Dean 'Rocket' Hall, the Kiwi game developer behind the zombie survival game DayZ, has criticised New Zealand's internet infrastructure and has moved one project offshore after frustrations it presents.
Tweeting about the Gigatown competition won by Dunedin last year, Hall said that he was struggling to find a CBD location with a fibre connection. He said that Gigatown was a "total joke", that New Zealand's internet was being kept "in [the] dark ages", and that he "got better internet on the plane to Iceland three weeks ago."
Thanks to @ChorusNZ @SnapInternet and @gigatowndunedin for starting the ball rolling with sorting UFB out for Rocketwerkz. #fingerscrossed
— Dean Hall (@rocket2guns) May 19, 2015
@ChorusNZ @DnCityCouncil Scouted a second CBD location today: no fibre. I got better internet on the plane to Iceland three weeks ago.
— Dean Hall (@rocket2guns) May 18, 2015
Hall went on to say that Rocketwerkz, his new Dunedin-based studio, has had "no internet for three months", and that every building he's looked at for setting up the studio has had long delays and high costs for getting fibre broadband installed.
@opetheater @ChorusNZ Yup. No fibre. In fact, no internet for three months. We've been borrowing from ARL. Looked at moving to find fibre
— Dean Hall (@rocket2guns) May 18, 2015
@opetheater @ChorusNZ Have been told will be long delay and high cost with every building we have now viewed
— Dean Hall (@rocket2guns) May 18, 2015
@HaydenMeikleODT Already moved one project to London. That's USD 3 million gone from the NZ/Otago Economy.
— Dean Hall (@rocket2guns) May 18, 2015
@Moderatewinguy @opetheater I feel really bad for NZ streamers. kiwi's such funny people, so hard to stream games in NZ.
— Dean Hall (@rocket2guns) May 18, 2015
John Christie, the director of Enterprise Dunedin, admitted that there had been teething issues with Gigatown Dunedin, but said that it's a priority and that the council is working with providers to improve connectivity in the city.
This morning, Hall said that Chorus and Snap Internet had been in contact with him and are "starting the ball rolling" on a fibre connection for Rocketwerkz.
Hall announced Rocketwerkz in December last year and is continuing to hire staff for the studio. He previously worked with Bohemia Interactive on DayZ, a zombie survival game that began as a mod for Arma II and is now being turned into a fully-fledged game.
NZGamer.com
source: newshub archive
