SameTeem
Search titles only
By:
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Home
Forums
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
What's new
Featured content
Media
Resources
Free TeamSpeak Channel
TeamSpeak
TeamSpeak
Vote
Rank System
Make a Channel
Free Channel Information
Servers
Sourcebans
New posts
SameTeem
Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
Featured content
Media
Resources
Free TeamSpeak Channel
TeamSpeak
Vote
Rank System
Make a Channel
Free Channel Information
Servers
Sourcebans
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
Download TeamSpeak Today
Proudly sponsored by TeamSpeak
Forums
News and Announcements
Gaming News
2014 Dead Island 2 'Would Have Killed The Franchise' Says Former Exec — 'It Had Nothing To Do With What Made The Original Really Fun'
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Admin" data-source="post: 67887" data-attributes="member: 1"><p><img src="https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2023/03/11/deadisland2-blogroll-1678511428447.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></p><p>A former head of communications at Dead Island 2 publisher Deep Silver has opened up about the "eight-year product delay" <a href="https://www.ign.com/games/dead-island-2" target="_blank"><u>Dead Island 2</u></a> endured after early playtests reported "horrific feedback."</p><p></p><p>At the end of a Develop:Brighton talk as reported by <a href="https://www.gamesindustry.biz/it-would-have-killed-the-franchise-insights-into-the-scrapped-2014-version-of-dead-island-2" target="_blank"><u>GamesIndustry.biz</u></a>, Martin Wein — now at GameFlex Consultants — talked candidly about the sequel's troubled development, and how it was decided at a major milestone meeting with then-developer, Yager, that the game as it was then "sucked."</p><p></p><p>Dead Island 2 was revealed at E3 2014 but soon went quiet before <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/07/15/yager-managing-director-discusses-being-dropped-from-dead-island-2" target="_blank"><u>"mutual differences" separated Yager from Deep Silver</u></a>. It was then moved to Sumo Digital before being <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/08/14/dead-island-2-is-officially-on-its-third-developer" target="_blank"><u>shifted again in 2019 to its final home of Dambuster Studios</u></a>. A new trailer and gameplay video was released on December 6, 2022, during a Dead Island 2 Showcase that announced it was delayed once again, slipping 12 weeks to April 2023. It was the first proper look at the game fans had since <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/dead-island-2-new-trailer-release-date-february-2023" target="_blank"><u>it was re-revealed after years of troubled development in August 2022</u></a>.</p><p></p><p></p><p>"I was working on that with the creative team, and we were mightily proud of that [trailer]," Wein said. "But then, about three to four weeks later, we had a major milestone with the development studio that was in charge at that time. And boy, that game sucked.</p><p></p><p>"It had nothing to do with what [made] the original Dead Island [...] really fun. So we commissioned a play test and got horrific feedback. And we sat down with the development team and said, 'Okay, what's the course of action?' And they said, 'Yeah, leave it with us.'"</p><p></p><p>But at the next touch-point, Wein said little had changed, with playtest feedback indicating the sequel was "not fun, not engaging, [and] does not feel like the Dead Island that I played."</p><p></p><p>"So at the end of the day, we had to take the game away from that external developer, find a new studio, and that put the game on a journey of… well, it was supposed to launch in 2015. When did it come out? 2023?</p><p></p><p>"Sometimes you have to make hard decisions," Wein added. "Because we could have, at that point, put out a sh*t game. It might have made some money, but it would have killed the franchise.</p><p></p><p>"I cannot really speak to the conversation between the production team and the development partner as I was not part of those, but as the developer wanted to pursue their vision rather than follow player feedback, the ultimate decision was made to part ways."</p><p></p><p>When it did finally release in 2023, IGN's <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/dead-island-2-review" target="_blank"><u>Dead Island 2's review</u></a> returned a 7/10. We said: "Dead Island 2 is a hilarious gore-fest and a competent zombie-slaying adventure, but lacks creativity outside of its great sense of humor."