Will you boycott KSP 2 if T2 throws it under the bus?

[K^2]

6 hours ago, Jacke said:

As @K^2 commented, it's not the industry norm.  But it's not uncommon.  In an industry that really seems a race to the bottom.

I would actually say that it is, in fact, uncommon to pull what T2 did. Screwing over contractors in general and even in-house studios isn't that uncommon, unfortunately. But this move combines the general horribleness of how major publishers treat small studios with extremely unprofessional recruiting behavior on top of questionable negotiation tactics. None of it is unique, but I really can't think of another example where publisher has gone this far. Though, yes, EA has certainly made strides in that direction. This one's also particularly painful because it was done via Private Division, which puts me in the mood for quoting Episode III, and that's just not a good mental place.

I guess I can see why this doesn't look like all that big of a deal from outside. And one might even accept that it was done for the good of the KSP2 project. The problem is that if KSP2 really was in trouble, the best thing for it would be to pull the IP and give it to a studio that is entirely unrelated. Pulling in a significant chunk of the Star Theory means you're pulling in the process and culture. So if delays were the fault of Star Theory, they'll keep happening in the Intercept. Like I've said before, having to pull IP is not that uncommon, but you don't pull IP and give it to the same team. Not if you're doing it for the good of IP. And while Take Two's literal reason for existence is making money, meaning you can't really blame them for being motivated by profit above all else, the fact that they are disrupting development of KSP2 without a clear benefit for the game is, in fact, a breach of consumer trust.

Whether or not to consider this an outrage worthy of boycott is honestly everyone's personal call. This feels a little personal to me, because I do work in the game dev, and I can understand that it doesn't touch everyone the same way. I have personally worked in a studio that had two months of negotiations with a major publisher for a contract or buyout. They intentionally dragged their feet, because they knew we're running out of money, and the contracts got signed on the last week we were able to keep our lights on. Ultimately, we didn't get a terrible deal, and while nobody got rich off of it, only one person, whose visa just literally could not be extended, lost their job. Most of us actually got a raise out of it. But I do know how it feels to have a major corporations intentionally make negotiations difficult, just so that they can get you desperate. Just so that they have leverage and final say. It's not a good feeling.

What I can say objectively is that this was not a smooth transition. I mean, I'd be surprised if it was, but there are actual signs. Private Division still has job openings for some key engineering roles, some of which are difficult to fill with qualified people. I can't say for sure that all of them are due to transition, because I can't find exact dates that the openings were created, but this is an unusual number of specialists that they are looking for for a team this size at this stage of the project. It is, however, entirely expected if you transition the team from one studio to another. And this happens for other reasons with other studios and isn't that uncommon, but it's always disruptive. If Private Division and Intercept take their time and not rush things, all this really means is a delay. Possibly even one they already have factored into current release date, and this could still be smooth sailing for KSP2. The fact that they are lacking a physics engineer and a multiplayer designer only a year and change out is a concern, but not necessarily an alarm. That is, so long as we trust the developer and publisher to do the right thing for the game and not just rush it before the holidays regardless of whether it's ready. It all comes down to trust.

I'm not going to give anyone buying advice. I'm not a neutral party twice over. First, because it is a little personal for me, and second because to be entirely honest, I'm probably working or will be working on project that will at least partially compete with something Take Two either published or will publish in the future. I can't think of anything specific, but I'm working under a broad umbrella, and T2 has a broad catalog of games. Instead, what I would recommend to KSP fans as a KSP fan and a game developer, is to pay closer attention to development now, especially as information starts getting revealed. Read reviews a little more careful. Reply in comments. Provide some feedback. I think Intercept are still trying to make a good game. I think Take Two will let them, so long as they see financial gain in releasing something that fans want, rather than a cheap knockoff that they can sell and run with money. Show them that they have to earn the trust back if they want return on their investment.

Edited June 5, 2020 by K^2

[kerbiloid]

Even if I was going to boycott T2 games, unlikely it would be possible because I don't look at the publisher, publisher's owner, publisher's owner's investors, etc.

I knew about Monkey Squad (aka Squad) from the KSP splashscreen with a monkey in helmet.
So, unless T2 puts on its every game a Liquid Terminator face, I will even don't know if it's T2's.

[Guest]

I don't believe that consumer boycotts are an effective way of getting anything to change if they're not part of a broader, longer-term movement also acting for change in other areas. If, for example, there's a movement to unionise game development, and there's a mass movement to support that by not buying games from non-union companies, and T2 is non-union, then I could sign up to that. But in isolation it's more about virtue signaling and getting a moral high than actually changing anything.

Moreover, the company that made KSP1 has behaved quite questionably towards its developers, and I don't see anyone here boycotting that, which makes the whole thing seem hypocritical, more about consumer preferences (no paid/day one DLC, no DRM,  no Epic exclusives, no microtransactions etc.) than actual ethics.

So no, I don't think I'll boycott KSP2, barring the emergence of a mass movement for change in working conditions in game development in the interim.

Edited June 21, 2020 by Guest