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Dean Hall is a grenade. He repeats this line made famous in his Eurogamer feature that announced his departure from Bohemia Interactive. “A grenade”, he repeated to us over Skype two days ago.
Dean Hall spent some of best days of his life being called a “Kiwi”, a prideful term for New Zealanders. Hall’s life has been filled with nicknames and titles, the first being one from his homeland – a place that he’s hoping to go back to by the end of the year.
Having spent five years of his life as a commissioned officer in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and three years in the New Zealand Army, Hall came to learn discipline, strength, and what it takes to survive in a harsh conflict-driven world. Believe it or not, it was this training that led him to the chapter in his life that many of us have come to know him for.
Hall joined the game industry as a producer for Sidhe Interactive and then as a designer at Bohemia Interactive. At Bohemia, Hall developed one of the most popular game mods in the PC gaming space: DayZ. Developed as a mod for the studio’s military sim ARMA 2, DayZ became a huge hit that reinvigorated the zombie genre. Sometime later, Hall began full-time work on developing DayZ as a standalone game. Still being in early-access and over a year from full release, DayZ Standalone has sold over 1.7 million copies. But that wasn’t enough – not for Hall.
Dean Hall is a grenade.
Last month news of Hall’s departure from Bohemia Interactive and DayZ development spread across the internet like a virus. Hall had previously mentioned his plans to leave the company and found his own studio, but the news’ reiteration as a headline shook the industry and DayZ players. Despite his plans to finish development, he was criticized.
Hall has complete intention to spend the remaining year with Bohemia Interactive, but he tells us his future plans have changed.
“When I said I was a grenade, I wasn’t kidding”, he told us over Skype, sounding out of breath. “I take risks. I’m the kind of guy that will drop my current comforts and pursue a new goal, a goal that’s tougher to achieve but more rewarding than ever, you know? When I saw the reaction from the DayZ community, the reactions calling me a liar and a cheat for leaving the game I created, something awakened within me,” Hall said referencing some of the harsher backlash that came from the DayZ community with the news of his departure.
We were tempted to pause the interview because Hall seemed winded. “No, it’s fine. I’ve just come from training,” he said, then leading up to his announcement of the next chapter of his life.
“Sorry, guys. I’m completely here. I just wanted to get the blood pumping before we did this. This next risk will be the biggest I’ve ever taken and I can’t wait to share it with you guys,” he told us. “I’ve been in the army, I’ve climbed a mountain – before I cark it, I need to do this. I’m leaving the game industry. I’m joining the MMA,” the DayZ creator said calmly.
Dean Hall, a soldier, a game developer, and a soon to be a Mixed Martial Artist: a grenade in both body and mind.
“I’ve just come from training with my mate down at the local gym,” he told us. “I figured, I’ve done all of these incredibly challenging things in my life – it’s about time I do something new, but familiar. The physicality of being a soldier beats sitting in a chair all day. Don’t get me wrong, I love designing games for people to enjoy, but sitting on my bum all day eating biscuits and chips isn’t good for someone like me. Not for the long term. Let’s just say this rocket might be a little too heavy to fly, these days,” he laughed, making light of the sedentary nature of game development.
“I’ve signed the contracts, I’ve been in intense training for the past few weeks, and I can’t be more excited. People like to call me “Rocket”, so I’m sticking with that in some form,” he told us. “Dean “The RPG” Hall. That’s going to be it,” referring to his “ring name”. He put up a pair of blue and green athletic shorts up to his laptop’s camera to show us that the name had been stitched into them.
DayZ Standalone has been an immense success and it’s still far from release, but Hall tells us that he’s proud of what he and his team have created and hope to continue to expand upon. Hall may be leaving game development, but he’s not leaving his friends, co-workers, or community behind. “I owe these people my life. They took my idea and embraced it. Together we have created an amazing game and an amazing community, bandits and heroes alike. My move to the MMA is a risk I’m willing to take, and I know that my friends and family are willing to let me pursue this next risky endeavor,” he said.
When we asked about his plans to form his own game studio and pursue his dream to create the “perfect multiplayer experience” he told us that it might happen one day.
“I might come back to development. Game development is something I very much enjoy, but for the time being, I need to do what feels right. I am a grenade and if that means I go up in smoke and miss my goals, then so be it. At least I tried. That’s what’s worth living for.”
