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Before i even kick this article off, i´m going to point out that i can´t take any cred for this story (all cred goes to Techraptor).

However, i´m going to give my 5 cents to this story. I should also point out that i wrote a handful of articles on our old homepage about “Fez 2” and Phil Fish. So i know the story about “Fez” and Phil Fish more than well.

Anyhow, since Fez got released back in 2012, Phil Fish has said (and made) quite a few controversial statements.

One of Phil´s most famous statement has to be the one about Japanese games and devs though.

Which would be this one:

“At tonight’s IGTM Q&A, some Japanese guy asked us what we thought of modern Japanese games, and I said I thought they sucked,”

“So I guess I’m some kind of big racist now.

“I’m sorry Japanese guy! I was a bit rough, but your country’s games are f*** terrible
nowadays.”

But i have to say that i still remember classic tweets/statements such as these one´s:

“Gamers are the worst fu**ing people

“9$ for a game like FEZ is a STEAL. I should be charging you 90$ you fucking ingrates.”

But to get to the actual point of this article. For years i have had this gut feeling that there was something really “fishy” about Phil Fish.

The whole thing with him cancelling “Fez 2“, and leaving the video game industry all together (a rage quit above avrage for sure).

All because of a hacker attack on Fez homepage and Phil´s Twitter account. I just thought that it couldn’t have been a coincidence.

Because everything was just to perfectly timed for that, because it created a much-needed exit door for Phil Fish.

And now i know for sure that there´s WAY more to it than “just” a hacker attack and internet abuse (don´t forget the connections between Phil Fish and Zoé Quinn as well. Phil went on a Twitter crusade for her last summer).

Is that so Phil?

Yes, you guessed it. Corruption, backstabbing and lies are all parts of this fairy tale story about Phil Fish. And that became crystal clear after that i´ve read Techraptors interview with Allistair Pinsof (part 1 and 2).

Because as it all turns out, Phil Fish wasn´t 100% honest about Fez and it´s development process. As he used Shawn McGrath´s gameplay mechanics, design, and code for Fez. And then credited it as his own creation.

Then we got the part about Jason DeGroot (Jason was a part of the early dev crew for Fez), because DeGroot made music for Fez back in 2007. He also cofounded “Polytron” (the studio that made “Fez”) together with Phil Fish.

But just like Shawn McGrath, Degroot and Phil Fish went their separate ways as well. And all of that drama and threats about legal measures got caught on tape in the video “Indie Game: The Movie“.

Indie Game: The movie was directed and produced by Lisanne Pajot, and James Swirsky

A movie that just happen to have been produced/directed by Phil Fish´s current partner (do you smell that fishy smell yet?).

And just so you know. Neither Jason DeGroot or Shawn McGrath is credited in the final, released version of Fez. Talk about taking backstabbing to a whole another level…

So the real reason behind the cancellation of “Fex II” was not the hacker attacks or the internet abuse.

Phil Fish just ran out of people to use and stab in their back. So much for that IGF award…I can also “create” awesome games. IF i use other peoples creations and credit them as my own…

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