The lights are on
Dean Hall, who created the phenomenal open-world zombie Arma 2 mode DayZ, has harsh words for the competing (and similar) game The War Z.
In an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, Dean commented:
"I am angry about the WarZ. I'm very angry. I'm quite hurt personally because anyone can see how similar the words are, and while the average gamer knows the difference individual people don't. I've had family members/close friends mistake the difference and confront me about what they believed was unethical behavior they thought I was making. I really don't think anyone can understand just quite how exasperated that can make you feel when you've gambled everything on something, put your whole self and reputation on the line. So it hasn't made my life very pleasant and I disagree entirely with the conduct and how consumers have been treated.
I think the word "scam" is such a loaded word that isn't really relevant in the discussion, much like the word "terrorist" is a very loaded word and very much dependent on point of view."
He also suggested that he's been receiving complaints from people who have confused The War Z -- which had such a troubled launch on Steam that it was pulled from the site, forcing the creator issue a public apology -- with DayZ.
Source: Reddit via CVG
Email the author Matt Helgeson, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.
Dang that sucks.
More than a couple of my friends believed The War Z to be the stand alone version of Day Z, so I find it very understandable to feel that way as an honest developer.
It's really quite crappy.
When WarZ was first announced, Dean Hall said he welcomes the competition as it encourages improvement. With how WarZ turned out, it just seems too obvious that it's a last minute attempt to cash in on the DayZ's success. I bet Dean Hall would actually be happier if WarZ was half decent.
He should be extremely angry! His hard work is getting smeared by the hands of slimy scam artists!
This whole warZ thing is just disgusting, the fact that its affecting this man's life in such a negative is a show of how copycat games can really be harmful.