As this project commenced, I thought: this is the one. This is where my career has been taking me.
It seemed like a dream scenario. The Dead Space development team, led by the Uncharted Creative Director, making a story-driven, single-player, third-person action/adventure in the Star Wars universe, using the latest tech, with EA's resources and the full support of -- and access to -- Lucasfilm. Probably the highest-potential game I'd ever worked on. (Well, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was up there in its day, I suppose).
EA promo for its forthcoming Star Wars catalog.
I spent a year as the Audio Director on this title, in pre-production and early development -- anchoring the sonic approach to the world and characters, validating technical foundations, establishing the music direction, assembling the team, creating the early levels. I built a budget, a headcount schedule, detailed production expectations. I was in.
I absolutely loved working with Amy. She had jumped onto Hardline for a while late in the project, and we'd spent countless hours -- and many a Saturday -- in my office working on dialog, crafting cinematics, dialing in scenes. I felt we had a great working relationship and was excited to support her vision in Star Wars.
And honestly: I hadn't worked on a project that I was so personally excited to play since...since maybe Andretti Racing on the original PlayStation?
Nonetheless, I couldn't ignore certain signs in the company, and on the team. And as grateful as I was for the opportunity to lead the audio on this project, I was developing a faint sense of fatigue with the grind of AAA games. That may sound entitled, but it's where I was.
So when the chance presented itself in late 2016 to jump into something entirely new and go help build Facebook's VR sound team, I didn't hesitate. I left EA on good terms and really did hope to be able to play the game when it came out.
But one year later, Ragtag was canceled and Visceral was shuttered.
Since I had been gone a year when that happened, I have no particular insight or details about it. But I'll just leave this here:
Zach, telling it like it is.
Ah, what could have been.