Zeusthecat

Sure, but as others have pointed out he didn't quite have the same position of power and prominence in the company during that time than he did during the development of Bioshock Infinite. The fact still remains that he was running a company with a high turnover rate and that that company ultimately got shut down.

This is true but I think the circumstances around this whole situation would suggest that the original dude is likely the one most responsible for the high turnover and closing of the studio.

I know we're going to continue to disagree but please at least consider these two facts: Irrational had a high turnover rate and Irrational got shut down. I think it is safe to say that companies with high turnover rates are more often than not in that position because of incompetent management. Then when a company that is already in that position gets shut down, it makes an even stronger argument for that being the case. Considering that, I think it is perfectly reasonable to come to the conclusion in a case like this that the dude in charge is incompetent.

I didn't think I had anything to contribute to this thread until this mention. I'm right there with you.

What's fucking dumb is coming onto a forum and telling people that they are stupid for having the opinions they have and then go on a fallacy ridden rant about how none of us have the right to draw different conclusions from those that you have drawn. All you have done is come on here and attack people and when you are challenged on your points, you put up a straw man in the hopes that no one will notice that you aren't actually capable of providing an intelligent response to the specific counterpoints that people have brought up. Yes, Ken Levine comes off as ignorant to me. I have read enough about this situation that that is where my brain ended up. It appears that he was difficult to work for, couldn't keep his project under budget, and just generally had a negative impact on a lot of people who worked for him. So he seems ignorant to me. That's the thing about opinions, we all have them and sometimes we offer them up. You seem to have a very hard time accepting that. And that whole 'liberalism' thing from earlier was real classy too.

Aperson, I would respond to you but others have already pretty much nailed all the points. Just remember that an idiot is a person who is ignorant, straw men are very flammable, and a frog that calls a tree green is racist.

So aperson, should all people in a position of power be off limits when it comes to criticism? Who is it okay to criticize? I suppose you also find it sick when people call Obama an idiot or when they get furious at congress because they're all trying so hard and all have our best interests in mind right?

I agree. There is really no other way the frog's comment could be taken if that is the context that his comment is given in which is exactly my point. And interestingly, thanks to the information that SecretAsianMan brought to light, the nature of the frog's comment turns out to be far more insidious than the nature of the pot's comment. The pot is just a hypocrite but the frog is a racist and a hypocrite.

Boo fucking hoo. Do you actually have anything useful to contribute?

Well, I guess we're all good then. I'll just go over here now.

Just to beat this dead horse a little more (and let's save the discussion around that saying for another time), I just don't see a problem with a frog calling a tree green. Just because he is green it is somehow inappropriate for him to to point out the fact that other things are green? The only way the saying works is if the frog is only calling the tree green in a derogatory way and is being a hypocrite in doing so. This is about the dumbest debate I've ever had and it is awesome.

I agree and I hope the contents of my post clearly indicated why I find him to be an idiot. To be clear, I think being a competent game developer goes far beyond just being a 'creative genius' and Levine comes across as completely ignorant when it comes to anything beyond hatching his video game ideas.

This is true. But I contend that it is also possible to be a creative, smart guy and an idiot at the same time. That is, assuming that the term 'idiot' is still recognized as distinct and different from the term 'stupid'.

Ah, but what if you register a ship in the US, load it up with a bunch ship building materials and marijuana saplings (assuming you have a medical marijuana card), then go into international waters, build two new ships, and keep the original ship docked to one of the new ships for returning to land. Then one of your new ships is used as a weed farm and the other ship is used as your weed hotel. That would totally work right?

Now that's a zinger if I've ever seen one.

Damn, looks like I'm the racist one then...

Sorry for the double post but I just randomly started wondering if weed is legal in international waters. If it is then why the hell hasn't anyone created a floating weed hotel in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?

