Boycotts of Arizona in reaction to the state’s controversial immigration law SB-1070 are having a trickle-down effect on a lot of businesses, including a local indie videogame developer.
Mojo-Bone Software Studios is on the cusp of producing its biggest title to-date, but the company is now having trouble luring the 30 cast members needed for the production to Arizona, according to AZ Family.com.
As Mojo-Bone’s Adam Goldman explained, “They don't want to come to be harassed and they don't want to be associated with anything in Phoenix right now.”
Saying that he has to do what’s best for his family and staff, Goldman is moving production of Project Blue Ghost to Los Angeles, and taking the game’s $2.0 million dollar budget with him.
The game developer hopes the controversy will pass and wishes to remind people that, “The citizens of Arizona didn't do anything wrong, the hard-working men and women of Arizona aren't to blame for this.”
|Via G4|



Comments
Re: Arizona Boycott Prompts Move to LA for One Game Dev
How od Native Americans, who are not nor ever were immigrants, factor into this?
Re: Arizona Boycott Prompts Move to LA for One Game Dev
I am simply saying at a distance it is fairly (not extremely for some) easy to tell the difference between the people our "fine" officers assume to be illegals and everyone else. Friends and I are considering wearing shirts that say "I'm an illegal immigrant from Canada" just to see what happens.
Re: Arizona Boycott Prompts Move to LA for One Game Dev
"This reporter once saw a man on the floor near his car, in handcuffs being detained; the offense according to a deputy, the man honked his horn in a non-emergency situation which is a violation. The man had been driving by a group of Sheriff Arpaio opponents and honked his horn in support of the protestors."
Before you spout your mouth off like an ass learn what the hell "lawful contact" allows for.
I live in AZ, as far as I'm concerned everyone who does deserves to suffer for this law because we're allowing it to happen. If the entire state had been up in arms about it at the start and not just teh people who look like mexicans we wouldn't have the rest of the country boycotting us and no one wanting to move here.
We deserve what we're getting and when the law gets repealed and we're branded as racist idiots for the next decade we'll deserve that too.
Re: Arizona Boycott Prompts Move to LA for One Game Dev
While I agree that boycotts are the most likely way of getting this overturned, you're painting with far too broad a brush. A lot of people who had nothing to do with 1070 are going to be hurt by boycotts.
I'm an Arizona native and I'm absolutely mortified by 1070, and there are plenty of local business owners and employees who feel exactly the same.
And when you say we didn't do anything to stop this, that's an oversimplification too. We elected a governor who we had faith in to veto overreaching legislation like this -- we didn't know she was going to get a better job offer and abandon us to someone who wouldn't.
Re: Arizona Boycott Prompts Move to LA for One Game Dev
The fact remains that not enough businesses are standing up to denounce the law. Like I said, if the uproar being felt from the hispanic community had been felt from the community as a whole there might be more positive action from the legislators which might protect us more from a national backlash. There wasn't, so there isn't.
Re: Arizona Boycott Prompts Move to LA for One Game Dev
According to their facebook page, they have released a game called Gadgetz/Tilez on some site in france and germany. It also mentioned work on a game called Stonez and Brixter. There might be more but I didn't care to look any further.
As an aside, I really wish they would put this on their site, because digging through their facebook looking for their releases is not the most fun that I have had.