Jon Shafer leaves Firaxis!

Ultimately Shafer is responsible for the (in my opinion) many bad design choices, so I'm glad he's moving on. The unfinished state of the game I'm certain was not his fault. Good luck to him, I'm sure there's a niche for him out there and he'll be a better designer for this experience.
 
@topic again: Wrong decission, 2K. like already said, kicking the lead designer during the development process can never be really good.

...unless it is a message to the fanbase... time will tell.
 
2K Greg
Current Activity: Viewing Thread Jon Shafer leaves Firaxis!
I wonder whether he will say something on this issue
 
Didn't Shafer say something in his post (on a developer forum, wasn't it?) a while back that he would like to keep working on Civ V for as long as he was allowed to (or something of that sort)? Edit: see http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=9756707&postcount=1

I guess we have just found out how long that was (or wasn't).

I think he meant pump up the "morale", though I don't see how firing the boss does that.
I also think he meant morale, and that it was sarcasm. Alternatively, he may have meant motivation ... fear can be a strong motivator, in the short run.

I think his biggest mistake was not having a playable demo to iron out mistakes. everything that we've seen, or at least much of it, could have been averted with a few months' beta testing. how much of that was shafer and how much of that was 2k? They didn't exactly do him any favors when they fired 1/2 the team over the summer.
Hmm ... wonder if the grand vision was crumbling in its implementation, and there was a great divide over how to go forward over the summer with the deadline looming, and the half not in aggreement with the company line had to go?

I think in this case both statements are probably true. Obviously FitzCiV has been poorly received by the game's core audience, and if Shafer was fired, it's a clear sign that Firaxis wants to move the game back towards its roots. With that said, it seems to me that FitzCiV is so fundamentally departed from the rest of the series that it seems impossible to fix it without starting over from scratch. They could move straight to an expansion that completely alters the economic engine of the game, but that would be a major slap in the face to people who bought the game on its initial release.
FitzCiV? Haven't heard that one before, explanation please?

dV
 
2K Greg
Current Activity: Viewing Thread Jon Shafer leaves Firaxis!
I wonder whether he will say something on this issue

probably planning a "don't worry, we won't forget about you" feel-good thread now that the cat is out of the bag. I can't imagine that shafer leaving will actually be viewed as a huge negative on this board as long as members are reassured that the devs will continue working to improve/upgrade the game. imho this has been planned for a while by one/both sides, they were just waiting for the patch/dlc's to announce it.
 
He probably can't say anything of substance. I promise my work place (not in IT/programming) would have a ban on communicating with the media/public about why a higher up left.
 
probably planning a "don't worry, we won't forget about you" feel-good thread now that the cat is out of the bag. I can't imagine that shafer leaving will actually be viewed as a huge negative on this board as long as members are reassured that the devs will continue working to improve/upgrade the game. imho this has been planned for a while by one/both sides, they were just waiting for the patch/dlc's to announce it.

I also share the opinion that Shafer leaving was planned previously. It was also the case for Soren Johnson leaving after Civ4 and Alexman after Beyond the Sword.
Perhaps 2K/Firaxis likes to have a different lead designer for every new sequel or expansion.
 
I sincerely hope they dont just decide to start from scratch. itll take a good 5 years or so to create a new game and with as many people that has been disappointed with ciV, thats a really nasty taste to be left in your mouth for 5 years. that wont negatively effect sales of CiVI, lol. they need to salvage this game, hell, they need to make it great like the previous games to keep the image of civ up, otherwise there might not even be a ciVI and god forbid that happens.
 
He probably can't say anything of substance. I promise my work place (not in IT/programming) would have a ban on communicating with the media/public about why a higher up left.

If he even knows. I'd hope that such things would be kept private.
 
I also share the opinion that Shafer leaving was planned previously. It was also the case for Soren Johnson leaving after Civ4 and Alexman after Beyond the Sword.
Perhaps 2K/Firaxis likes to have a different lead designer for every new sequel or expansion.



that's a very polite way to view it.

another way to view it is that they have some very short-sighted people running the show and are prone to panic-firing of leads. not exactly a good carrot to get the next "sid" to be the lead on cVI. Say what you want about shafer, but soren seems to have an almost godlike status here. didn't matter for either of them.
 
