A couple of weeks ago, Days Gone’s creative director, John Garvin, took to Twitter to strongly criticize his former studio, Bend, for a social media post celebrating the inclusion of the game’s protagonist in the world of Astro Bot, a project they had worked on for years. The translation of the message is roughly as follows: “it’s quite sad to see Deek reduced to promoting other games… Well done Bend Studio! What a way to protect your legacy!”.
When another Twitter user urged him to calm down and criticized him for aiming at the studio rather than Sony itself, Garvin replied: “Haha… I see my character reduced to a servile cartoon to promote some small game, and I’m being tough? Sit down, brother, the adults are talking.” In general, the community did not appreciate neither the way of expressing himself nor the underlying idea. The diatribe continued throughout the day and Garvin tried to provide more context, stating that he did not know Astrobot and wished them the best, but not at the expense of Days Gone and a character he had dedicated six years of his life to. Later, he perched very dignified on a tower hinting that only the one who had created something could truly participate in such a conversation.
Astro Bot has burst onto this year’s release calendar with a coveted 94 on Metacritic and accolades from the entire industry. The game is a master class in platform game design, a constant stream of ideas full of possibilities and an enviable technical achievement. For those of us who discovered the friendly character in the PlayStation VR game back in 2018, this did not come as a surprise. Team Asobi is largely the reincarnation of the now-closed Japan Studio and hides immeasurable talent among its ranks. The general public had a taste four years ago with Astro Bot’s Playroom, the free game Sony included with the PlayStation 5 as a showcase for the console’s capabilities and its innovative DualSense controller, but this is certainly the main course. It seemed destined for the triumphant procession to take it to the Game Awards in December. That’s why Garvin’s outbursts surprised so many people. Not only for being a discordant note in the flood of positive thoughts, but also for being seen as friendly fire.
A Complex Creator
I met Garvin during the press tour he undertook weeks before the release of Days Gone. I got to play the first hour of the game and then interviewed him for about half an hour. I remember trying to delve into the treatment of violence in the game (due to the brutal scene where some thugs burn Boozer’s arm with a blowtorch) and Garvin responded firmly, maybe even haughtily. I have always despised the promotion circuits used by major publishers because I believe they do a disservice to the work.
I have always despised the promotion circuits used by major publishers because I believe they do a disservice to the work
