Fez is Coming to New Platforms

[The Wooster]

Fez is Coming to New Platforms

Polytron's faux-retro platformer, Fez, escapes the confines of the 360.

Nine months ago, dimension-bending, cutesy platformer, Fez, (finally) launched to a warm reception on the Xbox 360. The cries for ports to PC, PS3, Android, iOS and all manner of handhelds soon followed. Determined gamers didn't quite slither down designer, Phil Fish's, chimney and make him port the game at knife point, but I definitely get the feeling that was on the cards if we didn't see anything by spring. Well you can put that bacon grease and hunting knife away, gentle reader, Fez is being ported to... something.

As Fish wrote in a new year's post titled "State of the Polytron":

"2012 was crazy.

But what now?

2013 is going to be an interesting one, too.

For one, FEZ will finally be ported to other platforms.
Yes, i've heard you, dozens of people emailing me everyday telling me how much of an idiot i am for not porting FEZ to everything.

We also have some exciting plans for the soundtrack, and something about a US branch?"

Fish also discussed his future plans for Polytron, confirming that there are "a couple of new games in the pipeline."

Hopefully they don't stay in the pipeline quite as long as Fez did.

Source: Polytron [http://polytroncorporation.com/state-of-the-polytron]



Permalink

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Fucking. Finally. I've been waiting to play this game ever since it came out, but there was no PC version. I'm just kinda sad I missed the whole phenomenon of figuring the damn thing out.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Er... Are they going to fix the save-corrupting bug before they port it?

 

[Prof.Beany]

Phil Fish, author of such memorable material as:

and (in reply to a question on his opinion of japanese games):

your games just suck

your country's games are f*** terrible nowadays

He makes one pretentious indie game that the journos gobble up as usual because indie is the new black and he thinks he's king of everything and the savior of the medium.
This guy deserves all the hate he gets, he gives noteworthy indie devs like Daisuke Amaya a bad name by association.

 

[teebeeohh]

game looks interesting but my god is the guy irritating and annoying, he puffs himself up, insults his audience and begs for compliments, worse than a sixteen year old with daddy issues on facebook.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Meanwhile the question to whether he will bother repatching the version he has already released remains unanswered.

Seriously screw this arsehole dev.

 

[Yal]

I wonder if the timing is coincidence, or if his exclusivity agreement had a clause the precluded him from announcing ports in 2012.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Yeah...too little, too late. Not really interested in the game any more. Between spoilers, Fish's attitude and the fact that the game had several (still unfixed) issues on its original platform...

 

[Rainforce]

I wonder if the timing is coincidence, or if his exclusivity agreement had a clause the precluded him from announcing ports in 2012.

Based on everything I've seen so far (including titles like limbo/etc.) Microsoft's "exclusive" deals run for a year (or a month when it comes to Skyrim dlc) so it is very likely that just his deal ran out.

Also the dev guy sure is aggressive O_O'

 

[Bob_F_It]

Phil Fish, author of such memorable material as:

and (in reply to a question on his opinion of japanese games):

your games just suck

your country's games are f*** terrible nowadays

He makes one pretentious indie game that the journos gobble up as usual because indie is the new black and he thinks he's king of everything and the savior of the medium.
This guy deserves all the hate he gets, he gives noteworthy indie devs like Daisuke Amaya a bad name by association.

I just glossed over his Twitter feed, and I think I understand better why he had disagreements with his previous working partner.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

I just wish people don't buy the game and give money to that smug bastard (and hypocrite).
https://twitter.com/PHIL_FISH/statuses/95911109667733504

 

[Fasckira]

Sure the guy is an ass but the game is pretty fun and, assuming the bugs are squashed, should be quite enjoyable for those not on the Xbox. Tbh I find his outbursts pretty funny if you take them in a light-hearted way.

 

[Alcaste]

and (in reply to a question on his opinion of japanese games):

your games just suck

your country's games are f*** terrible nowadays

But... But... La-Mulana

It's like Fez, but exciting.

I'll probably try the game to see what it's about, but from what I understand this Phil guy isn't the type of person I'd want to support. Jonatan Söderström and Terry Cavanagh are indie devs I can get behind...But not this fellow. iirc the guy behind Braid was a bit of a putz as well, but that's just what I've heard.


Captcha: C-MAX BEATS PRIUS V

(Is it trying to communicate?)

