Smith explains Blacksite issues

By Tom Bramwell Published 29 November, 2007

"This project was so ****ed up."

Midway's Harvey Smith has admitted that relatively low review scores for Blacksite are "no surprise", admitting to various problems during development.

Speaking at the Montreal International Game Summit 2007, in comments caught by Wired, Smith pulled no punches: "This project was so ****ed up," he said.

Smith's said in the past that he wasn't all that enamoured with the Area 51 property when he first came onboard (there's more on that in our interview with him from June), but it sounds like a rush to completion became a bigger problem as development went on.

"It took eight months to get one thing working," he notes. "With a year to go, the game was disastrously off rails." It even "went straight from alpha to final". Eek. And there was virtually no time to spend play-testing the game.

Asked why he was being so honest about all this - and his belief that they "deserved" a critical hammering - Smith said: "I believe in personal accountability."

He also believes that the game's attempts at satire were either missed or ignored in some quarters, questioning how anyone could react to a particular element - detailed in the Wired report - without thinking "this is super ****ing subversive".

Blacksite is due out on PC and Xbox 360 tomorrow in Europe, with a PS3 release also on the way. Check back for our review soon.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (36) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • 4thVariety #1 4 years ago

    You have to admire the fact they will still release it on PS3. That kinda tells you one thing: Once it's done, even the worst game can be shipped to the store and turn some profit.

  • TwistidChimp #2 4 years ago

    well.. thats refreshingly honest. I wasn't even aware it had been released though o_O

  • Machetazo #3 4 years ago

    I saw a trailer of this yesterday. It featured a series of Predaliens, attacking a caravan park, and the film rapage continued unabashed, as erupting from the ground was a facehugger bonded to one of the worms from Tremors. Nothing about this game has ever appealed. I thought it always seemed trashy and under realised/rushed, from the first day they showed it.

  • Tomnd #4 4 years ago

    this one's a keeper

  • Vin #5 4 years ago

    I thought it was alright. Solid and playable at any rate.

  • speedjack #6 4 years ago

    Hate to be literal - but if he feels personally accountable will he personally be refunding disappointed gamers ?

  • Pirotic #7 4 years ago

    Even if the game sucks and he takes the blame for it, I doubt the publisher are going to be happy with him saying so the day before it launchs.

  • drumbaby #8 4 years ago

    Pre-ordered x2

  • nick_f Verified Senior Producer, Microsoft #9 4 years ago

    Fired x8

  • dudefella #10 4 years ago

    This is quite different from the usual dev reaction to low scores, if there is one. I applaud his honesty.

  • ProdigyBE_OPM #11 4 years ago

    You hear that?
    That's the sound of someone getting fired.

    +1 for being honest, by the way.
    What a world it would be if everyone was as honest as this guy. DMC2, Enter the Matrix, Dirge of Cerberus... oh, the stories they could tell...

  • SBfistfun #12 4 years ago

    wow makes a change "yup it's shit"

  • Gurgeh #13 4 years ago

    And look at what happened to Enter the Matrix:

    "In more than 20 years of playing games, I have never seen a console game as obviously unfinished and rushed to market as Enter the Matrix. ... This game is a complete mess, and that's the only thing complete about it."(EGM, August. 2003)

    ...which didn't stop it selling 5 *million* copies and making a huge wad of cash for Shiny.

  • HonestJoe #14 4 years ago

    I like the way there's an ad for this game in a feature slagging it off - Midway must be chuffed.

  • Wrestlevania #15 4 years ago

    Tried the new demo last night and it's quite spectacular how far *backwards* they've taken the game since the surprise demo a few months earlier.

  • Darren #16 4 years ago

    So does that mean that anyone who claims this game is good is actually horribly wrong then, seeing as the developer himself is slagging off the quality of his own work? LOL

  • Dabs #17 4 years ago

    This is the same Harvey Smith who fucked up Deus Ex 2. I have no sympathy at all for him.

  • Katsumoto #18 4 years ago

    And the same Harvey Smith behind System Shock, Deus Ex and Thief:DS - I would hardly write him off because of DX2.

