He sends his message to the Greek fans. (Original Text)

Our team at SAVE THE GAME had the pleasant opportunity to come into contact with Jeff Ross, one of the co-directors of Days Gone, an important figure in SIE Bend Studio in the past for many years and a participant to the development of numerous other games. Following a delightful exchange on Twitter between us, Mr. Ross agreed to answer a couple of our questions regarding his most recent creation, whilst expanding on his latest comments which were put on the spotlight by the industry. We can't thank him enough for taking the time to chat with us, but first of all let's see what he had to say:

Question #1) Before we start, I wanted to congratulate you on your amazing work and overall contribution to the progress of the gaming industry. Days Gone in particular is appreciated more than most of the PlayStation exclusives in Greece. So much so that it's commonly referred to as "the epic" ("epos" in Greek) amongst the people in our gaming community. Do you have any message to the Greek fans you'd like to share and how much do you know about Greece?

Jeff Ross: I had no idea, so it's great to hear the game is so beloved in Greece. And very heart-warming to know it's referred to as an epic. That's high praise indeed. I would just like to share with your community that we are incredibly proud of our very first ever open world game. It had some issues, and wasn't for everyone, but I've found that people who get it love it, warts and all. Thank you all for appreciating what we made. Greece has always been a dream destination to vacation some day. I've always been a fan of history and Western Civilization, and know of many of the contributions Greeks made to advance science, the arts, politics, philosophy, and more. As a kid I read and fell in love with Histories by Herodotus.

Question #2) We know that you're an industry veteran. However, most of today's fans probably got to know you from your role as co-director of Days Gone, which was undoubtedly the most ambitious project in Bend Studio's history. Regardless of the events that followed the development cycle, could you describe to us what was it like to be a part of a huge AAA game development process?

Jeff Ross: Making Days Gone was one of the most challenging and fulfilling experiences of my life. Every day was filled with surprises and new challenges to overcome, but in a fun and engaging way. Being a game designer is really just solving problems. And a complex open world game built from scratch is always pushing your resolve and skill set. While working so hard, it was wonderful knowing that Sony was publishing the title, which meant it was going to have great marketing support, and would have a big audience.

Question #3) At the launch of Days Gone in April of 2019 it was released to kind of a mixed reception, while doing relatively well from a sales perspective. I've always been a supporter of the game and thought it was fairly underrated, mostly due to a few technical imperfections it had at launch. Do you think that had it come out a bit more polished or in the same condition it launched on PS5 and PC, that the situation would be completely different? Lots of gamers grew to love this game over time.

Jeff Ross: No doubt the game would have been better received had there been more polish and if the technical issues not been so glaring. The PS5 and PC versions of the game had the exact same content as the original PS4 version, but they had much better framerate and many of the technical issues fixed. And people loved them. So I'll take that as the win I wish we would have had back in April of 2019.

Question #4) I need to ask about that tweet, since it caught the attention of many of our readers. You received many replies, including my own, some of which sought to contradict your claims. Most of them seemed to be really supportive, though. In fact, the vast majority of the people that showed up and commented want you to make a Days Gone sequel. How does it make you feel being showered with all these messages of positivity and adoration for the game?

Jeff Ross: Days Gone was the first title we released in the modern social media age, and since the game had the Metacritic score it did, I dreaded the entire internet piling on and being negative about the game. Which meant I was pleasantly stunned and surprised when the vast majority of people were very kind and supportive of the studio and the game. Honestly never expected that. I'd say I get or see 9 positive comments for every negative comment. I've said it before, but it warrants repeating; Days Gone fans are the best fans.

(The tweet referenced above)

Question #5) I don't wanna get too personal by asking what the initial intention of the tweet was, as it's not too difficult to connect the dots. However, I'd like to know if you feel like you've successfully communicated the desired message to your audience.

Jeff Ross: I regret sending that tweet because there's no way it could explain all of the complexities I was trying to communicate. So I basically gave naysayers plenty of ammunition to take shots at me and the game. We still got a lot of positivity and love from the community, which still floors me almost three years later.

Question #6)  If I'm not mistaken, it's been around a year since you left Bend, therefore you must have had time to rethink the entire development process of Days Gone. In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently, given the chance? Additionally, is there a specific creative decision the impact of which you're especially proud of?

Jeff Ross: I always take stock and reflect on things I've done and look for ways to constantly be improving. Regarding Days Gone, if I could go back in time I'd definitely work hard to improve cross-departmental workflows so we were all working together toward shared goals to polish the game in a way that people expect from first party Sony games. The creative decision I'm most proud of was the pioneering of our "Action Survival" genre that brought cool survival game vibes from the PC indie community to a mass market console title. That's what led to our design pillar, "The bike is essential for survival." Which is why we made decisions to add fuel management, fast traveling only from the bike, and saving only at the bike. Some players weren't fond of these decisions, but many more were, and these choices helped give Days Gone a unique survival spin that generated a lot of novel open world tensions.

