FEZ 2 Cancelled After GameTrailers' Annoyed Gamer Gets Into Argument with Phil Fish

[Shawn Zipay]

E-Drama! To make a fairly long story into a short one, Marcus "Annoyed Gamer" Beer from GameTrailers managed to piss off Phil Fish to the point that he and Polytron have cancelled the development of FEZ II.

Hooo boy, here we go.

This all started when the Annoyed Gamer opened the latest "Invisible Walls" panel discussion by slamming Fish and his refusal to provide a statement to the press regarding Microsoft's supposed policy change for Indie game self-publishing.

Now, Microsoft has not officially announced these policy changes and as such, Phil Fish has refused to issue statements to the press on what are essentially rumors at this point. That seems to be perfectly understandable. Annoyed Gamer was, as you might expect, a bit annoyed at Fish's refusal to make any sort of statement on the rumor and kind of tore into him during the Invisible Walls segment.

Beer said that both Fish and Jonathan Blow were "self-styled kings of the Indie genre." He said that they were both "bitching and moaning" about "reasonable" media media requests for their feelings on Microsoft's supposed policy changes. He then went on to say the pair would seek publicity when it painted them in a good light but would dismiss the press when it didn't serve their needs.

Which, frankly speaking, is kind of bullshit for Beer to say given how Phil Fish has been widely known to say whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Fish is a guy who even insulted fans during the lead up to the release of FEZ on Steam. So to say that Fish or Jonathan Blow only speak up when it suits their needs is pure trolling, at best.

Needless to say, Fish and Beer got into it over Twitter earlier today. Though now protected from those who weren't already following him in the first place, Fish said, "im done, FEZ II is canceled. goodbye." This was then echoed by Polytron's official Twitter account.

[tweet]361188665709436928[/tweet]

The fact that Beer kept goading Fish into some sort of response might be the most pathetic and childish thing I've seen from someone in the industry. If someone does not want to issue a statement the first time they are asked, there will not be any change in the 10th and 50th time they are asked, especially if it was within a span of a few days. There is a point where you, yourself need to stop being an asshole to the people that are the reason the industry you're in even exists in the first place.

(via Kotaku)

[cikame]

I hate Beer, i've checked out a few of his videos and he's just a pleb, forcing british'ness into every insult as if he's the only unique british person on the internet. I don't know, i hate him because i'm british, and also for his direct verbal attacks on people, Fish doesn't ignore internet comments well, he could work on that, but Beer is the one responsible for this.

I could have just been "why hasn't Fish said anything about the policies"
"because i don't know what they are yet"
"ok".

[Shawn Zipay]

Fish tweeted a little bit ago:

to be clear, im not cancelling FEZ II because some boorish fuck said something stupid, im doing it to get out of games.

and im getting out of games because i choose not to put up with this abuse anymore.

[papasmurf128]

I agree with a lot of what Marcus says about the gaming industry on his show Annoyed Gamer. Yes he may come off rude, but it's hard not to see the crap companies are spewing at us expecting us to just throw money back at them and expect to stay quiet. Fish always struck me as a whiny C U Next Tuesday, but I can understand how it can be hard in the industry to stick to your guns and not pander to the mainstream. But when he lashed out at every media outlet almost acting like he was the second coming of Jesus over one game and then crying because he got what gave is inexcusable.

[CptainCrunch]

Well, regardless of why or how, a game is cancelled.

I dont know who these guys are, just saying up front, but after seeing all the death threats to Vonderhaar a few days ago for making changes to BO2, I imagine this beer guy just made up the fish guys decision that it's not worth it.

So, there you go I guess.

[Buveed]

and im getting out of games because i choose not to put up with this abuse anymore.

He seems like someone who loves the attention and is addicted to the drama. I've seen this "scene quitting" scenario play out plenty of times over the years. It can all be avoided by stepping back from the forums and twitter. There's plenty of avenues to promote a game, without putting yourself in public view. His first game garnered plenty of praise, and the second one will do just fine on that achievement alone. Everyone claims they love a developer who's involved with the community, but these problems are reasons why there are some who choose to stay quiet. He just ended up making himself a target.

[K-16]

At times like this I really miss Shane Satterfield, because he moderated Marcus during Invisible Walls. Still, I'm not naive enough to ignore that Phil's Twitter conversation with Marcus was more of a catalyst than the source of Phil's sudden retirement, meaning there was a good chance Phil was going to quit eventually anyways.

I suppose I repeated CptainCrunch's words, because I absolutely agree with him. It's a little sad that the internet is full of harassment, and that the only way you can possibly recover any motivation left, is to go to a distant convention and chat with the silent majority of fans for a one-hour panel, and maybe an autograph session.

Clearly, not enough people supported him as a person, and too many wouldn't leave him at peace. Independent video game development has its downsides (being the main figurehead for instance), and we have an example of someone who was too pressured to continue. It's a shame we all lose because of this, so well done internet. Celebrate the loss of a game, and a loss of creative talent in the gaming industry.

Edit: I also just thought of another reason that has nothing to do with the internet. Perhaps game development schedules and pressure from his peers may also contribute to Phil's decision, as there may have been too many people asking too much from him, when he really just wanted to work at his own pace in peace.