‘They’re promoting it with lazy, AI-generated bullsh*t’: James Pond creator says he hates sequel studio ‘with a passion’
A new James Pond game is in development, but its original creator is far from happy
The creator of ’90s video game James Pond has heavily criticised the studio working on its latest sequel, saying he “hates almost everything they do with a passion”.
The original James Pond: Underwater Agent was released in 1990, and was followed by the far more popular James Pond II: Codename RoboCod.
Although it was followed by other titles – 1993’s James Pond 3: Operation Starfish and mini-game spin-off The Aquatic Games – the James Pond series essentially ended in the mid ’90s, with the only attempt to revive it being a poorly received iOS game in 2011.
Now Gameware Europe, the current James Pond rights holder, has announced a new game called James Pond: Rogue AI and the character’s creator Chris Sorrell – who was also lead designer on the first three games – is far from impressed.
In an interview with Time Extension, Sorrell criticised Gameware for promoting the game with “lazy, AI-generated bullshit” on its website, adding: “Well, what could be more on brand?”
Sorrell added that he regretted being involved with Gameware in the past after the company launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 to create a new James Pond game, before cancelling it with just 16% of the funds raised and admitting it “came into this with little game to show”.
“I hate almost everything they do with a passion, all the more so since they duped me into being part of their shambolic Kickstarter campaign all those years back, and I stupidly allowed my name to become associated with their bottom-feeding enterprise,” Sorrell said.
He then added that while he concedes that the new game’s brief teaser trailer – which shows James Pond’s extending robotic suit bending around like a snake – suggests some innovation, he’s not yet confident that the finished package will be worthwhile.
“Frankly, the only way that Gameware shocks me these days is by doing something that demonstrates even the tiniest shred of integrity or creativity,” he said. “For example, their first video from the new game showed James Pond using a massively extending suit with a fully twisting body bending around the level.
“It looks like fun – or at least could be in the hands of a capable level designer (who probably doesn’t work for Gameware). But at least it seems like someone with a degree of talent was involved in its creation.
“Unfortunately, everything else they’ve shown seems far more expected: yet another warmed-over re-hash of a 34-year-old game that somehow makes it look like 30 years of tech progress never happened.”
Sorrell said he no longer likes to associate himself because of what the character has become, saying: “The James Pond name has been so degraded by Gameware that I only want to distance myself from it”.
