Damnation devs at Blue Omega laid off
It appears that all of the developers at Blue Omega Entertainment, the folks behind Damnation (and producer of B-movie horror flicks like Dark Ride and Danika, starring Marisa Tomei!), have been laid off. Sure, a tweet announcing this has been floating around since June 23rd, but it appears a former employee, who sent a tip to several media outlets, finally got the news ball rolling. Kotaku confirmed with "several former employees" that the entire development team was laid off.
The tipster also reveals there were bigger "issues" at the studio and mentions that, if anyone has access to US and UK legal records, digging around will reveal those problems. Shacknews followed up and found a paper trail of legal disputes and drama involving Blue Omega, publisher Codemasters and subcontractors working on the game.
Whatever all those layers of problems were, it likely had an influence on the team's product: Damnation had an average Metacritic score in the high 30s.
[Via Develop]
The tipster also reveals there were bigger "issues" at the studio and mentions that, if anyone has access to US and UK legal records, digging around will reveal those problems. Shacknews followed up and found a paper trail of legal disputes and drama involving Blue Omega, publisher Codemasters and subcontractors working on the game.
Whatever all those layers of problems were, it likely had an influence on the team's product: Damnation had an average Metacritic score in the high 30s.
[Via Develop]














Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
The Dark Wayne @ Jul 1st 2009 10:37AM
am I wrong or is that marisa tomei's face photochopped onto the game's female lead?
Jampirow @ Jul 1st 2009 10:38AM
That is the main character artwork from Dead Space Extraction. I shit you not.
The Dark Wayne @ Jul 1st 2009 10:40AM
oh shit it is! That's some meta photoshopping there Alexander
BlackDove @ Jul 1st 2009 10:40AM
She doesn't seem well.
Jampirow @ Jul 1st 2009 10:43AM
She's about to be raped by tentacle monsters. She is NOT well.
Girugamuk (Moptimus Slimed) @ Jul 1st 2009 11:36AM
when I saw it, I shat bricks
playwhutyalike @ Jul 1st 2009 11:57AM
No, she is IN the game. Wait for the announcement of this new great truly interactive technology at the next E3.
TehQ @ Jul 1st 2009 10:44AM
Nice photoshop.
Jampirow @ Jul 1st 2009 10:38AM
I laughed so hard at the Dead Space Extraction bit of the image.
And then I remembered that this is supposed to be sad news.
Well, Damnation devs? Next time try not making a bad game. It will help wonders.
Temidien @ Jul 1st 2009 10:51AM
Harsh but agreed.
Nobledevil @ Jul 1st 2009 1:57PM
The only way a game is as bad as Damnation and actually RELEASED is due to in-company problems (publisher being a bitch, running out of money, so on and so forth).
No dev can make a game that bad if they are given a proper chance; if anything, they can make an average turd with no redeeming qualities, but it will just be unspecial, not horrible. Damnnation was a level of sh*t mostly reserved for games with issues OTHER than lazyness and incompetence - and Wii Music.
russtophiles @ Jul 1st 2009 10:46AM
Cannot unsee her facial expression.
ObiBen @ Jul 1st 2009 10:50AM
I saw this before seeing the Dead Space Extraction box art and thought "shit, that's what's wrong with your game". Nice photoshop Alexander.
Temidien @ Jul 1st 2009 10:55AM
Very nice shop
Dirty @ Jul 1st 2009 10:58AM
Was the game that bad? From someone who played it, I read the reviews.
Jampirow @ Jul 1st 2009 11:02AM
Yep, pretty bad.
Duke @ Jul 1st 2009 11:29AM
I haven't played it but was bummed when I read the reviews. I was hoping this would be a quality title and yet it appears the whole thing fell apart. Damn shame.
Einhanderkiller @ Jul 1st 2009 11:02AM
The lighting's all wrong. I can see the pixels.
playwhutyalike @ Jul 1st 2009 11:46AM
Why aren't you at three hearts yet? That joke is effing funny. +1
SonyHomie (PSN: superballa123) @ Jul 1st 2009 11:05AM
Maybe Damnation was their *going-away present* to the Boss who fired them.
Lord HowitHurtz @ Jul 1st 2009 11:21AM
After making a game like damnation they shouldn't be laid off........they should have their fingers chopped off so they can never use a keyboard again!!
Kdiggy @ Jul 1st 2009 11:34AM
High 30s? Ouch.
Plankfan @ Jul 1st 2009 11:48AM
Well, let me just be another person to say, that's what you guys get for making a bad game!
emirabal @ Jul 1st 2009 12:05PM
I was really looking forward to this game, maybe ill just wait till it costs 10-20 bucks, i just got dark sector and crackdown, god i love this gen.
starsfan26 @ Jul 1st 2009 2:07PM
Damnation is easily one of the worst games I've ever played in my life. These people who created this game obviously don't know how to make a fun game and therefore should have seen this coming and more then deserve it. If you are thinking about playing Damnation be prepared for massive frustration from glitches, lack of direction, and elevator rides which they painfully make you sit and watch.
Metoo @ Jul 1st 2009 1:24PM
This makes her look like something out of The Ring movie.
Blank-Mage @ Jul 1st 2009 1:39PM
Very Silent Hill.
gamerecks @ Jul 1st 2009 1:55PM
Im currently playing through Damnation and it deserves every score it got. It is probably the one of the worst games I played ever in my 20 years of gaming.
kentuckyfried @ Jul 1st 2009 2:56PM
It's sad, but I was hoping for a good game out of this and it failed abysmally. Thankfully Call of Juarez takes up the slack for my western cravings...
Cruger @ Jul 1st 2009 3:13PM
Whats with the photoshoped face everywhere.. did i miss a memo. a new meme???
ottoman673 @ Jul 1st 2009 3:42PM
Good riddance. Damnation was horrible.
AtomicPlayboy @ Jul 1st 2009 6:56PM
Damnation? Looked like a Fallout 3 screen shot at first (minus America's new sweetheart in the back ground, of course).