind of employees they retained: engineers or lawyers+accountants?

Re:Fortune teller

[Riceballsan]

well neither are relevant to their product. telltale games selling points isn't anything remotely close to technical advancement. They are barely more than chose your own adventure books with a couple of "press this button really rapidly" or "press this button at the right time, reaction tests" thrown in for good measure. If their goal is to keep making products that their fans like, artists and writers are what they need to keep.

I bet the executives made out

[jlowery]

How much money was spent on high-end salaries?

shame

[eaglesrule]

The telltale games are the only ones I've ever played where it showed you a comparison of your choices to moral dilemmas to those of other players.

One in particular I found most interesting was where you decided the fate of a character that was endangering the group due to their own stupidity. An overwhelming majority of players decided to show compassion, leading to some thoughtful contemplation as to those who did not.

Giving people reason to reflect upon the nature of their choices isn't something you see often in entertainment.

Re:shame

[Anonymous Coward]

You should try Life Is Strange: Before the Storm if you haven't already. It gives you those types of stats at the end of every chapter.

Was wondering when this was going to happen

[rsilvergun]

they haven't been able to replace The Walking Dead. This is one of those cases where the management knew bad juju was coming and let it come with little or no effort to address it. It's not even that folks don't want these kinds of games (Life is Strange did very well). They cranked out a few more licensed games but noone can survive on licenses since sooner or later the license holder either lets the property die or takes back the rights.

This wasn't entirely obvious a few years ago?

[LostMyBeaver]

Telltale had great games like Sam and Max which were amazing story lines and designed from the very beginning to be played as games. They were AWESOME!

Then Telltale pulled a Lego... by that, I mean that they decided to forfeit their revenue to other companies which had nothing to offer besides branding.

Consider that a movie is a movie... movies are not choose your own adventure story telling systems. They are written in a linear fashion and the result was that Telltale was doing little more than producing movies with "click next to continue" for other peoples stories.

I believe the Telltale had a great format before they started wasting all their money on trying to be a movie studio instead of a game studio. Extended cut scenes were pissing me off and I couldn't bring myself to waste my time playing more than a few minutes of a game... which wasn't a game so much as a "Watch the really long cut scene and then click 5 things and watch another cut scene" format.

I sincerely hope that Telltale manages to go back to basics and stops wasting time and money on making this crappy format. There is a place in this world for fun to play adventure games. They had it... they lost it. Time to scrub the schools to find talented script writers who love the format and then mock them up and perform some market research. As Telltell has proven, it's possible to make short episodes on a schedule. If they make a good story, they could instead start with a game and then get someone like Netflix to buy the rights to the story instead.

Re:You scumbuckets

[Anonymous Coward]

APK harrasses Slashdot. He has for at least a decade now. It needs to stop.

Re:You scumbuckets

[Anonymous Coward]

Who has time to deal with two assholes' personal feud when there's dozens of SJWs and altcucks to purge.

LOL! I'm not worried about it... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

LOL! I'm not worried about it: c6gunner (& those of "his kind" always make me LAUGH @ them in the end). He F'd himself over CAUGHT red-handed IMPERSONATING me https://linux.slashdot.org/com... after I challenged him to show he does better work than I have others here like/use/praise (w/ 100.000++ users worldwide)!

Right after a "ne'er-do-well" DO-NOTHING nobody like him gives me guff, that ALWAYS WORKS to shut them down easily (he hasn't posted in days)!

Especially AFTER he tried to "mock me" about being a programmer WHEN THAT BLOWHARD WOULDN'T KNOW THE 1st THING ABOUT IT (as he was unable to show SHIT for himself, bigmouth that he is BUT NO SUBSTANCE BEHIND IT).

c6gunner TWISTING others' words that I quoted though?

Man - THAT IS truly the "lowest low" https://linux.slashdot.org/com...

NOW, he always "demands" proofs & citations of others e.g.:

"I've yet to see you provide any evidence of that." by c6gunner on Monday March 15, 2010 @10:02PM (#31490942) ?

So I demanded it of him & HE HAD SHIT - RoTfLmAo @ him.

APK

P.S.=> This site has LOADS of true losers of that nature - well, they all HIDE behind FAKE NAMES for their FAKE lives (wasted lives) - so they try "take a shot" @ me? That's what they get - SHAMING THEMSELVES right out of here (not that losers behind FAKE NAMES care - they have nothing to lose BUT NOTHING TO GAIN either (not that they ever could - they don't have the skill OR WILL to do so))... apk

Bullshit & why you HIDE from me... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject: The reason "your kind" (low scumbag punks) HIDE behind UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous posts IS because I've burnt you many times under your REGISTERED 'luser' FAKE NAMES you use otherwise - & you KNOW it loser.

* Idiots like you - you make me laugh!

How/Why?

SIMPLE: Just like w/ c6gunner, I always catch you eventually F'ing up SOONER or LATER giving away your "true identity" here on /. (usually a FAKE NAME for a FAKE LIE of an undereducated DO-NOTHING "ne'er-do-well" IMBECILE).

