
It's official: Fez 2 has been cancelled - JVIDEL
http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/27/4563350/fez-2-canceled-phil-fish-confirms
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archagon
I truly feel sorry for Phil Fish. He may have said some silly things in the
past, but literally EVERY time something news-worthy about him comes up, the
internet explodes with thousands of vitriolic comments about how much of a
dick he is. Just look at the comments on Reddit, RPS, or any mainstream news
site. They're abhorrent. This has been going on in full-force pretty much
since GDC12, when the "Japanese games" incident happened.

Fish asked on Twitter for people to please stop treating him like this a few
months ago. It's only gotten worse since then. At this point, it's clear that
this stuff is weighing on him pretty heavily. I don't think anyone deserves to
be treated like this, regardless of how they handle their online presence. I
mean, it's basically cyber-bullying at this point. I wish people would realize
that there's another person on the other end of the line who is actually
suffering because of their comments.

(Hoping to get this in before the Fish-bashing inevitably starts here as
well.)

~~~
StavrosK
I don't understand people who say "I'm pirating his game because he's a dick".
If you like the game, buy it. If you don't like him, don't play his game. You
can't have your cake and eat it.

I pirated the game, played 10 minutes and then bought it, even though Fish may
be a dick (I don't know if he is). I enjoyed the 10 minutes, so I should buy
the game.

~~~
incision
That's just basic rationalization at work.

What I find more interesting are the folks who would take offense to the
latter option as well. Choosing not to buy a game based on an opinion of the
creator will quickly draw the ire of its fans.

The gaming community, more than any other I've been a part of has a tendency
to confuse self-worth and identity with the products they buy.

~~~
sejje
> The gaming community, more than any other I've been a part of has a tendency
> to confuse self-worth and identity with the products they buy.

I really like this quote, it puts solid words to a feeling I've had for some
time.

COD vs BF is a great example. BF players' feeling of self-worth is largely
based around not being COD players, or so it seems if you browse some forums.

------
deletes
Link to the video that is the main cause why the game was cancelled: ( Marcus
Beers rant starts at about 1:50 )

[http://www.gametrailers.com/full-
episodes/roj70m/invisible-w...](http://www.gametrailers.com/full-
episodes/roj70m/invisible-walls-everything-and-the-kit)

And a great quote from the forums, that summarizes the situation pretty well:

>>Hey indies give us clickbait consolewar bullshit comments on demand, or else
we'll publicly insult you on video. Meanwhile we'll throw softball questions
at any developer working at a major 3rd party because we can't lose access to
that previous ad revenue and review copies.

What a fucking joke.<<

~~~
mathgladiator
That's a terrible video; it's unprofessional at the least.

The comments are [http://polytroncorporation.com/fez-ii-
cancelled](http://polytroncorporation.com/fez-ii-cancelled) just make me sad.

Stuff like this is one the reason that the internet makes me sad. Instead of
emotions being private, they spread like a virus; fortunately (I hope), phil
has a lot of money to weather this.

~~~
NotUncivil
Don't get upset at the comments. They almost surely trolling from
[https://boards.4chan.org/v/](https://boards.4chan.org/v/) (NSFW). Look at,
e.g.,
[https://boards.4chan.org/v/res/202172198](https://boards.4chan.org/v/res/202172198).

~~~
beaumartinez
Yes. It's very sad that /v/ has it in for Fish. I thoroughly enjoyed Fez, and
IMO it's up there with some of the best.

He might be a bit of a dick, but so was Steve Jobs. Interesting how Jobs is
reveared and yet Fish is despised—perhaps it has to do with the "maturity" of
the respective "fan clubs".

~~~
emiljbs
Trust me, a lot of people dislike Steve Jobs immensely.

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Ygg2
On this topic my thoughts are divided. Phil Fish didn't deserve to be covered
in vitriol and repeatedly flamed and insulted as he did. He is a dedicated,
hard working and creative individual that has enriched the gaming with Fez,
which is a oh so wonderful and delightful puzzle game. I love that game to
bits.

That said, I definitely see how he could have triggered all the ire that is
directed at him. He is as a previously commenter rightly noted, well known for
engaging in similarly rude and insulting mouthing-off matches. So it's a bad
combination of being able to dish out insults but not take any.

While I do have some sympathy for him, I tend to disassociate him from his
work, simply because of his 'persona'.

~~~
incision
I tend agree with you.

I see the behavior of Fish and his detractor as symptoms of the same cocky
entitlement and nastiness that is so terribly common gaming culture.

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da_maire
Phil Fish spends as much time trolling for headlines as he does making games.
Please don't encourage him.

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edcastro
I don't really feel sorry for Phil. People are being mean to him? Yes,
definitely. But the other way around is well known to be done. Phil is
usually, put mildly, blunt when talking about other people. Guess it's just
karma.

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AndyKelley
I'm curious how this divide even occurred. Why have we even decided to decide
whether to like or hate this guy?

~~~
interpol_p
There was an incident a while back where Phil Fish was on a panel and was
asked a question by a Japanese game developer. The question was prefaced by
saying many indie games are inspired by older Japanese games, and the game
developer asked what Fish thought of modern Japanese games.

Fish's response was "Your games just suck." It was an incredibly rude
response. A lot of people don't like Fish since that incident.

It doesn't help that he's incredibly sensitive and rude in his public comments
(that is, he seems to be able to hand out criticism, but not accept it with
grace.)

~~~
AndyKelley
Okay I watched the video. The response was rude perhaps, but also blunt and
honest. It wasn't attack against that person, or even Japanese games in
general. It was an attack against a specific type of game genre that is
allegedly prevalent in Japan.

At maximum I would call this a social faux pas. Certainly not something
deserving of bullying.

If I were asking the question, I would actually value that response. Here's
someone who is willing to be honest with me instead of using generic political
speak.

~~~
interpol_p
Yeah I believe that's what started it, but I think what rubs people the wrong
way is that here is this guy that (as you say) is bluntly honest — to the
point of being rude — to people. Yet when people are bluntly honest with him,
he reacts very negatively.

Edit: You say "bullying," but I would suggest that he maintains his online
persona in such a way as to generate controversy. He comes off as very
abrasive, even annoying, at times. I felt that he specifically tries to spur
such reactions with his comments.

~~~
AndyKelley
I'm kind of disgusted by the overuse of the word "bullying". But look at some
of these comments: [http://polytroncorporation.com/fez-ii-
cancelled](http://polytroncorporation.com/fez-ii-cancelled)

"Cry me a river, Fishy-boy. No one cared for FEZ, no one cares for FEZ II and
no one cares for the cancellation."

"Get lost you waste of talent. Shitbag telling others to kill themselves, you
dont deserve your fame, money or attention."

"Good. I hope that you never come back"

"You are an embarrassment."

"Good news. Stop making games please."

I've scrolled 0.1% down the page but I'll stop there.

~~~
interpol_p
For comparison, look at tweets to Call of Duty developer @DavidVonderhaar from
angry players because gun stats were changed:

[http://gamerfury.tumblr.com](http://gamerfury.tumblr.com)

Doesn't excuse this behaviour at all. But Phil Fish is not the only one who
has to deal with it.

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hackapreneur
True definition of rage quit. Game over.

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barbs
I feel really sorry for him. On the other hand, I'm hoping this means we'll
see linux and mac ports of the original game sooner rather than later :D

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pearjuice
He runs off with the money just like that? Was it kickstarted?

~~~
Ygg2
Umm, no. He just announced it afaik.

He probably means "I'll take all the FEZ money and I'm going home". It's the
proverbial kid taking his ball home.

