BioShock Infinite VP Rod Fergusson Leaves Irrational Games

[Andy Chalk]

BioShock Infinite VP Rod Fergusson Leaves Irrational Games

Rod Fergusson, who left Epic Games last summer to help Irrational finish BioShock Infinite, is moving on.

It's a strange way to mark the successful launch of a massively popular game but Rod Fergusson, who's probably still best known for his work on the Gears of War franchise, confirmed today that he's leaving Irrational Games.

"During my departure from Epic, I learned that Irrational was in need of a 'closer' to help finish BioShock Infinite," he told Polygon. "I've been striving for better storytelling in the games I've worked on and I saw this as a great opportunity to learn from Ken and his team on how to build a truly story-driven game."

Fergusson joined Irrational last August as the vice-president of development. Prior to that he was director of production at Epic Games and executive producer on the Gears of War franchise. He has not yet revealed his post-Irrational plans.

"I am very proud of the work that I did and of the team and what they were able to accomplish on Infinite," Fergusson said. "Now with the game shipped successfully, I've done what I set out to do here and now I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my life and career."

Source: Polygon [http://www.polygon.com/2013/4/8/4196156/bioshock-infinites-rod-fergusson-leaves]


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[Midniqht]

Well that was a short venture. Maybe he can hop back on Epic and fix their Gears: Judgment multiplayer...

Hey, I can dream.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

Nomadic developer, eh? If my video game career was a learning process, I suppose you could do worse than Cliffy and Ken Levine. Now make the world's most powerful and well controlled third person shooter!

 

[R.Nevermore]

Where will he go? So will his next mentor be? We've had cliffyb and ken Levine... Maybe the mighty gaben? Does gaben still make games?

 

[Ausghostdog]

He's going to EA

 

[Parakeettheprawn]

Nomadic developer, eh? If my video game career was a learning process, I suppose you could do worse than Cliffy and Ken Levine. Now make the world's most powerful and well controlled third person shooter!

Well they did release the source code to Jedi Knight 2. Lets see what he can do with that.

 

[kailus13]

Where will he go? So will his next mentor be? We've had cliffyb and ken Levine... Maybe the mighty gaben? Does gaben still make games?

I think Gaben's a lumberjack now. Or a metalworker.

I suppose that leaving on a high note is always a good thing, but only one game seems a bit lacking.

 

[VanQ]

I certainly hope he isn't the reason that so much content was cut from the game and became a linear corridor shooter. I still want to play the game I saw a trailer for in 2011.

 

[Pebkio]

I certainly hope he isn't the reason that so much content was cut from the game and became a linear corridor shooter. I still want to play the game I saw a trailer for in 2011.

I view him as a symptom of the problem that caused the cut content and linear gameplay: They ran out of time, or money, or will...

It sounds like they needed a specialist to help jam everything together into a workable release because time was short and their game wasn't complete. I think back on the short week it took me to 1000 point Infinite and I really do think that they had to rush this version out.

...this version as opposed to what the full version of that demo would've been.

 

[VanQ]

I certainly hope he isn't the reason that so much content was cut from the game and became a linear corridor shooter. I still want to play the game I saw a trailer for in 2011.

I view him as a symptom of the problem that caused the cut content and linear gameplay: They ran out of time, or money, or will...

It sounds like they needed a specialist to help jam everything together into a workable release because time was short and their game wasn't complete. I think back on the short week it took me to 1000 point Infinite and I really do think that they had to rush this version out.

...this version as opposed to what the full version of that demo would've been.

And yet it still gets 10/10 scores and perfect reviews everywhere I look. I fail to understand how BS:I can pull exactly the same thing Aliens: Colonial Marines did just a month ago and get away with it. BS:I was functional and playable, fair enough, but they promised so much more than that with that trailer. Not to mention that the story appears to have been ripped apart and stitched back together pretty poorly too.

I did enjoy BS:I for what it turned out to be, a decent linear FPS, but it still was not what I expected nor what it was made out to be. I can't help but think that people just want a game they can point to and say "Look, it's art and it sells!" and this is the closest we have at the moment.

 

[Pebkio]

And yet it still gets 10/10 scores and perfect reviews everywhere I look. I fail to understand how BS:I can pull exactly the same thing Aliens: Colonial Marines did just a month ago and get away with it. BS:I was functional and playable, fair enough, but they promised so much more than that with that trailer. Not to mention that the story appears to have been ripped apart and stitched back together pretty poorly too.

I did enjoy BS:I for what it turned out to be, a decent linear FPS, but it still was not what I expected nor what it was made out to be. I can't help but think that people just want a game they can point to and say "Look, it's art and it sells!" and this is the closest we have at the moment.

Hey! I didn't see any of the Vox doing The Boston Shuffle in a corner. Sorry, that was mean, seeing as how I agree with you. The game was, at most, a 7/10 for me. I actually sold it early enough to get $40 and then bought Bioshock 1 and 2 (say what you will about the story and setting of 2, the gameplay was amazing).