</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at </em><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/vixx.bsky.social" target="_blank"><em>BlueSky</em></a><em>.</em></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/2014-dead-island-2-would-have-killed-the-franchise-says-former-exec-it-had-nothing-to-do-with-what-made-the-original-really-fun" target="_blank">Continue reading...</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Admin, post: 67887, member: 1"] [IMG]https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2023/03/11/deadisland2-blogroll-1678511428447.jpg[/IMG] A former head of communications at Dead Island 2 publisher Deep Silver has opened up about the "eight-year product delay" [URL='https://www.ign.com/games/dead-island-2'][U]Dead Island 2[/U][/URL] endured after early playtests reported "horrific feedback." At the end of a Develop:Brighton talk as reported by [URL='https://www.gamesindustry.biz/it-would-have-killed-the-franchise-insights-into-the-scrapped-2014-version-of-dead-island-2'][U]GamesIndustry.biz[/U][/URL], Martin Wein — now at GameFlex Consultants — talked candidly about the sequel's troubled development, and how it was decided at a major milestone meeting with then-developer, Yager, that the game as it was then "sucked." Dead Island 2 was revealed at E3 2014 but soon went quiet before [URL='https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/07/15/yager-managing-director-discusses-being-dropped-from-dead-island-2'][U]"mutual differences" separated Yager from Deep Silver[/U][/URL]. It was then moved to Sumo Digital before being [URL='https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/08/14/dead-island-2-is-officially-on-its-third-developer'][U]shifted again in 2019 to its final home of Dambuster Studios[/U][/URL]. A new trailer and gameplay video was released on December 6, 2022, during a Dead Island 2 Showcase that announced it was delayed once again, slipping 12 weeks to April 2023. It was the first proper look at the game fans had since [URL='https://www.ign.com/articles/dead-island-2-new-trailer-release-date-february-2023'][U]it was re-revealed after years of troubled development in August 2022[/U][/URL]. "I was working on that with the creative team, and we were mightily proud of that [trailer]," Wein said. "But then, about three to four weeks later, we had a major milestone with the development studio that was in charge at that time. And boy, that game sucked. "It had nothing to do with what [made] the original Dead Island [...] really fun. So we commissioned a play test and got horrific feedback. And we sat down with the development team and said, 'Okay, what's the course of action?' And they said, 'Yeah, leave it with us.'" But at the next touch-point, Wein said little had changed, with playtest feedback indicating the sequel was "not fun, not engaging, [and] does not feel like the Dead Island that I played." "So at the end of the day, we had to take the game away from that external developer, find a new studio, and that put the game on a journey of… well, it was supposed to launch in 2015. When did it come out? 2023? "Sometimes you have to make hard decisions," Wein added. "Because we could have, at that point, put out a sh*t game. It might have made some money, but it would have killed the franchise. "I cannot really speak to the conversation between the production team and the development partner as I was not part of those, but as the developer wanted to pursue their vision rather than follow player feedback, the ultimate decision was made to part ways." When it did finally release in 2023, IGN's [URL='https://www.ign.com/articles/dead-island-2-review'][U]Dead Island 2's review[/U][/URL] returned a 7/10. We said: "Dead Island 2 is a hilarious gore-fest and a competent zombie-slaying adventure, but lacks creativity outside of its great sense of humor." [I]Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at [/I][URL='https://bsky.app/profile/vixx.bsky.social'][I]BlueSky[/I][/URL][I].[/I] [url="https://www.ign.com/articles/2014-dead-island-2-would-have-killed-the-franchise-says-former-exec-it-had-nothing-to-do-with-what-made-the-original-really-fun"]Continue reading...[/url] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
News and Announcements
Gaming News
2014 Dead Island 2 'Would Have Killed The Franchise' Says Former Exec — 'It Had Nothing To Do With What Made The Original Really Fun'
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top
