Yesterday, September 14, Halfbrick, which developed projects such as Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, was left without game designers. The company’s management does not intend to look for new ones.
After the dismissal of Layton Hawkes and Ryan Langley, Halfbrick was left without game designers, Kotaku Australia writes. The most interesting thing is that they will not be looking for anyone to replace them. The head of the Australian studio believes that this position is not so necessary.
Abandoning designers, according to Halfbrick CEO Shainiel Deo, who has been heading the company since 2001, “will allow everyone in the teams to contribute to the design, and will not concentrate all the power over the design in the hands of a few. Great ideas can come from anywhere, and we want to create an environment that is stimulating.”
At the same time, unnamed sources of Kotaku Australia believe that if earlier the company was focused on “creative risk”, now it is focused on the development of already successful projects. “Money has changed everything,” said one of the sources.
In an attempt to increase the company and strengthen it, many new employees were hired, which did not correspond to the spirit of the former Halfbrick. The family atmosphere has left the smithy of hits. And despite the fact that the company’s infrastructure remained horizontal, its “mentality” has changed. This was the main reason for the disappointment among the creative team,” one of the sources believes.
On our own, we add that Shainiel Deo can be understood. The company’s latest hit, Jetpack Joyride, was released in 2012. After that, there were good Fish Out Of Water!, Colossatron: Massive World Threat and Bears vs. Art, which never became hits. Against this background, it is quite understandable both the desire to consolidate the success of the main blockbuster – Fruit Ninja, and the launch of a publishing initiative, within which Yes Chef was released, among others! and Band Stars.
Plus, we can’t help but note the contradiction between the words of the sources kicking Halfbrick for not wanting to experiment, and the actions of Shainiel, who went on to completely abandon the position of “designer” in his company. It is also very significant that the authors of Monster Dash and Age of Zombies have been engaged in the last five years in Halfbrick not with the release of sequels to the classics, but with new games (already mentioned Fish Out Of Water!, Colossatron: Massive World Threat and Bears vs. Art).
Source: Kotaku
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