Rezbit wrote:I made a post a page or two back concerning who was still at Retro since MP1. Here is a more extensive list including who is still the since working on Echoes and Corruption as well. I did this research when DKCR came out because I was interested to see just how the Retro of new compared to the Retro of old (I have a slight obsession/fascination with Retro). I simply compared the different names credited in the instruction booklets. Note that it is entirely possible since the time that DKCR was released, more people may have left. I have taken into account the departures of the two leads on DKCR, as well as the names Emily mentioned in her article.
Still working at Retro since MP1: 15 people
Producer: Ryan Harris
Art: Ryan Powell, Elben Schafers, Chris Voellmann, Chuck Crist, Luis Ramierez
Animation: Dax Pallotta, Derek Bonikowski, Stephen Zafros
Engineering: Alex Quinones, Jim Gage, Akintunde Omitowoju
Sound: Frank Bry
Operations: Al Artus, George Thomas
Still working at Retro Since MP2: 25 people
Producers: Michael Kelbaugh, Ryan Harris
Senior Development Director: Bryan Walker
Design: Tom Ivey, Russle O'Henly
Art: Chuck Crist, Luis Ramierez, Elben Schafers, Ryan Powell, Chris Voellman, Teague Schultz, Sean Horton, Quinn Smith
Engineering: Jim Gage, Alex Quinones (Note - Akintunde Omitowoju is credited with engineering work on MP1 and DKCR, but not on Echoes or Corruption)
Animation: Dax Pallotta, Vince Joly (now the current art director), Stephen Zafros, Derek Bonikowski, Carlos Mendieta
Audio: Scott Petersen, Frank Bry
Operations: Al Artus, Kelly Johnson, George Thomas
Still working at Retro Since MP3: 42 People
Producers: Michael Kelbaugh, Ryan Harris, Bryan Walker
Design: Tom Ivey, Russle O'Henly, Bill Vandervoort, Jay Fuller, Brandon Salinas, Andy Schwalenberg, Jonathan Delange
Art: Elben Schafers, Ryan Powell, Luis Ramierez, Chris Voellmann, Chuck Crist, Sean Horton, Teague Schultz, Matt Manchester, Quinn Smith
Engineering: Aaron Walker, Alex Quinones, Andy Hanson, Eric Rehmeyer, Frank Maddin, Jesse Spears, Jim Gage, Rhys Lewis, Ryan Cornelius
Animation: Vince Joly, Derek Bonikowski, Dax Pallotta, Stephen Zafros, William Bate, Raphiel Perkins, Carlos Mendieta
Audio: Scott Petersen, Frank Bry
Operations: Al Artis, Ethan Mcdonald, Faith Casper, Kelly Prinz Johnson, George Thomas
Ah, thanks a ton for that. Looking at the list and glancing at the credits over on Moby Games, it seems like most of their current senior staff have been there since Echoes, which alays a lot of my concerns considering that Echoes was a much better game than Prime was.
(Also,
love your username.)
The majority of the names Emily listed departed long before DKCR shipped. And you know what? It was still a hell of a game. Maybe she knows something we don't. Maybe there is serious trouble at Retro. But making a big list of names of people long gone from the company as evidence was pretty bogus. But this simple research I presented (that anyone could have done) kind of debunks what she said about Retro being a shadow of it's former self.
I agree, it does seem a little dubious to worry about Retro's developers 'forgetting how to develop like Nintendo' when most of their current upper management and a significant portion of the employees in general have been at the studio since MP2. Is the idea that those people did not learn anything about development from the 9+ years of experience and of working as part of the studio or something? That seems a rather unfair assumption.
Incidentally, does anyone know what Pacini and company have done since leaving Retro? It is kind of hard for me to swallow the idea that their singular input (and not that of the collective staff of the studio) was what made the Prime games so much of what they were when I cannot seem to find anything notable they have done since their exodus.
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