Dean Hall plans to step down as lead designer of DayZ

DayZ creator Dean "Rocket" Hall plans to step down as lead designer of the massively popular multiplayer survival game. Talking to Eurogamer, Hall explained his desire to leave Bohemia Interactive by the end of the year, to set up a new studio in New Zealand.



"I have a specific use, Hall said. "I'm really good at risk-taking and making other people take risks, I've always been good at that in my life. Like you say, maybe I've got the gift of the gab, so I can talk, I can explain something, I can talk people up to the ledge and get them to jump off it.



"Eventually, that's the bad person to have. Eventually, you don't want the guy telling you to go over the top and get through. So at some point I'll be a disaster for the project, at least in a leadership role."



Hall explained that he wasn't originally intending to be around for 2014, but claimed "it would be stupid not to, and it would be unfair to the community." On that note, he said that he would remain with the project as long as he was needed, either as leader or in a more creative role. "I'll always be involved," he stated.



Later in the interview, Hall reveals that he has a number of other multiplayer games he'd like to work on, saying that sees DayZ as a "fundamentally flawed" concept. "It's not the perfect game," he said, "it's not the multiplayer experience, and it never can be, the absolute spark that I want in it."



Of course, DayZ itself will continue to be developed, and, for all his recognition of its faults, it sounds like Hall is committed to leaving the project in good hands. This isn't an out of the blue decision. Last month, Hall told Edge that, "for me there ll be a time when my full-on involvement is finished, and I think a lot of the fans will agree with that.



"It s dangerous, because I like to push for a lot of things that could become bad for the project. Development will need to transition through to someone who can maintain that, and can open it up to the community."



It seems that stepping back from the frontline of DayZ is something that Hall's been contemplating for a while, and sounds like he sees the eventual move as a decision that's not just beneficial to himself, but also to DayZ.