What happend to Tobias?
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posted07/28/2017 07:51 PM (UTC)by
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BordelofInk
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09/02/2005 10:08 PM (UTC)
I alway wonder why John Tobias left the MK team? I always assumed he was embarrased at MK4 that he figures that Mk was officially finished. But thats just a assumtion. If anyone knows why let me know
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Bloodline666
09/11/2005 04:41 AM (UTC)
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Actually, he started the work on Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, but during the production of that game is when Tobias left Midway to form his own development studio, Studio Gigante, thus MKSF had to be rushed after his departure (the result was crap, needless to say).

Since then, Studio Gigante only produced two games to my knowledge; Tao Feng, and more recently, WWE Wrestlemania 21 (which was published by THQ, which holds the license to make WWE wrestling games).
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Jason_Rainwater
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09/11/2005 04:56 AM (UTC)
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What I'd like to know is what he's up to now. I'm also curious what he will think of MKSM when he plays it.
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johnnycage10
09/12/2005 03:19 PM (UTC)
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As to what he's doing now, I hope he's flipping burgers for a living and hating every second of it. I will never forgive that loser for massacring MKSF by leaving halfway in the game and turning what should've been a great game into a piece of s**t.

Regarding his reasons for leaving, it's probably the same as anyone else who leaves an employer. Either he was offered more money by another employer, or he was so unhappy that he decided to work elsewhere. But my problem with him is that he owed it to fans to finish MKSF before leaving Midway. He gave all MK fans the finger by doing that.

I know that Tae Feng bombed with its sales, so was very happy to hear that. So there's some justice in the world, apparently.
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Jason_Rainwater
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~Jason Rainwater
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09/13/2005 03:57 AM (UTC)
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I don't think his intentions were to leave MKSF unfinished. In fact, I remember reading that he had talked with Midway about finishing the game before leaving, but something about not being able to agree about something, so he did what he felt he had to do. I forgot what the exact details were, it's been a while. Someone else here might be able to remember better than I. But yeah, I think he wanted to finish MKSF, just couldn't get around whatever complex issues he was wrapped up in.

I'm sure he misses being a part of MK, but he had other goals he wanted to go after that he probably felt he couldn't explore while working for Midway. I certainly don't wish him ill because of that. In fact, I had hoped whatever he moved on to would work out well for him, and I was hoping Tao Feng would be a hit. But I haven't been kept up to date on his career, so I have no idea what he's doing these days, which is why I said I was curious. I wasn't trying to imply anything negative at all, I'd just like to know because I'm a fan of his.

I was also curious about what he would think of MK Shaolin Monks because I know he mentioned he wanted to make a game centered around Liu Kang after MK Special Forces, but he never got to explore that opportunity. I'm curious if he'd be happy with the way they went about making MK Shaolin Monks (especially with the story), and if he would have done anything differently. I'd like to hear his opinion because he was partly responsible for creating this series we all love so much.

~Jason Rainwater
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johnnycage10
09/13/2005 08:31 PM (UTC)
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I'll try to answer your question, and dispense with the jokes about Tobias pumping gas for a living, OK?

I checked him out on the Internet Movie Database, since it also has info on video games and their makers. While it shows that Boon had an active career with MK, it only has Tao Feng as Tobias' last work. So as far as I can tell from the imdb, this guy hasn't worked for the last two years.

Now, as to my feelings towards him, I'm sorry, but I can't be as generous as you were. To be honest, I enjoy hearing that he's not doing well, because regardless of why he left Midway, I despise him for it.
What artistic ambitions do you think this guy had that he allegedly created via Tao Feng?? That game sucked. If he wanted to stretch his creative muscles, the smart move would've been to stay with Midway and give and take in the artistic department.

Truth is that, unless you're the absolute creator of a franchise (Boon with MK, Joss Whedon with Buffy, etc), then you're not going to do 100% of what you want and get paid for it. There's always going to be compromises. The point is to fight hard for what you want or believe in, and be smart enough to give up on your small desires while accomplishing your bigger ones.

There's also dedication to your clients, which Tobias proved he did not have when he left MKSF. If he cared about his fans, he would've finished MKSF and left afterwards. In my job (social work, in case anyone's interested), I dislike my supervisor but do the job because the clients deserve it nonetheless.
But Tobias didn't want to be mature enough to take that route. Instead, he chose the path of the figurative public transportation worker who leaves thousands of commuters with no way to get to work or home, simply because he wants to give his supervisor the finger. I realize that the example is overly dramatic when compared to someone who walked out on a video game, but the concept is the same regardless. This guy cared more about hurting Midway by turning MKSF into a s**tpile, and pursuing his bigger paycheck today and not six months from now, than he did about the fans who made him rich and famous.

MKSF was supposed to be the best video game ever made. I remember buying a Playstation specifically for MK4 and for that. Granted I still love MK4 to this day, but MKSF turned out to be the worst game ever. For that, I'm glad Tobias' career seems to have suffered.
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Bloodline666
09/14/2005 03:02 AM (UTC)
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johnnycage10 Wrote:
I checked him out on the Internet Movie Database, since it also has info on video games and their makers. While it shows that Boon had an active career with MK, it only has Tao Feng as Tobias' last work. So as far as I can tell from the imdb, this guy hasn't worked for the last two years.

