I really want to play Fez, but don't have an Xbox 360. :/

As for the incorrect wording regarding DeGroot's lack of participation in Indie Game: The Movie, I think it's complete BS. You don't make such an elementary mistake in a feature film, especially when you've edited the hell out of it. Each scene was crafted to ensure the audience empathizes with Fish, yet they claim they made a syntax error.

$40,000 for a patch?! That is complete insanity. I can understand how the CoDs and Skyims of the world can afford to pay that price but for indie devs whose livelihoods depend on their game being a success that is a lot of money.

Holy god, it takes 40 grand to put a patch on XBLA? That's nuts. Even more incentive to make sure your game doesn't launch broken.

@Make_Me_Mad said:

It does sound pretty goddamn shady that they let him spend the entire movie talking shit about his business partner and don't even ask the guy if he wants a chance to defend himself.

This is fucking lame.

I don't like the way Fish conducts himself much. I did enjoy the hell out of Fez though. Understanding a large amount of that game without outside help was one of my favourite experiences of this year.

Great article, Patrick. Keep up the great work.

FEZ 3DS. Just saying.

They should port fez to the 3DS. It would be perfect.

If I based my purchases on whether a musical artist, film director, game designer, etc was "nice", then I'd probably miss out on a whole lot of great stuff. So Phil Fish may be an asshole at times, but he made a really cool game that I enjoyed very much. Anyway, that was a good read, thanks Patrick.

The only thing worse than pretentious indie douchebags are pretentious indie douchebags that are also assholes.

@enpopica said:

I know I'm not the only one that says this, but this is a really good article Patrick! Always a pleasure to read these. Also, this makes me want to play Fez and watch Indie Game: The Movie sooo badly...

And, Phil Fish is an intelligent, artistic and emotional dude. I like him, he is relatable. Come on people, give him a break. Keep the hatred to yourselves...

Please. Dude fired off one last cheap shot to his ex-partner, who, on the other hand, has kept his mouth( as far as I know) shut about Phil Fish, who can have a whole lot said about him, no doubt. Phil Fish is a dick.

I'm downloading the movie now!

They should port fez to the 3DS. It would be perfect.

@wumbo3000: It became public knowledge after the Double Fine guys did their kickstarter and we got to see more of the money side of things where even small titles just cost millions to make (all of their XBLA titles cost between 2-3 million dollars).

Great read, Patrick!

For whatever trauma Fish suffered putting his heart and soul into this game, it totally paid off. Fez was a truly unique experience for me, and I got chills at times when digging into the inner depths of the game. I'd love to hear Fish's thoughts about the codes and cubes and the arcane stuff in this game, but I guess we'll have to wait.

If the gaming press would quit giving this little shit attention he would go away.

@CaptainInvictus said:

@enpopica said:

I know I'm not the only one that says this, but this is a really good article Patrick! Always a pleasure to read these. Also, this makes me want to play Fez and watch Indie Game: The Movie sooo badly...

And, Phil Fish is an intelligent, artistic and emotional dude. I like him, he is relatable. Come on people, give him a break. Keep the hatred to yourselves...

Please. Dude fired off one last cheap shot to his ex-partner, who, on the other hand, has kept his mouth( as far as I know) shut about Phil Fish, who can have a whole lot said about him, no doubt. Phil Fish is a dick.

We should just keep telling people that he is a dick, maybe even worse and ruin his spirit completely? Sure, he made mistakes, but also has more experience thanks to that. Some people just don't get along, working or otherwise...

I on the other hand am very curious what he is going to conjure up next, I would like him to continue making games.

@CaptainInvictus said:

Please. Dude fired off one last cheap shot to his ex-partner, who, on the other hand, has kept his mouth( as far as I know) shut about Phil Fish, who can have a whole lot said about him, no doubt. Phil Fish is a dick.

