Mike Nash, HZD lead principle designer dead at 36

[xvt]

Terrible news, such a young and talented artist lost to a cannibalistic, unforgiving industry.
Statement from his parents:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C2AIRtHzvk

RIP Mike Nash and may his art continue to inspire people.

[ʟǟֆȶʟɨʋɨռɢքօɛȶ]

RIP incredible artist

[cairnsm]

I feel so sorry for his parents.

[ʟǟֆȶʟɨʋɨռɢքօɛȶ]

His art was one of the things that made Horizon so great. A part of this game dies with Mike, and a part of Mike will forever live on in this game. Hard to imagine HZD 2 at this point. I hope the game continues to honor his inspiration.

[TreeTrunk]

Very sad news. RIP

[Ryusennin]

https://twitter.com/gavriilklimov/status/1352321092459716608

He was crushed by a careless industry. A bloody shame.
Next time you ride a Tallneck, have a thought for Mike.

[ʟǟֆȶʟɨʋɨռɢքօɛȶ]

I think it goes without saying, HZD will never be the same, those are going to be some big shoes to fill

[pambapuma]

Such an incredible artist, the detail and construction of his modeling work will, and has, inspired many artists. What he made was ahead of it's time, designs and ideas that reached into an ample knowledge of anatomy, electronics and a dedication to detail. When I first saw the roboganic models for Horizon I was floored, such a smart use of texture, angles, curves and symmetry.

It's a shame that he got treated the way he did by this brutal side of the gaming industry. I love that creative people like Mike can have a way to create and get paid, but the industry needs to appreciate artists and stop abusing people for profit.

If what the mother said is true, and I tend to believe her, It's no wonder that certain games end up launching in a featureless, half baked state. If the core foundations of your game (art, writing, design and QA) are being outsourced to the cheapest producer, your actually HURTING your company and the industry.

[tm0Lif3]

what does it mean lost to cannibalistic ?

[Azure Fang]

Originally posted by tm0Lif3:

what does it mean lost to cannibalistic ?

The AAA game industry metaphorically consumes its talent, working people until they have nothing left to give, with no regard for health, life, or basic human decency, so that the corpos can get paid to do ♥♥♥♥ all while they pay the talent so little they need to decide between buying food or paying rent.

The level of stress, both physical and emotional, induced by this industry can easily exacerbate existing health and psychological issues, and when someone has been "used up" - cannibilized - they'll be "laid off" for "reason x", only to have their position quickly filled with another body fresh for the squeezing. That is, if they don't succumb to stress and commit suicide or die to an underlying condition before being laid off.