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Why did Hangar 13 make Mafia III?


Sir-Syzygy

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I'll keep this concise:

-Mafia (2002) and Mafia II (2010) were both primarily developed by 2K Czech.

-Mafia III (2016) was primarily developed by a new development team known as Hangar 13.

-Most (not all) fans of the Mafia series were, at least, disappointed by Mafia III (2016) due to the fact it was very different from the previous two games. This extreme difference was probably because of the change in developers. 

-2K Czech is considered defunct as of 2017 (after Mafia III's 2016 release), with it apparently being merged with Hangar 13.

 

Question: Does anyone know why the development team was changed in the first place? I've tried to conduct my own research, but I haven't found any clear answers, though it is possible I've been looking in the wrong places. Regardless, please let me know if you are aware of anything specific that would explain the change, or if you have any logical reasoning that could help come close to a reasonable answer. Thanks. 

 

EDIT: Remember to carefully read the above before leaving a reply.

Edited by Sir-Syzygy
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The focus on boring and grindy copy-and-paste open world busywork was probably mandated by the big AAA execs. Mafia II was a bit of a hit, surely "augmenting" it with formulaic gameplay elements from other successful games, whether they fit in or not, can only ever improve sales. This is how AAA logic works.

 

In cases like Mafia III where this strategy proved middling at best, they won't admit to any flaw inherent to their design philosophy; only that they didn't implement it on an optimum level. They are incapable of admitting to any flaws or failures and actual change is implemented only when deemed absolutely necessary, i.e. when it affects their sickeningly high wages directly.

 

It's part of why so many contemporary games feel so bland and samey, even when they can be enjoyable. They think they've got it down to a science. 

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19 hours ago, bikeman223 said:

I think it was just something the publishers did, restructuring and shifting employees around. 2K Czech and Hanger 13 seem to be more beholden to whims of their publisher than anything else. Additionally, during development a percentage of former 2K Czech developers worked on the project, so Mafia 3 isn't wholly the product of a 'new' team.

 

Schrier wrote an article on some of the turbulent times the studio experienced during and after Mafia 3's development. 

 

https://kotaku.com/how-the-makers-of-mafia-iii-lost-their-way-1825242177

I kind of knew the answer would be something along the lines of "it's the publisher's fault" (because it almost always is), but I really appreciate a little bit of clarification that the article provided. It's interesting that the publisher seemingly wasn't 100% at fault this time, with 2K Czech apparently having no solid new ideas. Thanks so much, @bikeman223!

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34 minutes ago, Sir-Syzygy said:

 

I very clearly stated that I did my own research, but didn't find any clear answers; "initially had problems" is not clear. At least you managed to make a sick burn against me and make yourself seem like a cool dude on the internet in the process. 

a1AEzka.png

 

 

Classic. 

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19 hours ago, AK-1138 said:

The focus on boring and grindy copy-and-paste open world busywork was probably mandated by the big AAA execs. Mafia II was a bit of a hit, surely "augmenting" it with formulaic gameplay elements from other successful games, whether they fit in or not, can only ever improve sales. This is how AAA logic works.

 

In cases like Mafia III where this strategy proved middling at best, they won't admit to any flaw inherent to their design philosophy; only that they didn't implement it on an optimum level. They are incapable of admitting to any flaws or failures and actual change is implemented only when deemed absolutely necessary, i.e. when it affects their sickeningly high wages directly.

 

It's part of why so many contemporary games feel so bland and samey, even when they can be enjoyable. They think they've got it down to a science. 

That seems to be the contemporary AAA gaming philosophy: Make a profit as quickly and cheaply as possible and then move fast enough so that the video game community at large can forget, and if they don't just make an empty promise to improve so that they can forgive, leading to an endless cycle of disappointments, deception and deplorable business practices.

Edited by Sir-Syzygy
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5 minutes ago, demonoutcast said:

Who knows, The studio fell apart after Haden started laying off staff. I called him out on twitter about it and got no response back. He knows damn well he fucked up the direction it was going and thanks to him, the series will be dead for a long time. 

Have a look at a few of the other replies that were left in this thread and maybe you'll be enlightened on the subject (like I was). I'm not sure what you're referring to or what you mean, but if you're willing to clarify what you were trying to say, I'll be willing to read it ?

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10 minutes ago, Sir-Syzygy said:

Have a look at a few of the other replies that were left in this thread and maybe you'll be enlightened on the subject (like I was). I'm not sure what you're referring to or what you mean, but if you're willing to clarify what you were trying to say, I'll be willing to read it 1f642.png

I know it was an off topic response, here is the source of what I meant: 

https://kotaku.com/how-the-makers-of-mafia-iii-lost-their-way-1825242177

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