I'll admit, I had high hopes and was as disappointed as I was because of those high hopes. But you know what: The demo and the old gameplay trailers created those high hopes. The expectations based on the fun and fantasy-setting gameplay of the other 2 Bioshocks created those high hopes. If it were any other game, BS:I would've been raked over the coals for how disappointingly like Halo it became. Halo with token magic powers.

Detailed gripe: I've been playing BS 1 and 2 this last week and I've been using the bees. They have a usefully long stun of 5-7 seconds compared to the 2-3 second stun time you had to put up with using the birds in BS:I. ON EASY! Fuck that noise, that's just pitifully gimmicky, and they might as well not have put them in there. I sent out the bees when I needed time to reload AND they do a fair bit of damage (at least 50%)... Murder of Crows hardly did any damage as far as I could see. BUT, it gave us time enough to take cover... so it was just another thing that was geared to make us take cover. So we could regen the shields behind the cover we just took. And we took that cover because we can't carry healing items and are reliant on the regenerating shield. And that shield only regenerates when we aren't taking damage... like, say, when we're behind cover. This game sure did love making us take cover.

---

Anyway, yeah, I agree with you, and if I were a game reviewer, I would've been giving it a 7/10, maybe even warning people away if they were just coming for the story (I personally liked the story, but I know it's convoluted enough NOT to be a selling point).

 

[Abomination]

All things considered, the man did exactly what he was hired to do - so well done on that. I actually hope he got a big bonus for it.

Bioshock: Infinite wasn't as good as many hoped but it was still a damn good story and memorable experience. It sold very well, got great reviews and the ending sparked the interesting discussion that Mass Effect III was 'supposedly' going for.

 

[Scars Unseen]

I certainly hope he isn't the reason that so much content was cut from the game and became a linear corridor shooter. I still want to play the game I saw a trailer for in 2011.

I view him as a symptom of the problem that caused the cut content and linear gameplay: They ran out of time, or money, or will...

It sounds like they needed a specialist to help jam everything together into a workable release because time was short and their game wasn't complete. I think back on the short week it took me to 1000 point Infinite and I really do think that they had to rush this version out.

...this version as opposed to what the full version of that demo would've been.

And yet it still gets 10/10 scores and perfect reviews everywhere I look. I fail to understand how BS:I can pull exactly the same thing Aliens: Colonial Marines did just a month ago and get away with it. BS:I was functional and playable, fair enough, but they promised so much more than that with that trailer. Not to mention that the story appears to have been ripped apart and stitched back together pretty poorly too.

I did enjoy BS:I for what it turned out to be, a decent linear FPS, but it still was not what I expected nor what it was made out to be. I can't help but think that people just want a game they can point to and say "Look, it's art and it sells!" and this is the closest we have at the moment.

Because people review they get, not the game that they didn't. Aliens: Colonial Marine was garbage, and got called out as such. Bioshock Infinite is an amazing example of the sort of game it is, even if it isn't the game you wanted.

As for me, I benefitted from ignoring every ounce of promotional material and community hype. I just waited to see how people were reacting to the actual completed game, and then made my best gaming purchase so far this year.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Calling it now, he's going to Valve to help release HL3.

 

[Winnosh]

I certainly hope he isn't the reason that so much content was cut from the game and became a linear corridor shooter. I still want to play the game I saw a trailer for in 2011.

I view him as a symptom of the problem that caused the cut content and linear gameplay: They ran out of time, or money, or will...

It sounds like they needed a specialist to help jam everything together into a workable release because time was short and their game wasn't complete. I think back on the short week it took me to 1000 point Infinite and I really do think that they had to rush this version out.

...this version as opposed to what the full version of that demo would've been.

And yet it still gets 10/10 scores and perfect reviews everywhere I look. I fail to understand how BS:I can pull exactly the same thing Aliens: Colonial Marines did just a month ago and get away with it. BS:I was functional and playable, fair enough, but they promised so much more than that with that trailer. Not to mention that the story appears to have been ripped apart and stitched back together pretty poorly too.

I did enjoy BS:I for what it turned out to be, a decent linear FPS, but it still was not what I expected nor what it was made out to be. I can't help but think that people just want a game they can point to and say "Look, it's art and it sells!" and this is the closest we have at the moment.

Because people review they get, not the game that they didn't. Aliens: Colonial Marine was garbage, and got called out as such. Bioshock Infinite is an amazing example of the sort of game it is, even if it isn't the game you wanted.

As for me, I benefitted from ignoring every ounce of promotional material and community hype. I just waited to see how people were reacting to the actual completed game, and then made my best gaming purchase so far this year.

THIS If Aliens was a good game it wouldn't have mattered that it came out different than the Demos. It was called a bad game because it was a bug ridden mess with a terrible story and horrible controls.

Games turn out different than their earlier builds all the time. it's very rare for something to be identical to the demo shown.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

"I've been striving for better storytelling in the games I've worked on and I saw this as a great opportunity to learn from Ken and his team on how to build a truly story-driven game."

Humility, in the games industry!? I think you're just making quotes up, Andy!

Seriously, though, that kind of makes me really like this guy. He doesn't exactly look like a young-blood and yet he's still out to learn how to make better games. I can respect that, and it's certainly a nice counter to the thread I just came from about Square Enix's blind ignorance.