Just as I did c6gunner RED-HANDED impersonating me https://linux.slashdot.org/com... & TWISTING users words of praise of my work since he (who always DEMANDS proofs/citations of others) HAD ZERO TO SHOW FOR HIMSELF when I FAIRLY challenged him to show he has done BETTER WORK than I that others here like/use/praise (along w/ 100,000++ more users worldwide) right after c6gunner tried to mock me 1st https://linux.slashdot.org/com... for no good reason & I didn't bug HIM @ all!

I can show @ least 35 registered /.ers speaking WELL of my efforts - that LOSER can't even show 1 (lol).

APK

P.S.=> I've noticed in a nearly 54 yr. life that THAT is the province of JEALOUS "Lil' Jowie" LOSERS & WANNABES - taking potshots @ their betters in some attempt to feel better about their WASTED lives - they're pitiful (like you HIDING behind UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous now as you are, you cowardly little lying HYPOCRITE loser (which you KNOW & PROVE you are right now in fact))... apk

EAT THE CHILD!

[RubberDogBone]

They need to listen to the memes and eat the damn child.

This company used to spam Tumblr with ads for their TWD game using art of a man, a child, and a small amount of food, asking the viewer of the ad what the man should do, which of course would require buying the game to answer. But the Tumblr users, sick of seeing the stupid ad all the time, helpfully suggested the man should eat the child and his food issues would be solved for quite a while.

Maybe the company should have realized, nobody was saying buy the game. And IF your marketing plan involves advertising on Tumblr anyway, you have issues.

/.ers that like my work = masochists? #1/5

[Anonymous Coward]

Your software is just fine - well written, functional... I'm going to continue using the Host File Engine by mmell February 17, 2017

Your premise that hostfiles are a good way to deal with advertising and malvertising is quite valid - by JazzLad April 20, 2016

his hosts program is actually pretty good by xenotransplant August 10 2015

his hosts tool is actually useful for those cases in which one does indeed want to locally block stuff outright while consuming minimum system resources by alexgieg September 25 2015

I like your host file system by Karmashock September 09 2015

that APK guy, I use his host file by rogoshen1 Tuesday March 03, 2015

I personally use a HOSTS file blocker produced from a genius called APK by 110010001000 October 27 2017

* If THAT is "harassing" /.ers, you are OUTSIDE YOUR MIND!

APK

P.S.=> 4 more like those coming... apk

Re:/.ers that like my work = masochists? #1/5

[Anonymous Coward]

I've been reading your batshit crazy rants since about 2011. Can't believe you're still at it. For the record, you've no idea who I am, I've never argued with you about anything, and I don't give a fuck about your hosts file obsession. But you are absolutely one seriously fucked up dude.

/.ers that like my work = masochists? #2/5

[Anonymous Coward]

Apk has the answer for that - really... kill automatic updates by adding a hosts file entry setting updates.steam.com or whatever to 127.0.0.1. You have to find the right hostname for each software you want to block updates on by raymorris (2726007) on Friday July 06, 2018

APK your posts on this and the hosts file posts, and more, have never been in error and/or bad advice by BlueStrat (756137) on Wednesday June 21, 2017

I support APK's stand on the hosts file and can't see why it's not used more than it is. My hosts file is 144247 lines long (4,332 Kb) it & a firewall serves me very well - by Trax3001BBS (2368736)

ABP is insufficient as a solid hosts file does everything APK reminds us about fast turtle September 17 2013

You need APK's hosts file - by Teun (17872) on Wednesday August 06, 2014

APK

P.S.=> 5 more like it coming - EAT YOUR WORDS... apk

/.ers that like my work = masochists? #3/5

[Anonymous Coward]

APK solution STILL relevant Thud457 June 11 2015

Actually, APK is totally right on this count. Adblock Plus on Firefox mobile is a dog on older, or lower end, phones. A hostfile based adblocker makes for a much better experience in this context. Of course, your phone has to be rooted, which isn't the case with Firefox + adblock." - by chihowa on Saturday May 16, 2015

In a footnote, I would like to note that I find your hosts file admirable - by vel-ex-tech (4337079) on Tuesday November 24, 2015

APK's monolithic hosts file is looking pretty good at the moment - by Culture20 on Thursday November 17

you're right about hosts files - by drinkypoo (153816) on Thursday May 26

APK, I know people give you a lot of shit regarding hosts, but please don't ever stop - by nasredin (958927) on Friday June 12, 2015 @03:34PM

APK

P.S.=> More coming: Are you ENJOYING the taste of EATING YOUR WORDS yet?... apk

/.ers that like my work = masochists? #4/5

[Anonymous Coward]

I say the following as a caring human being who agrees with how useful HOSTS files are: Your zeal is to be respected - by dave420 (699308) on Monday September 08, 2014

But I love APK!The power of the hostfile compels you! by ratboy666 (104074) on Friday January 29, 2016

APK was right all along! C:\WINDOWS\HOSTS is the solution ;) - by sabri (584428) on Friday October 21, 2016

No complaints from me, I like APK's spam. Reminds me to use a host file. Also, his stuff is free. - by aaaaaaargh! (1150173) on Tuesday November 17, 2015

I'm a fan of apk. Yes he trolls, but he only trolls where it's contextually appropriate. I respect that - by Noah Haders (3621429) on Wednesday July 29, 2015

APK

P.S.=> MORE coming: EATING YOUR WORDS isn't GOOD NUTRITION you know... apk

Re: You scumbuckets

[Anonymous Coward]

Go back to Reddit, loser.

