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[Game Informer] A Story from the development of Rockstar's Agent

Arubedo

Arubedo

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Dec 24, 2018
1,086
Morocco
www.gameinformer.com

A Story From The Development Of Rockstar’s Agent

www.gameinformer.com www.gameinformer.com

During the development of Rockstar's now long-missing spy game Agent, Rockstar San Diego project leader Luis Gigliotti had to do something far outside his typical job description: Call the United States Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. He needed help. A small team of artists – his fellow coworkers at Rockstar – were being held under house arrest in Cairo. Not only that, but the Egyptian authorities were also trying to pin the group with false charges of shooting pornography – a crime in the country. He needed assistance in getting them home safe.
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"And I'll never forget, whoever it was on the call from the Embassy just literally said, 'Are you guys stupid?'" Gigliotti tells me in a recent interview. "'Whatever possessed you to think this was a good idea?'
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The whole ordeal starts in Carlsbad, CA, at Rockstar San Diego's office. It begins with the team on Agent not being able to find what it's looking for.
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More on the article, it's really a crazy story.
 
Niosai

Niosai

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,925
So the reason Agent still isn't out is because the devs are attempting to save the world first. Got it.

Jk. This looks like an interesting read.
 
Cess007

Cess007

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,117
B.C., Mexico
JFC, some of those paragraphs

A more serious encounter came to a head with another team member. Like Sanabria, when an Egyptian official noticed the team taking photos out in the city, they, too, stopped to question the group, speaking through their guide. When a team member made a comment, the Egyptian official proceeded to shove their gun into the ribs of that developer as the conversation became heated, Sanabria and Gigliotti recall.
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"Finally, you know, after a few days, that's essentially what happened. They didn't torture our driver, but they grabbed him in the middle of the night to question him [about] what we're doing and what's been happening. After that questioning, soon thereafter, that's when they told us, like, 'You guys aren't allowed to leave your rooms anymore.'"
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Joni

Joni

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,508
So Agent wasn't a real game, but an Adam Sandler like plan to have your boss fund your holidays.
 
papusman

papusman

Member
Sep 25, 2019
111
Damn, that's a crazy story. When it got to the bit with the
dad's gynecological photos,
I just burst out laughing at how amazingly, cosmically unfortunate that was.
 

Deleted member 16876

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
39,148
Damn that was an intense read.

This game sounds like it could have been something special. A shame these guys went through all that yet never finished it.
 
NoKisum

NoKisum

Member
Nov 11, 2017
4,913
DMV Area, USA
Man, that laptop part though. If I were Morrow, I would've lost my shit knowing what was on there, business related or not.

Also, with this much experience, I'm curious as to what would've unfolded in the Cairo section of the game, and if any of the art team's trip was referenced in the game.
 
SteveWinwood

SteveWinwood

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,682
USA USA USA
I remember my dad having to rip out some film because some guard was being a dick when we were in cairo. My dad is a very argumentative type and it's amazing he was never arrested in any of those situations. In eastern europe they would harass you all the time but mostly because they could tell you weren't from there and just wanted to get a bribe to leave you alone and he would always just start getting angry. A lot of the time they were just itching to use any of their dumb powers because they wanted to just feel powerful, but it's amazing what threatening to call the embassy would accomplish. The most surprising part of that story to me was the embassy saying they couldn't do much, because generally they would do almost anything for you.

The company he was with at the time ended up budgeting for both bribes for cops and paying local mafioso for protection by the time we moved away.
 
ToddBonzalez

ToddBonzalez

The Pyramids? That's nothing compared to RDR2
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
15,530
Darrell Gallagher's latest game (Perfect Dark) also seems to be set in Egypt. I wonder if he's sending the art team for reference photos this time around.
 
MadMod

MadMod

Member
Dec 4, 2017
2,744
Good read, super interesting. Litrerally had no idea about their laws either. So happy they got out, just wish the game came out too!
 

Deleted member 5725

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,115
That's a pretty crazy story lol

Them before taking off from Cairo:
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