Fallujah Developers "Badly Wounded" By Layoffs

Citing an inability to find funding for Six Days in Fallujah, the controversial shooter project that Konami announced and dropped earlier this year, developer Atomic Games has cut some positions. This probably explains yesterday's story from GamesIndustry.biz's Phil Elliott, which stated that the game's creative director, Juan Benito, was out.

Here's the full statement from Atomic:

Due to a mixture of fears about the edgy subject matter of Six Days in Fallujah, as well as low videogame sales this summer, we have been unable to secure full-scale funding from a major publisher for Six Days in Fallujah. This has caused us to reduce the size of our studio today.

In the words of Marine officer Chesty Puller, "We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem." Development at Atomic will continue with a smaller team that will be funded by our sister company, Destineer. 

We wish to assure the dozens of Marine veterans who have collectively invested hundreds of hours in this project that, while we have been badly wounded, we will fight on. The stories of your brothers' courage and sacrifice in Fallujah must be shared with the world.

All of the 75 people in the Atomic studio have stayed with us until this week. This is a testament not just to their commitment to Six Days in Fallujah, but also to their character when faced with adversity and personal financial risk. We encourage videogame development studios wishing to speak with the many talented and loyal staff who are affected by this situation to contact the jobs page on the atomic.com web site.

Put the damn stories in a book and call it a day.  A First Person Shooter is not the medium to tell that story.  Jeff is right on with that last comment.

The just need to change the focus of the game. Turn the US Marines to Space marines, and the Iraqis to Zaltrons and call it Six days in Zaltronia. Problem solved, controversy over.

Damn. This game looks awesome by the way.

" Put the damn stories in a book and call it a day.  A First Person Shooter is not the medium to tell that story.  Jeff is right on with that last comment. "

I feel bad that these people are having a hard time selling their game (regardless of how controversial said game is), but this press release is pretty ridiculous.

Tru dat, Jeff.

This game is never coming out.

These guys start to sound like a bunch of demagogues.

"We wish to assure the dozens of Marine veterans who have collectively invested hundreds of hours in this project that, while we have been badly wounded, we will fight on. The stories of your brothers' courage and sacrifice in Fallujah must be shared with the world."
 
It will be such a shame when the game comes out (if it does) and it gets negative reviews. These guys will have wasted their time.

That's a pretty hefty, "badly wounded" to describe it

 
To it cheapens fallen soldiers memories to play it in a game.  The basic premise is flawed, games are meant to be fun, war is not. war is the dirty, nastiest thing on this planet, and to take real stories and play them as a game while we are still fighting the same war is beyond stupid.    Hope it never comes out as it

" - "You know, the whole "badly wounded" bit feels a little tasteless to me, as if the company is somehow comparing its  
-experiences in sitting safely behind desks and thinking about war to the Marines that were out, you know, fighting said war.  
-But then, that vibe sort of fits the entire project, doesn't it? "    Dude come on. They weren't comparing themselves to actual Marines in war. Thats ridiculous.  "

I'm getting really tired of all of this bitch ass sounding reactions to this game and this studio. Since when did everyone get so touchy feelly..  
And why is it always NON-US military that gets all up and arms over what is and isn't politically correct (eg. them saying they're studio has been badly wounded). I assure you, as someone with lots of family in the military, and as one who will be in the service very soon, it is not offensive or tasteless at all. They are developing a fucking war game, I think they are allowed to use metaphors related to war.  
 
What if the game kicks ass, and does a damn fine job at honoring the men who fought in that battle??? Then what will people say?

" @TwoOneFive said:

" - "You know, the whole "badly wounded" bit feels a little tasteless to me, as if the company is somehow comparing its  
-experiences in sitting safely behind desks and thinking about war to the Marines that were out, you know, fighting said war.  
-But then, that vibe sort of fits the entire project, doesn't it? "    Dude come on. They weren't comparing themselves to actual Marines in war. Thats ridiculous.  "

No, Jeff has a good point there. While the company may not have directly intended on making a juxtaposition between their business struggle and the hell of war, they chose their words in this press release (which is reviewed before being released) and this is the vibe that it is giving off. The words are pretty tasteless and I can only hope that the company didn't truly mean to say them. "

" @RHCPfan24 said:

" @TwoOneFive said:

" - "You know, the whole "badly wounded" bit feels a little tasteless to me, as if the company is somehow comparing its  
-experiences in sitting safely behind desks and thinking about war to the Marines that were out, you know, fighting said war.  
-But then, that vibe sort of fits the entire project, doesn't it? "    Dude come on. They weren't comparing themselves to actual Marines in war. Thats ridiculous.  "