@Nentisys said:

@Make_Me_Mad said:

It does sound pretty goddamn shady that they let him spend the entire movie talking shit about his business partner and don't even ask the guy if he wants a chance to defend himself.

This is fucking lame.

Wasn't there a bit of a stink recently when it was revealed that Fish's partner actually approached the directors while they were filming, and they told him they straight up didn't want to even hear his side? I haven't seen the movie yet so I don't know how badly they portray him, but that is kind of messed up. Not even in a 'documentaries should be 100% objective!' BS kinda way, but in a 'know the fucking story you're telling' way.

Kill all Fish.

http://www.gamefront.com/the-1up-show-from-gdc-2008/

That appears to be the episode if anyone wants to check it out.

Phil Fish is a great creative mind. He just wasn't ready for the publicity side. Imagine if suddenly everything you said was being filmed and scrutinized on the internet. Are you prepared for that?

YES to Fez on Steam!

@amlabella said:

If I based my purchases on whether a musical artist, film director, game designer, etc was "nice", then I'd probably miss out on a whole lot of great stuff. So Phil Fish may be an asshole at times, but he made a really cool game that I enjoyed very much. Anyway, that was a good read, thanks Patrick.

I bought Fez in spite of him being a douche. Enjoyable, above average but overrated game.

@Brodehouse said:

@Animasta said:

@Fattony12000 said:

Fez 2?

F2Z

FE2

F2Z: FES

am I doing this right?

@TinyGallon: Yeah, it will never get ported to the 3DS but it would be cool. PC for sure and maybe the ps3 but not likely.

I was gonna get Fez on XBLA, but my MS points got stolen via Fifa. So, he better bring it to Steam or PSN because fuck Microsoft.

Forgot i owned Fez. Started getting frustrated and/or lost and stopped enjoying it.

I've yet to play this game but hopefully I'll buy this summer.

A great read non-the-less, keep up the good work Patrick!

@algertman said:

If the gaming press would quit giving this little shit attention he would go away.

Oh the irony. Why would you want him to go away? He's made an excellent game and will be interesting to see what he thinks up next. Also, it sounds like you've lived on the sanitised PR of bigger publishers for too long. I prefer my developers with a bit of character.

when is this thing coming out on steam?!?!?

The fact that Indie Game: The Movie is a way for Phil Fish to attack his ex-business partner while never giving the other side of the story is enough to keep me from ever watching it, I think.

An asshole is suddenly thrust into the public eye, not knowing how to hide the fact that he is an asshole; gets called an asshole on the internet

stop the presses.

@liako21 said:

when is this thing coming out on steam?!?!?

Fish has pretty much said that the game is meant to be a "couch game" so no PC version. Too bad, cause I play PC games on my couch all the time.

Being an outspoken, non filtered, sometimes (unintentional) jerk myself I kind of feel for Phil Fish. I don't know the guy but I think people give him too much shit because he can't help but bite back and that's what most people seem to want.

I was glad he shut himself off from the internet and went silent. I think he will find more peace that way.

@Sankis: That's not what happens and I would recommend watching it before passing judgement. If you don't want to buy it at least get it from a friend or something. Not watching because of what you think you know about Phil Fish and what he said [out of context] isn't really fair either.

@Sankis said:

The fact that Indie Game: The Movie is a way for Phil Fish to attack his ex-business partner while never giving the other side of the story is enough to keep me from ever watching it, I think.

I totally agree. Poor form on the part of the folks making Indie Game. They're unashamedly making an inherently biased story a pivotal point of their movie. That's not how you make a documentary.

Well, I guess I should say that's not how you make a good documentary.

What he needs is a reality check. What I need is a bug free version of Fez!

Great write up. Would love to see you land an interview with him. Or anyone really. . . More interviews Tricky!

Im into Phil Fish

He may be a dick but who isnt a dick? You just tolerate and enjoy being with certain dicks better. Dicks.

Who gives a fucking shit?

