Warren Spector ‘so tired of stuff’ like Wolfenstein

Epic Mickey director takes a dump on The New Order

Wolfenstein: The New Order was announced only this mornin💞g, but game creator Warren Spector has selected it as the ambassador of all he hates in the industry. Questioning the need for its existence, Spector has 🥀expressed dismay at yet another shooter. 

“Did the world really need another Wolfenstein game?” he . “Did we need a generically dark, monochromatic, FPS, kill-the-Nazi-giant-robot game? Uh. No. The world did not. I am so tired of stuff like this.

“Oh, and could we all just agree we’ll never use the generic gravelly-whisper trailer voice guy ever again? And one more thing: Please stop using Jimi Hendrix to promote your adolescent male power fantasies.”

Later on, in response to the heat his opinion drew, Spector revealed a little mo𒆙re motivation behind his attack on the fres▨hly announced game, expressing disappointment that he struggles to get his own games green lit while these ones exist. 

“You’re welcome to write off my opinions but I have a right to express complaints about people recycling work as old as I am. I’m allowed to complain about the difficulty of getting new stuff green lit — new IP, new game styles and so on given my perspective as someone who’s constantly fighting the pressure to ‘just make a shooter.’

“And given the venom aimed at Disney Epic Mickey by people with no concern for how hard the team worked I don’t think I need any lectures about that,” he continued. “I know how hard developers work — better than most people — but I wish all that effort were spent on something that pointed toward gaming’s future rather than looking toward our past.”

It does strike me as a little bit hypocritical that Spector bemoans criticism of Epic Mickey by people who don’t know how hard it was to make … after pouring scorn over a game of which he has zero development knowledge. He can claim authority on the level of effort expended to make Epic Mickey: The Power of Two, but is it not wholly arrogant for him to act like the effort going into The New Order means nothing, just because it doesn’t coincide with his vision for what a game should do? 

He literally does not know what’s going on with this game. How can he then deride those for not knowing what went on with his? 

The market is definitely saturated with a handful of ideas, and variety is sorely needed — but singling out a new game and dumping on it after seeing nothing but a teaser trailer is a downright odious way to go about making the point. We’re better served arguing for more games, not pushing to have games taken away. The answer is more new IP, not less sequels. One th𓆏ing does not have to exist at the expense of another. 

It’s a shame because, on one level, I totally agree with Spector. On the other, he kind of made himself look supremely bitter in this instance, and that’ll only serve to undo any merit his points may have.