No, Jeff has a good point there. While the company may not have directly intended on making a juxtaposition between their business struggle and the hell of war, they chose their words in this press release (which is reviewed before being released) and this is the vibe that it is giving off. The words are pretty tasteless and I can only hope that the company didn't truly mean to say them. "

its only giving you that vibe because you want it to seem that way and because jeff said it. Its a totally harmless phrase and to thin they're actually comparing people being laid off to the horrors of war is just fucking ridiculous.  I could name a hundred phrases developers of games like SOCOM and Call of Duty series use to explain things and nobody would give a shit. You guys are acting "offended" simply because the entire premise of this game is controversial to begin with.  Look I know this game is probably going to suck but come on guys, give it a break.  "

" I'm getting really tired of all of this bitch ass sounding reactions to this game and this studio. Since when did everyone get so touchy feelly..  And why is it always NON-US military that gets all up and arms over what is and isn't politically correct (eg. them saying they're studio has been badly wounded). I assure you, as someone with lots of family in the military, and as one who will be in the service very soon, it is not offensive or tasteless at all. They are developing a fucking war game, I think they are allowed to use metaphors related to war.   What if the game kicks ass, and does a damn fine job at honoring the men who fought in that battle??? Then what will people say? "

" This game is never coming out. "

What kind of sick-headed idiot is going to write a press release comparing game development to being involved in a war? 
 
Military lingo in press releases is FAR more obnoxious than "gamer" lingo... good riddance to bad rubbish.

" This game is never coming out. "

Games are an art form.  At Giant Bomb, I would expect people to get that (especially Jeff).  I don't see why people has such a problem with a game about Fallujah being made.  Is it the fact that people actually died fighting in this battle?  Well, so did people in World War II, but some of the best games involve that as a subject (and Nazis may be the greatest video game enemy of all time).  Is it because it happened so recently?  I don't see why video games can't be timely.  I think that will only expand the impact of the game.  Is it because we suspect the game content will be in poor taste?  Why?  We don't even know how the game is going to play.  No one would judge a painting by a few brush strokes early on, so why are we insisting on doing the same here?  This is shades of the FoxNews coverage of Mass Effect.  Do we really think this is going to be less tasteful than, say, Postal, or any number of other violent games?
 
Maybe this just exposes the biases of the writers.  War in Europe, good.  War in Iraq, bad.  I don't really have any answers here, I just don't get it.

" Games are an art form.  At Giant Bomb, I would expect people to get that (especially Jeff).  I don't see why people has such a problem with a game about Fallujah being made.  Is it the fact that people actually died fighting in this battle?  Well, so did people in World War II, but some of the best games involve that as a subject (and Nazis may be the greatest video game enemy of all time).  Is it because it happened so recently?  I don't see why video games can't be timely.  I think that will only expand the impact of the game.  Is it because we suspect the game content will be in poor taste?  Why?  We don't even know how the game is going to play.  No one would judge a painting by a few brush strokes early on, so why are we insisting on doing the same here?  This is shades of the FoxNews coverage of Mass Effect.  Do we really think this is going to be less tasteful than, say, Postal, or any number of other violent games?  Maybe this just exposes the biases of the writers.  War in Europe, good.  War in Iraq, bad.  I don't really have any answers here, I just don't get it. "

I must say that I love the conversation this game is bringing. At least people are thinking about how this next step into the game world is going to be made.

" @ArbitraryWater said:

" This game is never coming out. "

Let's hope this is the case. "

" I have one question. Why the hell are the makeing this a GAME.  First of all the game is most likely going to suck, because games of this nature are never truely good Games. It might have a moving story, but thats not gonna make the game fun. So why not leave the real life stories to be told where they're supposed to be told, in a movie or a book. "

I had a lot of time for this game originally, but the entire tone of this press release fucking disgusts me.
 
Further to what Jeff said, paragraph 3 is just completely unnecessary - the Marines that worked on it could have been updated privately - and it just smacks of trying to twin their cause with the Marines' to garner public sympathy.  
 
I had no problem with them suggesting a game could be a viable medium for telling this story - I have a huge problem with them acting like they're the only people that can tell it and that they're somehow the last best hope for Marine vets everywhere.
 
If this is the level of class and dignity they would have brought to the story, then I'm glad their telling of it will never see the light of day.
 