    Which, btw, was great :p

  • erp #19 4 years ago

    @4thVariety

    I'm confused how you can be so sure it's going to turn a profit...? Sure they'll recoup some cost, but making a profit is by no means a certainty.

  • Darren #20 4 years ago

    I liked DX2 too. I know the PC brigade claim it was dumbed down for the Xbox but I found it more accessible as a result. While I did play DX1 on the PC (and later, the PS2) I actually never played it right to the end whereas I did feel compelled to finish the sequel. I guess that's the reason why I rate DX2 higher. LOL

  • Katsumoto #21 4 years ago

    Well, I wouldn't go THAT far. :)

    ( I am a PC Gamer first and foremost, and sometimes I do feel that games are "toned down" (I think dumbed down is a patronising way of saying it), and I do indeed think DX2 was toned down, which is part of the reason I prefer DX1. However, just because it was toned down slightly doesn't mean it should be dismissed, and as you say it made it more accessible to some, and in general was still great. See the massive forum argument on this for more :), )
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/07 @ 13:57

  • SharkVLion #22 4 years ago

    Good on yer pal; bout time devs started speaking out; 9 times out of 10 it's down to a stupid deadline that some prick of a suit agreed with a publisher so they get thier 100k bonus for signing it; Wankers the lot of em

    Publishers need to begin to understand just what's involved in putting a winning title on the shelf

  • Nithron #23 4 years ago

    It's a shame, I actually liked the Area 51 FPS from a couple of years ago, it was awesome.
    Casting Marylin Manson as the alien was a masterstroke, IMO.

  • beastmaster #24 4 years ago

    Mass market will never hear/read these comments. A few flash ads on the telly and an instant hit. The trailer makes it looks really good (they all do).

    Things is, I'd love a really decent FPS shooting bugs Aliens style.

  • marilena #25 4 years ago

    While I appreciate his honesty, I think he went too far. He shouldn't forget that he's part of a team and he should stick up for his people, rather than slag them off like that.

    He also doesn't seem to have mentioned any specifics, which could have at least been useful for other people. It would have been especially interesting to hear what he thinks that he did wrong himself.

  • tesodosbichos #26 4 years ago

    *waits for the now customary 7 from the EG 'review'*

  • Syrette #27 4 years ago

    Well, I'll definitely be picking it up now.

  • kangarootoo #28 4 years ago

    @Katsumoto

    You are confusing Harvey Smith with Randy Smith. They are both graduates from the university of Warren Spector.

    Interestingly, honesty seems to be a major at that particular educational establishment. Here is an interview in which Randy Smith explains why Thief 3 was shit (which I personally think it was far from being).

    http://ww w.evilavatar.com/forums/showthr...

  • Pulsar_t #29 4 years ago

    Honesty ftw!

  • Halo.Jones #30 4 years ago

    Reverse psychology, he says it's shit and you all go out and buy it to see if it's true! :)

  • PameBoy #31 4 years ago

    I do applaud the man's honesty, but I'm not sure coming out with such a negative attitude before the game's even released is probably going to get it dismissed in the public eye even quicker than otherwise.

    The original demo seemed like it could turn out to be a solid, fun shooter, haven't bothered to play the new demo yet though.

    Oh and DX2 was fantastic :p.

  • Christian_Otte #32 4 years ago

    "*waits for the now customary 7 from the EG 'review'*"

    I'm guessing a six.

  • Katsumoto #33 4 years ago

    Kangarotoo:

    http://www.roc kpapershotgun.com/?p=626 - I know who you mean, but Harvey Smith was there as well :) Check his wikipedia (font of all knowledge) entry too. He even made most of the NYC Streets and Paris levels. What a guy.

    I agree with you about Thief btw - I don't get where the DS hate comes from, I thought it was... better than the first two? /runs
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/07 @ 18:02

  • ASHBERY76 #34 4 years ago

    You can only live of DuesEx for so long.Oh and DX2 was a turd.

  • Zuiyo #35 4 years ago

    "he probably has a very high emotional IQ
    and many sisters in his family"

    Hey, that's me!

  • peppergomez #36 4 years ago

    harvey smith is a total loser...he's the guy who ruined deus ex: invisible war, which likely led to ion storm's closing. with a track record like that, he should be blaming himself for churning out another lousy game.