This will be good. Civ5 will actually become a complete game now.

...I'm just worried that it might become complete -crap- :sad:

Only time will tell. I hope it gets better. I give it a 50-50 shot.
 
some random thoughts:

-I don't think this signals the end of Civ5 development. 2K/Firaxis needs to make more money off the expansions before moving on into the next installment. Financially I believe they factor in the money they will make not just from the release but from subsequent DLC's/Expansions when they fund large games such as this.

-However, this probably means that Civ5 will take a different direction altogether in the next few years. Perhaps we have already seen it with the 135 patch. How much of it was Shafer's ideas vs. what others on the development team thought needed to be changed?

-This news will be most "well received" by the Civ5 detractors. It just underlines the fact Civ5 at least at release was not the game it was supposed to be according to the publisher and higher-ups at Firaxis

Personally, I hope the trend started in the most recent patch continues and the expansion(s) contain even more changes along the same lines.
 
they need to salvage this game, hell, they need to make it great like the previous games to keep the image of civ up, otherwise there might not even be a ciVI and god forbid that happens.

This would mean to completely change it, except for the logo.

I think it would be easier to start on the green lawn again.
 
Greg is a 2K community relations representative; he is not employed by Firaxis. It's unlikely he has any real insight or information on the conditions of Jon Shafer's employment or departure. Even if he does, it would be entirely inappropriate (and possibly illegal) for him to discuss those issues in a public forum.

If anything, Greg will say something like "2K Games and Firaxis are committed to the ongoing support and development of Civilization 5," and leave it that. That kind of statement would fall under his purview as community relations rep for Civ5, whereas any commentary on Jon's departure would not.
 
My guess is that Sid finally played civ5 and noticed the civ:revolution aspects, courtesy of Jan Shafer, so he decided to get rid of him and burn all the stuff that has been in contact with civrev development.

Well, considering that Sid was the lead designer of Civ:Rev, he should immolate himself first... :lol:

It's funny to read all these comments about "Save us Sid!" when he is the one furthering the decline of Civilization by leading Civ:Rev and Civ for Facebook, the most "casual" versions of Civilization ever.
 
He probably can't say anything of substance. I promise my work place (not in IT/programming) would have a ban on communicating with the media/public about why a higher up left.

2 options:

1. 2k paid him some money upfront on the condition that he keep his mouth shut about the reason(s) he is gone. unlikely but possible.
2. he left on his own b/c the experience will help him with future employment prospects and he can't/isn't allowed to continue on his preferred path with ciV. trashing his former employer in public/on the internet is unlikely to help him find gainful employment in the future, so he has chosen to keep his mouth shut. VERY likely, with the added bonus that future expansions/patches are likely to take the game in a more "civ"-like direction.
 
Well, considering that Sid was the lead designer of Civ:Rev, he should immolate himself first... :lol:

It's funny to read all these comments about "Save us Sid!" when he is the one furthering the decline of Civilization by leading Civ:Rev and Civ for Facebook, the most "casual" versions of Civilization ever.

yes, though those games have done a good job of reaching their target audience. ciV, while imho a very good game, has not done a good job of reaching the core fan(atic). these people by definition will be VERY vocal when they feel letdown/betrayed, while casual gamers will just go play some more mario bros instead of ranting about it.
 
not that I want to brag or anything, but hell I was on spot!!! :D

Quoting myself: (posted December 7)

a rainy day of December, FireShafer HQ:

2KSissy(over the phone): "I told you, I told you this organic streamlining was not a good idea... you cannot take everything away from a proven succesful formula!"

JS:"Yes I can. I just did. I wanted my Panzer General with some cities in between, and I did."

2KSissy:"Yes, but you missed the long term. And the long term fans are what kept this franchise alive, not the casuals..."

JS:"It sold a lot in the first weeks, didn't it?"

2KSissy:"Yes, but only because of our succesful launching campaign... hiding the Demo"

JS:"I Don't care about the long term... I am a game designer."

2KSissy:"In the short term...yes"

Whole thread here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=9984542&postcount=63

Man, I should sell "futuristic services"... :lol::lol::lol::lol:
 
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