Being an outspoken, non filtered, sometimes (unintentional) jerk myself I kind of feel for Phil Fish. I don't know the guy but I think people give him too much shit because he can't help but bite back and that's what most people seem to want.

I was glad he shut himself off from the internet and went silent. I think he will find more peace that way.

@Sankis: That's not what happens and I would recommend watching it before passing judgement. If you don't want to buy it at least get it from a friend or something. Not watching because of what you think you know about Phil Fish and what he said [out of context] isn't really fair either.

Phil Fish is a giant fucking baby. I work my ass off every day programming and I don't have fucking meltdowns about it.

Really disappointed to see the usual hateful comments. I was a fish hater, heck I've even been a Klepek hater from time to time, but this article really blew me away. I'm sure many are just hating thanks in large part to the social relationship the two of you share, or the comments made by Fish during his meltdown.

Patrick, I find your level-headed viewpoint incredible given your friendship with the creator and your recent loss. This is honestly the best article I've read from you at giantbomb. You've turned one more hater into a proud card-carrying member of the 'trick brigade.

I wish you only the best in what must be a nightmare of emotion.

This guy has some serious mental issues.

Good read Patrick.

Probably a good move by Fish to stop giving interviews. He is his own worst enemy.

I don't think Phil Fish seems like an "asshole" or a "dick" as some would say. To me, he seems more like a person with some serious, underlying emotional issues. This may have been compounded by the added stress of game development, trying to get his game published, etc. Wasn't he the guy who said that he would commit suicide if his game didn't get published, or am I thinking of somebody else? That right there should be a huge red flag to those who are closest to him.

@End_Boss said:

I totally agree. Poor form on the part of the folks making Indie Game. They're unashamedly making an inherently biased story a pivotal point of their movie. That's not how you make a documentary.

Well, I guess I should say that's not how you make a good documentary.

From the film, I actually didn't get the feeling Fish was completely in the right in his business disagreement, what with him seeming very unhinged a lot during the movie.

I think it's pretty easy to see that his view is super biased. You as a viewer can clearly see he's very invested in this development, and he's not thinking clearly. He talks about suicide if he can't finish the game!

Also, the fact is, the movie doesn't go remotely in depth about the disagreement. It states they had a falling out. The other guy needs to sign a document to allow Fez to be made/shown at PAX. It's slow going, but it does get signed. He doesn't seem like an evil guy to me.

Team Meat guys are portrayed as the guys coming out of the insane development hell that the whole movie is about, but Fish is still in those depths. I don't think Fish is presented as a reliable narrator of his business troubles, and him threatening to kill DeGroot kinda makes it clear he's a bit off while that is being filmed. It made Fish seem pretty crazy to me, and possibly the source of the issues. (although, I'd imagine business troubles tend to have negative contributions on both sides of the issue, whatever it may be)

My only real problem with Indie Game: The Movie was how one-sided Fish's story was, but I saw the movie when it originally said that DeGroot asked not to participate so I let it go. Hearing that they either didn't ask him or refused to hear his side of the story and intentionally put up that false statement has soured my view on the whole movie. I still don't know both sides of the Polytron story so I'll reserve some judgement, but I will say good on DeGroot for somehow being able to keep his mouth shut this whole time. I don't think I would be able to.

It looks like no indie developer wants to be closeted in just the PSN or XBLA space, which makes obvious sense. If Microsoft or Sony weren't so hungry for exclusives, indie devs would love the added exposure being on multiple platforms so everyone could play their games.

I love Fish, he can sound like a (self-admitted) asshole but he's honest and that's what I prefer from developers with no PR breathing over their shoulders. David Cage, Jonathan Blow, Jaffe, Clint Hocking, Warren Spector, give me more opinionated devs who speak out.

I should have waited for the patch but I wanted to check it out so badly. I appreciate what the game is but it runs like shit and if you are on the fence you should wait for a patch.