I'd like to point out that earlier this year, John Tobias and his Studio Gigante did work in collaboration with THQ on WWE Wrestlemania 21, as I pointed out on my previous reply to this thread, so Tobias's Internet Movie Database profile is not up to date.
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Salvador
10/05/2005 03:28 PM (UTC)
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John Tobias should come back to the MK team, you think he would be welcome back? His ideas along with Ed Boon's make a great masterpiece... and you can see that in MK1 and MK2 and MK3
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red_dragon
10/05/2005 06:50 PM (UTC)
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Boon was not the absoloute creator of Mortal Kombat. MK was co created by Ed Boon AND John Tobias, plus Tobias did most of the original designs and storyline work for the earlier games, and seemed to be the driving force behind MK in those days. MK would not exist without him, simple as that.

Tobias's leaving Midway and MK did not cause MK to end up a half finished mess. This was one of the things that caused him to quit, for whatever reasons, they could not do a lot of the things they wanted, like a two player mode and the inclusion of Sonya, which caused Tobias to get frustrated with the company and leave. It was originally John Tobias who wanted to do these spinoff games to explore his character's stories more deeply. But the first one, MKM: Sub Zero was a big flop (although it seems to have a small following here), and he could see that this was headed the same way, and lost any remaining enthusiasm, so bailed out. Why should he have stayed dedicated to a lost cause, especially after taking the brunt of the blame for the last flop.

Personally I hope John Tobias one day comes back to work on MK. I think the series and storyline could really do with his influence. Maybe him and Vogel should work together, I think it would be interesting to see the results, as both men are good writers, Vogel gives deep storylines, but his continuity is hopeless, and who better to sort that part out than one of the original fathers of MK. Hard to see this happening any time soon, though I read somewhere that he and Boon were back on speaking terms.
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Masked-Devil
10/05/2005 06:50 PM (UTC)
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Fanboys can be hillarious. How can you wish failure and whatnot on someone you don't know and claim to liked his previous games. Seriously. MK: Special Forces would have sucked just as hard had Tobias stayed in the game. Look at MK:Mythologies. Sorry, that game blew, and Tobias was involved in it.

I don't wish Tobias any ill will or anything, but frankly the MK series has only gotten better in the past few years with him gone.
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Blade4693
08/18/2015 10:35 PM (UTC)
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I know I shouldn't bump this old thread but w.e lol I want Tobias back and hope he one day will (I know its not likely) but damn, it still bums me out that he bailed.
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MindStrikes
05/15/2016 04:41 PM (UTC)
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Masked-Devil Wrote:
Fanboys can be hillarious. How can you wish failure and whatnot on someone you don't know and claim to liked his previous games. Seriously. MK: Special Forces would have sucked just as hard had Tobias stayed in the game. Look at MK:Mythologies. Sorry, that game blew, and Tobias was involved in it.

I don't wish Tobias any ill will or anything, but frankly the MK series has only gotten better in the past few years with him gone.


I guess you dont play MK anymore lol. It kinda went backwards. Especially in the story department. And character wise i think we can all agree that the best characters are not from the 3D era.

MK sub zero was a great game, just a bit hard. And MK SF would be a better game if it turned out how JT had it in mind. Recently some footage has been released by insert coins. It looked really promissing.

Blade4693 Wrote:
I know I shouldn't bump this old thread but w.e lol I want Tobias back and hope he one day will (I know its not likely) but damn, it still bums me out that he bailed.


youre not alone mate. I still wish he will take part to MK one day again.
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OrangatangKang
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WATAHHHHHHHHH!!!

05/16/2016 11:11 PM (UTC)
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WHY'D YA HAVE TO GO....bias?!?!?!
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Raidenwins
07/28/2017 07:51 PM (UTC)
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MindStrikes Wrote:
Masked-Devil Wrote:
Fanboys can be hillarious. How can you wish failure and whatnot on someone you don't know and claim to liked his previous games. Seriously. MK: Special Forces would have sucked just as hard had Tobias stayed in the game. Look at MK:Mythologies. Sorry, that game blew, and Tobias was involved in it.

I don't wish Tobias any ill will or anything, but frankly the MK series has only gotten better in the past few years with him gone.


I guess you dont play MK anymore lol. It kinda went backwards. Especially in the story department. And character wise i think we can all agree that the best characters are not from the 3D era.

MK sub zero was a great game, just a bit hard. And MK SF would be a better game if it turned out how JT had it in mind. Recently some footage has been released by insert coins. It looked really promissing.

Blade4693 Wrote:
I know I shouldn't bump this old thread but w.e lol I want Tobias back and hope he one day will (I know its not likely) but damn, it still bums me out that he bailed.


youre not alone mate. I still wish he will take part to MK one day again.


Not to revive an old thread or anything, but I too thought MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero was a great game. And I would also love it if John Tobias would come back and make another MK game with Ed Boon and the rest of the team. From reading an interview with him just now, he originally came up with the MK feel, i.e. the storyline, the characters, the feel of the game, i.e. that very unique mash-up of Eastern and Western themes that has worked so well.
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