Question #7) Personally (and I think a lot of people out there would agree with me) I believe that you earned your right to create a sequel, something that unfortunately was never greenlit. I feel like I'm scratching my own wounds by asking that, but supposing it would make good use of the lessons taught by the original title, what goals would the sequel strive to achieve?

Jeff Ross: In approaching the sequel, I reflected on the ideas we couldn't add to the first game. But I also took the critical response into account and generated a list of things that must be fixed--no exceptions. The short version of these pillars were: One, fix the top five community/critical complaints (things like slow pacing, load times, overall polish, performance, and wonky AI). Second, retain the things that worked really well in DG, and enhance wherever possible. Third, if some feature was underutilized or hated, we'd strongly consider cutting it. And so on--it's been a few years so I can't remember everything. We knew there were areas for vast improvement, and I was just trying to create a framework for how the entire team selected which problems to solve, and which to ignore.

Question #8) I watched through the entirety of your interview with David Jaffe and I thought your point of view was perfectly respectable. When asked whether you would be up for a Days Gone sequel at the time, you answered negatively. Is that also the case for a potential reunification with Bend? Would you be willing to accept a job with another team of PlayStation Studios, provided it fulfilled your requirements?

Jeff Ross: To clarify the point I made on Jaffe's podcast...In the months after Days Gone launched, I still had the entire game in my head--the problems it had, the things that were fun, and all the opportunities for improvement. So I had a really strong sense of what the game was, and what the next one could be. I was dialed in. That knowledge or expertise or instinct has faded over the years, and I think it would be tough to regain it. That's what I meant when I said I'd moved on. I would have loved to build on the first game, but that won't happen so I'm looking to the future to see how I can build something that benefits from all the wisdom gained from Days Gone. Whether that's with Sony or other members from Days Gone is still TBD.

Question #9) What I and a lot of people find so heartwarming, is how even after your departure from Bend (and the ups and downs of Days Gone) you were able to declare just how proud you are to have been a part of it. Did you witness a similar sentiment of pride shared among other members of the development team?

Jeff Ross: I was always a fan and cheerleader. That was my job. Over the course of seven years of development, the project had its ups and downs, but I witnessed moments when the project started to click with team members and they went from naysayer to huge fans and advocates for the game. When you make something with 100+ people, the game can't speak to all of them, so not everyone loved it. But I was always really proud of the converted for being open minded and staying positive.

Question #10) That's good to know. For the past 15+ years you've been working for Sony, being part of many great projects such us some Syphon Filter games, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Resistance: Retribution, etc. Which one of the games you've worked on holds the most special place in your heart and why?

Jeff Ross: Obviously I love them all, but I have to say I'm partial to Resistance: Retribution, not only because I got to co-write the story, but because it was such a unique entry in an existing franchise where we really got to make something with Bend Studio's culture and creative DNA all over it. It's a fun, pulpy comic thriller with the vibe and energy of a classic WW2 movie about commandos going deep behind enemy lines to save the world.

Question #11) We would also like to ask, what inspired you to join the gaming industry? Has it changed ever since and is it a profession you would like to exercise for the rest of your career?

Jeff Ross: I've always been a story-teller; writing screenplays and novels, and making student films. My pipe dream was to become a film maker, but then in the mid-90's I started playing Doom and learned how to make levels for it, and for Quake later on. That's when I realized I was a game developer; the culmination of my life-long love of games mixed with my passion for story telling. For a few years while working a full time blue collar job, I spent all my spare time diving into and learning everything I could about the game industry. When an opportunity at a small studio in Oregon presented itself, I was able to use the levels and mods I'd been making as a portfolio for the job, and I was lucky enough to get hired. And yes, I plan on making games the rest of my life. I'm continually evolving and growing my skillset, and I can't wait to see what types of amazing games I get to help make in the future.

Question #12) We sincerely hope that whichever choice you make leads to your best future. We are glad to see that you have moved on and seem eager for new creative adventures. You will probably not be able to reveal what you're preparing at the moment, but can we expect to learn about your plans anytime soon?

Jeff Ross: I won't be able to announce anything anytime soon, so hang in there. Twitter will be the first place I go to share any news.

Closing Sentence) Totally understandable. Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. This is our website's first ever interview with a big-scene developer and it was an honor to chat with you. We are immensely grateful and we wish you all the best for your future career. We hope to see you get back in the business, hopefully spearheading numerous projects. Thank you once again and happy new year!

Jeff Ross: Happy to do it! Thanks for having me!

Thank you Jeff!