Edit:  And it ain't just a random war metaphor they've used; the entire release is crafted to give the impression that their current position is somehow analogous to the Marines in Fallujah.

"

 
To it cheapens fallen soldiers memories to play it in a game.  The basic premise is flawed, games are meant to be fun, war is not. war is the dirty, nastiest thing on this planet, and to take real stories and play them as a game while we are still fighting the same war is beyond stupid.    Hope it never comes out as it

"

" @LaszloKovacs said:

" @ArbitraryWater said:

" This game is never coming out. "

Let's hope this is the case. "

Why so, asshole? I for one still want to play it.  If they really are as committed as they seem to be to showing us lazy, spoiled, and often bratty gamers what that battle was like, what those brave Marines went through, I am all for it. Anyone who has a problem with the game should just shut up and not buy it, instead of "hoping" that those of us who aren't closed minded and are interested in the game and its subject matter never get a chance to play it. "

Chesty Puller? Nah, that can't be a real name.

Hahaha clever title, Jeff. Still support the Iraq war I see. Oh well, that's your decision. Over 7 million out of jobs in the US and counting since the Great Recession started, thanks to unnecessary spending and debt.
 
Funny how shit has a habit of coming around and biting you on your ass.

I can't wait for the 'Bombing of Dresden' game. Or how about 'Katyn Forest Survival'?

" @JakJ said:

" @LaszloKovacs said:

" @ArbitraryWater said:

" This game is never coming out. "

Let's hope this is the case. "

Why so, asshole? I for one still want to play it.  If they really are as committed as they seem to be to showing us lazy, spoiled, and often bratty gamers what that battle was like, what those brave Marines went through, I am all for it. Anyone who has a problem with the game should just shut up and not buy it, instead of "hoping" that those of us who aren't closed minded and are interested in the game and its subject matter never get a chance to play it. "

I like how you're calling me an asshole because I think a low-budget video game from an inexperienced team about controversial subject matter is a bad idea. "

If they really gave a shit about telling these marines story they'd write a fucking book. They just want profit, stop being so blind to that.  I hope this game never comes out, it's already inaccurate because Marines were not the only ones there.  Real war, and Fallujah, is not a fucking video game. Who wants to play a game with no respawns? You die, game over.  No starting over, your dead. How can a video game properly reflect the feeling you have as a soldier or marine when you find out your Sergeant Major got killed by a sniper? Please, all you 'vets' out there that seem to be so educated about war, tell me how a video game can show these emotions.

not surprised

Are we ever going to see this game?

" Are we ever going to see this game? "

" Chesty Puller? Nah, that can't be a real name. "

" @termlesshalo said:

" Are we ever going to see this game? "

Fuck! i think you just won the Giant Bomb Bump of The Year award.  "

Holy Necro-post Batman! 
 
To answer your question, that is totally up to if there is any Publisher willing to pick up the project. Atomic Games is still good to go, but are currently working on Breach. Y'know, to keep the lights on. But if that game is successful, it might be enough to convince publishers to try it, controversy to be damned.  
 
On the likelihood-o-meter though, I'd say this is pretty low on ever reaching daylight.

" @Mordukai said:

" @termlesshalo said:

" Are we ever going to see this game? "

Fuck! i think you just won the Giant Bomb Bump of The Year award.  "

There's gotta be a bigger bump somewhere this year. And I really can't blame someone for adding a comment to a year-old news story. Who's going to notice? On any other site, no one. On this site, everyone. "

Every time they pitch this game and every time they advertise it, if it ever does get made, the word they need to use is "documentary." It is a war documentary, and it should be made.

" @LordAndrew said:

" @Mordukai said:

" @termlesshalo said:

" Are we ever going to see this game? "

Fuck! i think you just won the Giant Bomb Bump of The Year award.  "

There's gotta be a bigger bump somewhere this year. And I really can't blame someone for adding a comment to a year-old news story. Who's going to notice? On any other site, no one. On this site, everyone. "

Hey man, i'm all for it. If you feel like you have something to say then the age of a thread really does not matter. it was actually weird he added that comment when he did because I was just thinking about that game. I don't understand how people made so much fuss about this game when they let a game like Medal of Honor out. What I mean is that people made fuss, was on the news for about two weeks and then it was gone. i guess it seems EA has bigger balls then Konami and are willing to stand behind their games. I really hope someone picks this game because we need games that talk about current issues. For the most part i feel disjointed from most FPS games as not many will try to tackle present issues.  "