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Show MyWeberMedia.com | December 7, 2018 | 19 “WE THREW AWAY SO MUCH WORK; WE HAD AN ENTIRE GAME THAT WE PRETTY MUCH THREW AWAY, A WHOLE STORY MODE.” BLAKE WILKS Former Artist for Avalanche Software “Warhawk.” The game launched as a multiplayer-only title, but that hadn’t always been the case. “We threw away so much work; we had an entire game that we pretty much threw away, a whole story mode,” Wilks said. “(Sony) had cutscenes made, they had voice acting done — they had this whole score with the Polish orchestra. Finally, Sony just said ‘Pull the plug, we’re just going to do a straight multiplayer game.’ At that point, we pushed the game out in three months.” Wilks was laid off just before the company began development on “Disney Infinity.” When he finally left Avalanche, Wilks decided he was through with game development. “It was either move to Finland, Sweden, Washington or California at that point, and I didn’t want to do that,” Wilks said. “I was done chasing games.” For many developers, artists, writers and coders, this is the reality. There’s a passion for the craft and for the industry, but that passion only goes so far. For some, that passion leads to a 25-year success story and the shaping of an en- tire genre. For others, it becomes a matter of making a choice between the industry and a family. Their passion continues to burn in the face of overwhelming adversity. “In general, I think it’s a tough industry right now,” Fox said. “If you look at game industry numbers, they’re up. They’re doing well, and they’re making lots of money. But if you look at the charts, it’s all about huge hits. The amount of money the huge hits individually make has skyrocketed, but that means the money’s not spread out. I’m hoping we can find ways to make it because I love (game development), and I want to do more, but it’s tough.” Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com meta-chart.com GRAPHS BY: MONIKA CLARKE The Signpost |