 

[charge52]

Phil Fish, author of such memorable material as:

Yes, how dare he be an ass to someone who is calling him an arrogant shmuck, how dare he act human!

and (in reply to a question on his opinion of japanese games):

your games just suck

your country's games are f*** terrible nowadays

Actually the question was "what do you think of modern japanese games", and those two quotes were also taken out of context, and it also completely ignores the fact he provided good reasons, and was not the only member at the panel who thought that. He also apologized after answering the question if he sounded rude because he acknowledged his speaking skills aren't the best and the way he phrases things aren't the best.
EDIT: Also just noticed, your second quote was part of a tweet from him later, though you conveniently left out the part where he said "Sorry japanese guy, I was a bit rough".

 

[The Wooster]

I watched a documentary on indie gaming, and Fez was featured in it. I liked hearing about how hard the guy had to work to make Fez, and I'm happy to hear he's enjoying a lot of success after sticking it out and getting it done.

I'll probably pick the game up on 360, myself.

 

[charge52]

snip

Wel La mulana was inspired by older japanese games, so chances are Phil doesn't classify it as a "modern" japanese game.
You should probably do your own research on him, but there is pretty much zero places that don't paint him as an asshole with quotes taken out of context and what not. Most people either hate him because he thinks modern japanese games are shit(because opinions are EVIL), or because of the patch that corrupts the saves of a small percentage of players, and only corrupts it when started, not after the patch is applied. Which is kinda missing the point of how Fez is supposed to be a game you just "play", not one you actively try to beat.

 

[Alcaste]

No need to jump down my throat for no reason. I didn't know that particular quote was significantly out of context.

I was around for the save corruption nightmare and the backlash caused by it, and I saw his response first hand. It seemed like a dick move at the time, but then again, everybody can be a dick from time to time.

That doesn't change the fact that his attitude and responses to a lot of things are *abysmally* unprofessional. He really needs a PR person.

 

[Andre Rapp]

I watched a documentary on indie gaming, and Fez was featured in it. I liked hearing about how hard the guy had to work to make Fez, and I'm happy to hear he's enjoying a lot of success after sticking it out and getting it done.

I'll probably pick the game up on 360, myself.

Yes, he worked so hard to make an ugly and less intuitive Sky Island clone. Why people think that vector art is the same as properly made sprites is beyond me, but I can't think of a single reason to want to buy Fez when a free game did the same thing for free before Fez was even a thing.

 

[Froken Keke]

I feel sorry for the people who care more about the creator than the work, if I did that, I'd be bored as fuck. Everyone's a fucking asshole, Fez is a great game, and yes, most japanese games do indeed suck these days, and that's been a common opinion for a while now.

 

[BrainWalker]

Goddamn people have their panties in a bunch over Phil Fish. Oh no, a guy on the internet was an asshole a couple times. That never ever happens! SHAME HIM! SHAME HIM AND STEAL THE THING THAT HE MADE! THAT'LL SHOW HIM WE'RE NOT JUST LIKE HIM! Woo, Gamer culture. Yeah, he's abrasive sometimes. That just means he's a nerd.

Also, Fez was first announced way back in 2007. Sky Island, as far as I am aware, was released in 2011, which in case you're not aware, came after 2007. Sky Island is also much simpler and smaller in scope. To suggest that Fez is a "Sky Island clone" is laughable. Once Sky Island has a characters, a plot, stages big enough that you can't see it all on one screen, and puzzles that had me getting out a pad of paper for the first time in a decade, maybe then you can compare the two. You might as well say that Super Mario Brothers was a Great Giana Sisters clone.

Fez is glitchy, though. I can't argue against that. I never ran into the save-corrupting bug but Fez is a big enough game that I certainly wouldn't be happy to lose all my progress. I can understand the frustration of gamers here, but I can also understand the frustration of a small developer being charged more than they can afford for the... I don't know, privileged of being able to patch their software on XBLA? Microsoft's policies seem a little backwards here. Seems like Polytron was facing a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. We don't really have the whole story, so I can't comment too much, and it is true that other indie games have been patched. I think I read somewhere that you get one patch for free and after that it's going to cost you. A lot, apparently. So, there's a pretty good chance this bug won't exist when the game is ported to PC.

Also, "Japanese games suck" is certainly not the most eloquent way to state it, but it shouldn't be that controversial a statement in a time when the industry in Japan is saying essentially the same thing.