'Ghostbusters' credits neglect artist crucial to game's style, dev responds

by Xav de Matos { Jun 24th 2009 at 6:00PM }

The artist who helped inspire the graphic style of the Wii and PS2 versions of Ghostbusters is angry for being omitted from the game's credits. According to a blog post by artist Dan Schoening, Sony and Sierra -- the original publisher of the game before it was picked up by Atari, following the Activision/Blizzard merger -- "100% guaranteed" he would be credited for his help in shaping the final look of the two versions of the recently released title. "For a game that in many ways is heavily influenced by my work, is it too much to ask for some acknowledgment?," Schoening wrote over the weekend.

Yesterday, Red Fly Studio (the team behind the Wii/PS2 versions) CEO Dan Borth defended his company's position to Kombo. According to Borth, many people responsible for the game were omitted for the simple reason that there wasn't enough room. "After Sony, Vivendi, Atari all got their credits we had few spaces for ourselves and the others who worked on the games with us -- Zen Studios, War Drum studios, etc," Borth said. "Many people didn't make it and they worked many, many more hours on this game than Mr. Dan I can assure you. Does that make it right? No it doesn't. That's just how it played out.

Borth admits that Schoening's name was omitted, but is adamant that it was not done intentionally. While not having "space" for the artist's credit is one of the saddest attempts at an excuse we've ever heard, Borth apologized to Schoening for the omission and thanked him for his work on the dev's official blog.

[Via TrueGameHeadz. Image credit: Dan Schoening]

Tags: credit, dan-borth, dan-schoening, ghostbusters, red-fly-studio

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Heavytoka @ Jun 24th 2009 6:07PM

I would be angry too, hard work deserve credit

NForever @ Jun 24th 2009 6:09PM

B...S? If I were that Schoening guy I would definitely be wanting some money put in my wallet.

Mazrael @ Jun 24th 2009 6:54PM

Shouldn't the actual development team get first dibs!? (including artists, writers etc) then play testers before anything else..

TheFreak @ Jun 24th 2009 7:04PM

Not enough room in the credits...? That's a terrible excuse!

They couldn't find the extra space on an 8.54Gig double-sided optical disc to put the remaining names in the credits? Were these credits high-impact CG action shots?

Piao @ Jun 24th 2009 7:18PM

Funny thing is, at no point was this guy angry. He has been cool even with the CEO making crap up and just tried to hold his ground and stand for what's right. If you get busted taking someone's work (and believe me they were NOT up front about it until he called them on it), the least you could do is give them credit. Is that so much to ask?

And then when they don't give you credit in the end, what do you do? How do you tell other people that your art was used as the basis for the designs? They'll figure you're lying since you would be credited if you were involved. Weak sauce.

Ashitaka @ Jun 24th 2009 7:19PM

I would so sue their ass...

RockyRoark @ Jun 24th 2009 7:37PM

I'd definitely sue their asses

Mike Henry @ Jun 24th 2009 7:37PM

"We screwed a ton of people over... Not just Dan!"

What a horrible defense. Not to mention the fact that his style was stolen. It's not like he was contracted and then didn't get a credit. This is a much more serious offense than just forgetting a credit.

And not enough room? Seriously? This guy is ridiculous.

KaBob799 @ Jun 24th 2009 7:40PM

"Oh, it wasnt a mistake, it was on purpose. In fact, we did it to a ton of people!"

Ashitaka @ Jun 24th 2009 8:49PM

Yeah, that was also the way I read it.

Not only was their PS3 port lousy but they also screwed a lot of people by omitting their names in the final product.

Those lazy, cheap bastards...

AmericanNinjaX @ Jun 24th 2009 7:42PM

Wow, that's low. I was made when my name was misspelled in credits. But omitting completely. wow.

trialsze1 @ Jun 24th 2009 7:48PM

Man that is such crap. How are you going to steal Dan's work and then not even give him credit. I hope Dan sues these guys. The sad part is that Dan did not act like a jerk even after they stole his style and all he wanted was acknowledgement. Bunch of pricks. People should boycott the game. Artist should definitly boycott it. If they did it to Dan what is stopping them from doing it to any of us?

Don @ Jun 24th 2009 7:56PM

Wow, I'm really impressed by the comments so far! (first 11 at least)

I agree, credit where credit is due. The videogame industry is so shady sometimes.

Mike Jungbluth @ Jun 24th 2009 8:14PM

Credits in games is a tenuous issue on its own and mistakes like this happen all the time and probably on most games. Doesn't make it right, but it is just the reality of this industry.

But Dan was 100% promised by Borth as part of the deal worked out when Dan found out (on his own!) that his style had been instrumental in the initial art design of the game. Yes, he was paid after contacting them, but that was only half of the agreement they had. And artistic recognition is as important, or more so, than cash. He acted professionaly then when getting in touch with them, and has now as well, and at no point has demeaned himself, any studio or person by name. He just wanted the world to know that his work had been the basis of the art decisions, even if others put in countless hours of their own work beyond that. And in this industry, when artists can get stepped on or taken advantage of all the time, I applaud him for standing up. Putting your name out there for the public to scrutinize is a scary thing.

I think it is important to realize that he isn't trying to sue them, or cash in some other quick scheme. He is just asking for the fair recognition he was promised. If that doesn't speak to his integrity, I don't know what does. Hopefully both he and Red Fly have grown from this, because both are incredibly talented and capable of great art!

Maximun2k10 @ Jun 24th 2009 9:51PM

Recall all the discs, fix the credit issue and hopefully remake the game.

Austin @ Jun 24th 2009 10:23PM

I feel sorry for him actually. I bet he beat the game, waited to see his name in credits, and nothing happened.

akatsuki @ Jun 24th 2009 10:32PM

Yeah, cause hours really means everything over talent or inventiveness.

And, you know, those DVDs, with their 4K of storage make you really count the bits when it comes to a line of text.

The company should issue a formal apology, put it in a patch.

For being scum, Don Borth should apologize in person.

oldgamer @ Jun 24th 2009 11:20PM

Even if it were only a black background and a simple name, it would be better than nothing. I mean come on, I can do something like that with Word of OpenOffice and it takes what, 20K? Not enough space my foot. If you're going to make up a lie to try and justify your actions, you should at least try and make it a believable lie.

Hardy @ Jun 25th 2009 12:11AM

Wait wait wait wait!.... The big question is!..... There's a limit to how many people can do into credits? lol

Daniel Clausen @ Jun 25th 2009 1:16PM

I've wrote millions of lines of code, led project teams, designed application architecture, and more. Never once have I had my name appear on any credits. Such is the life of web and application programmers. Of course these accomplishments are listed in the only place that matters, my resume. :)