Can someone explain the saying "That's like the pot calling the kettle black"? Does this saying simply operate under the assumption that all pots and kettles are black? I call bullshit on that because most pots I've seen are silver and I think a silver pot has every right to say that a black kettle is black. Going one step further though, let's say both the pot and the kettle are indeed black. Why would it not be acceptable for one black kitchen accessory to say to another black kitchen accessory, "Hey, you're black". The way this saying is used in our everyday lives implies that something being black is a negative which I find incredibly racist. So it comes across to me like the pot is bringing up the kettle's color as a negative and hates black things despite the fact that the pot itself is black. So basically the pot is just like Hitler. Someone please help me escape from this racist rabbit hole!

Hell yes I did. The more I think about it, that whole song sequence and the way you end it by using the word 'orange' just might be one of my favorite sequences I've ever seen in a video game. So damn good.

Well hot dog, I finally made some fucking progress. I would have never associated the word 'crunchy' with a jawbreaker before but I have since learned the error of my ways. And I have no idea how I managed to never try pushing Cutthroat Bill considering how goddamn thorough I was with every area. I guess these games are good at continuing to put giant blind spots on my brain. So after getting the jawbreaker and giving it to Blondebeard, I was slightly bummed to see that this puzzle was much more complex than I had anticipated. I was hoping I would just get the tooth and be able to continue on with my adventure but there were a few additional steps to figure out before I could do that. The first couple steps were easy: give the gum to Blondebeard after the jawbreaker loosened his tooth then use the pin I had to pop his gum bubble. The next part however, had me stumped for a bit. I first just tried to pick up the tooth and walk out but was caught by Blondebeard as I tried to leave. Then, after some inventory experimentation, I discovered that I could put the gold tooth in the chewed gum I had and blow my own bubble with the tooth inside. I thought I would then be able to leave with the gum and tooth hidden in my mouth but was stopped in my tracks again and forced to ponder my options some more. Luckily, it didn't take me too much longer to realize the connection between the gum bubble with the tooth, the open window, the mud puddle outside that I was able to pan for gold in, and the last remaining balloon that I had in my inventory. As soon as I put those pieces together, I was certain that the solution to the puzzle was to inhale the helium from the balloon and then blow a helium filled bubble that would float out of the window and drop the tooth in the mud which I could then get using my pie pan. Sure enough, everything played out as expected and I was able to finally give the tooth to Bill and continue on with my adventure. I am super stoked that this game made me feel so smart right after making me feel so stupid and that that puzzle turned out to actually be pretty sweet in the end. After finally recruiting Bill it was on to Act 3. Thankfully, this act was amazing and gave me a nice reprieve from all the intense puzzle solving. I loved just about everything going on here. The barber pirate song was amazing and hilarious. The way they completely ignored Guybrush because they were too busy whale watching was hilarious and reminded me of his pirate crew from SoMI. The insult fighting was an absolute joy to go through once again, especially with the rhyming aspect. And the French villain guy who stole my map was also a great character. This act was definitely a standout moment in my LucasArts playthrough. After I had made my way through all the pirates, upgraded my cannons, and defeated the asshole that stole my map, I finally made it to Blood Island and the start of Act 4. I played a few minutes into this and quit shortly after talking to my crew and learning of their plans to mutiny and go back to being barbers. Now that I finally have a new area to explore I'm excited to start getting buried in puzzle hell again.

I think the reason the original Donkey Kong became so Cranky was because he realized he and all of his descendants have rapid aging disorder. That dude used to stand toe-to-toe with Mario but he quickly aged to the point where he could barely move while Mario just continued to get more nimble. It appears that the current Donkey Kong has also had this genetic disorder passed down to him and he wears his tie as a symbol to promote rapid aging disorder awareness. God I'm so stupid.

This may sound harsh but based on some of these accounts, Levine comes across as more of an idiot than a creative genius. It's great that he has all these awesome creative ideas but the fact that he is so apparently clueless on how his practices impact the potential profitability of the game he is creating is baffling. He may prefer to eschew standard development processes and do things in his own unproductive way but that is extremely shortsighted when you are working under a budget and are counting on your game to be profitable. And in my mind, anyone who thinks a development process that involves regular "crunching" is a superior process should never be in charge of a project team.

Sure, I'll take it. That game looks sweet. Thanks Dosed!

I added my stuff. Thanks for doing this Jon!

Dumb twat?