/.ers that like my work = masochists? #5/5

[Anonymous Coward]

APK is kinda right... I've given up on JS based adblocking and gone to blackholing in /etc/hosts, just like it was back in the 90s. The computational load has gotten intolerable for any ad-blocking using JS. I've tried his hosts file generating software. It works. - by bmo (77928) on Thursday October 15, 2015

get around to 'installing' a hosts file list, not sure which one, likely the one from someonewhocares.org. If it works as well as what I used for a while about ten years ago, I'll be happy. And grateful to APK for the lesson and the reminder. - by kermidge (2221646) on Wednesday March 27

I actually went and downloaded a 16k line hosts file and started using that after seeing that post, you know just for trying it out. some sites load up faster. - by gl4ss (559668) on Thursday November 17

dammit MS, you proved APK right about something by lgw

APK

P.S.=> You still haven't said how EATING YOUR WORDS tastes? apk

this

[Anonymous Coward]

Everyone involved in Minecraft story mode needs to be fired.

1 more 4 "icing" on yer EAT YOUR WORDS cake

[Anonymous Coward]

the Host File Engine performs exactly as promised - by mmell (832646) on Thursday February 16, 2017

(APK) is still right a hosts file really does work. It even blocked a some of the video ads that were inserted into a stream OrangeTide February 10 2016

I do use APK's host file on all my systems at home by OrangeTide December 01 2017

I've never tried to belittle (APK's work), I've flat out said it's good - by BronsCon (927697) on Thursday February 11, 2016 @06:48PM (#51491263)

APK

P.S.=> YOU'RE OUTNUMBERED DOZENS TO 1 (you) - toss on 100,000++ users of my program worldwide too & SEE SUBJECT: JUST FOR "GOOD MEASURE"... apk

Re:1 more 4 "icing" on yer EAT YOUR WORDS cake

[Anonymous Coward]

Didn't BronsCon tell you to stop quoting him. His sig even states that you take people out of context and that we shouldn't listen to you too.

Re:1 more 4 "icing" on yer EAT YOUR WORDS cake

[Anonymous Coward]

It really bothers you people say good things about MY work. Work the quality of which you can't manage. BronsCon said good things about it, period. I'm not here to win a popularity contest chump - I'm here to win & I am - so EVERYONE does.

* EXCEPT YOU, loser... lol!

APK

P.S.=> JEALOUS "Lil' Jowie" the DO-NOTHING "ne'er-do-well" = you, RoTfLmAo @ U... apk

Re:You scumbuckets

[Anonymous Coward]

APK isn't a real person, it's just a fake persona that trolls use.

I'm a real person w/ a real good program

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject: In APK Hosts File Engine 2.0++ 64-bit for Linux/BSD h t t p : / / a p k . i t - m a t e . c o . u k / A P K H o s t s F i l e E n g i n e F o r L i n u x . z i p

Yields more security/speed/reliability/anonymity vs. any 1 solution (99% of threats use hostnames vs. IP address most firewalls use) more efficiently/FASTER + NATIVELY 4 less!

Vs. "Bolt on 'MoAr' illogic-logic" slowing you hosts speed u up 2 ways: Adblocks + Hardcode fav. sites u spend most time @ vs. competition loaded w/ security bugs (DNS/AntiVir) + overheads slowing u (messagepass 'souled-out' to advertisers easily detected & blocked addons + firewall filtering drivers) & their complexity leads to exploitation!

* ONLY 1 of its kind in GUI 4 Linux/BSD!

(Better vs. Windows model in speed/efficiency/merge)

APK

P.S.=> Protects vs. script trackers/ads/DNS request tracking + redirect poisoned or downed DNS/botnets/malware downloads/malcript/email malicious payloads... apk

As to HOW good it is & result it gets?

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject & 6 sets of registered /.ers good opinions of it who like & use it (w/ 100,000++ users worldwide) https://games.slashdot.org/com... https://games.slashdot.org/com... https://games.slashdot.org/com... https://games.slashdot.org/com... https://games.slashdot.org/com... https://games.slashdot.org/com... + RESULTS OF ITS EFFICACY FOR SECURITY recently (very partial list only vs. botnets & malware) https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... & of course SECURITY PROS opinions on hosts being effective for more SECURITY + SPEED too https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... PLUS even CHINA imitated PART of what my program does vs. DNS down or redirect poisoned & I did it 1st (only hosts program that does this part which also lets you RESOLVE FASTER from LOCAL system RAM) https://tech.slashdot.org/comm...

APK

P.S.=> That's along w/ the program itself in my initial reply to you here also regarding it https://games.slashdot.org/com... ... apk