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DeathSpank in test as Ron leaves Hothead 07 Apr, 2010 / 18 comments

As you probably know, Ron Gilbert joined the Canadian based developer Hothead Games as the company's Creative Director around two years ago. Although the veteran designer publicly began his role serving as a "consultant" on the Penny Arcade episodes, it seemed that his primary reason for joining the company's ranks was to see his latest brainchild, DeathSpank, come to fruition after the studio signed on as its publisher. This is more or less confirmed by today's Grumpy Gamer blog post, where Ron reveals that he has ended his term at Hothead as production on the game is wrapping:

Ron

I wanted to let all the Premium Gold Level Grumpy Gamer subscribers know that I left Hothead. When I started working there two years ago, my goal was to make DeathSpank the most awesome game ever made and have it win a Nobel Prize and the early word out of Stockholm is that DeathSpank is neck-in-neck with some string theory dweeb (eleven dimensions my ass).

As DeathSpank ends the creative and production phases and start down that long and winding road of certification and testing of the XBox and PS3 and [REDACTED] versions, it's looking quite amazing and is damn funny. So, to quote my childhood hero George W. Bush: Mission Accomplished.

I will be working closely with EA and Hothead on the PR for DeathSpank as the release date of [REDACTED] draws closer.

I have also vowed to blog more and try and remember my twitter password.

Roll on DeathSpank, and best of luck to Ron in his future endeavors, which hopefully includes making video games at a slightly less relaxed pace.

Source: Grumpy Gamer

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18 Comments

  • Avatar
    Kroms on 08 Apr, 2010, 04:42…
    @AlfredJ It just indicates she was forced to leave. Maybe Hothead have had some budget problems? I don't know.
  • Avatar
    The Tingler on 08 Apr, 2010, 01:30…
    So does this mean DeathSpank isn't going to get any further episodes or sequels?

    I'm more upset about Dierdra getting fired though, she's a very talented game developer (I've helped beta test one of her indie adventures and it was excellent, you should try them).
  • Avatar
    AlfredJ on 07 Apr, 2010, 17:04…
    @Kroms

    From her blog:

    "Last month, I lost my job. It was something I knew would happen to me one day, eventually — nobody ever said a career in the video game industry would be stable and secure. Still, given that this was the first time anything of this sort had ever happened to me, I was unprepared for the stress and anxiety that resulted from such a significant life change. I’ve since recovered somewhat, and am doing the best I can to keep my chin up and look forward to what the future will bring. "

    Doesn't really sound like someone who wanted to leave. And it certainly doesn't sound like she made a choice, it just sort of happened to her. Note the word 'I lost my job' at the beginning. Also, the fact that she was unprepared for the job-searching life makes it sound like she wasn't expecting to be out of a job right now.

    I don't know anything more than what was written in that post of course. I hope you're right and I'm wrong, but I fear that's just not the case.
  • Avatar
    Kroms on 07 Apr, 2010, 16:21…
    @AlfredJ @jp-30 She says she left her job; that doesn't mean she was *fired*.
  • Avatar
    AlfredJ on 07 Apr, 2010, 16:14…
    @syntheticgerbil

    Deirdra (a she, by the way) worked at Telltale for a while. I believe she worked on the first season of Sam & Max (as a designer), and possibly the Bone games, but I would have to check that last part. After Telltale she went to Hothead who, as I said, fired her recently. I think she was also mentioned on this blog a couple of times after she started accepting donations for an indie adventure game she's developing on her own. She didn't say what the exact reasons were for Hothead firing her.

    @Kroms

    Yes, fired. As old man JP said, see for yourself at http://www.deirdrakiai.com
  • Avatar
    ocki on 07 Apr, 2010, 16:00…
    Choose Telltale, Ron!!!
  • Avatar
    GozzoMan on 07 Apr, 2010, 15:49…
    Where can I buy a [REDACTED] console?
    Is it compatible with my Motion Plus?
    Does it run Linux? And ScummVM?

    :P
  • Avatar
    syntheticgerbil on 07 Apr, 2010, 15:16…
    AlfredJ, who is Deirdra Kiai and why was he/she fired?
  • Avatar
    Logic on 07 Apr, 2010, 09:26…
    Now it's time for us all to do the right thing - feed the Ron - and buy Deathspank at least once regardless of whether or not we like it, to help secure the ease with which Ron will kickstart\pitch\develop more projects.

    Me, I'm right excided to play it.
  • Avatar
    jp-30 on 07 Apr, 2010, 08:13…
    @ Kroms; re: Deirdra

    the latest entry; http://www.deirdrakiai.com
  • Avatar
    Kroms on 07 Apr, 2010, 07:48…
    By the way, Deathspank is done.

    AlfredJ

    Deirdra Kiai mentioned in a blog post that she was fired at Hothead


    Holy! Was she really? I can't find anything about it. You sure she didn't just leave?
  • Avatar
    AlfredJ on 07 Apr, 2010, 07:39…
    Hmm, I hope he left Hothead on friendly terms (and there's no reason to believe he didn't). Deirdra Kiai mentioned in a blog post that she was fired at Hothead, so hopefully all this doesn't mean Hothead is in too much trouble.

    I wonder what Ron will do next. From a MixnMojo point of view, Telltale seems the obvious choice.
  • Avatar
    Icebox on 07 Apr, 2010, 06:50…
    I hope Deathspank lives up to the hype. It looks great and I love Diablo but I'm worried the puzzles won't be up to snuff. It'd be great if he could make a sequel.

    Or, you know, he could just go back to make the REAL Monkey Island 3. : |
  • Avatar
    Kroms on 07 Apr, 2010, 05:55…
    Hmm. I hope we get some more games from him in the future...The *near* future.

    Excited for Deathspank.
  • Avatar
    syntheticgerbil on 07 Apr, 2010, 05:44…
    I'm gonna pee in Ron's hair.
  • Avatar
    Glo_kidd on 07 Apr, 2010, 05:11…
    damn i was really hoping to be able to get some stuff signed next time i was in Vancouver :( hopefully he sticks around in Canada for a bit
  • Avatar
    Sopabuena on 07 Apr, 2010, 04:22…
    Is it me or Ron tries to write like Tim Schafer?
  • Avatar
    Capn_Nacho on 07 Apr, 2010, 04:09…
    Hell yes. My excitement grows strong--assuming we can put "PC" in place of the word [REDACTED]. I'll still play it on 360, but with a small measure of frustration.

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