oh, come on...

I just wanted a little snack… so, seeing there was typically nothing else here I decided to pop some corn. Well… I oiled, shook and waited… my test kernal popped. I put the ‘rest’ in and shake and wait… and wait… and wait… nothing… WTF… Nothing.

Sabres get crushed, I can’t pop corn and Black Isle is shut down. I think I need to go to bed. Sigh…..

Black Isle Studios Closes

Goodbye Black Isle Studio

If you have played a RPGs on a PC within the past decade it is quite likely you know who Black Isle Studios is. Sadly I read today that Interplay has closed Black Isle Studios. 😦

From the article on GameSpy:
“The Death of Black Isle Studios
Interplay quietly dissolves RPG division, lays off staff, halts development.
Monday December 8, 2003 | Prophet

A legendary studio is shut down. Last month Black Isle Studios was dealt a body blow when then lead designer J.E. Sawyer packed his bags and said farewell to Interplay’s role-playing game division, and today Interplay tried to quietly put it out of its misery. A post from BIS designer Damien “Puuk” Foletto on the BIS forums revealed that Black Isle Studios has been dissolved, all most all the employees had been layed off and the announced game project they had been working on (which other now-former employees have confirmed as Fallout 3) has been permanently shelved. Interplay wasn’t available for comment at this late hour but we hope to have details on the particulars (the number of employees let go, what they are doing to assist them in finding employment, etc.). BIS is best known for creating several titles in the Fallout series, the Icewind Dale series and the ultra popular Planescape Torment RPG game for the PC.

Here’s the forum post in its entirety, taken from the Black Isle Studios Forums:
Today was my last day at the (former) BIS, as it was for my whole team. I just wanted to say farewell to the best fans in the industry, and thanks for all the great feedback and support. I don’t know where I’ll end up, but know that we were all avid gamers and wanted to make the PC games that not only we wanted to play, but also the fans. But this isn’t goodbye. Puuk will still flow through various boards (even this one, but without the BIS logo), and I still look forward to shooting ideas back and forth with my fellow gamers.
All of you take care and have a great holiday.”

Sad news indeed… sigh………….

update: forum link is dead. Missing bis.jpg. Updated with new image Nov. 2013.