8 Game Designers Who Hated Their Own Creations

Sometimes, you love something so much you begin to hate it. Such was the unfortunate case of Fez creator Phil Poisson - known professionally by the tongue-in-cheek translation Phil Fish - who gradually saw his passion for the industry erode into nothingness.

In 2013, the solo developer spectacularly flounced from games development, announcing that "this is as much as I can stomach." Work on Fez II was suspended indefinitely.

Fish's exit was inevitable. The Polytron man earned infamy for his portrayal in the excellent Indie Game: The Movie, where he cut a mercurial figure straining under the seemingly interminable development of personal passion project Fez. His wit met its end as the game repeatedly failed to make shelves, all whilst he was embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with his former business partner.

When Fez finally, almost incredulously, landed, it received widespread plaudits - but was riddled with bugs. Attempting to fix the issues, Fish found himself in another bitter fight, this time with Microsoft - who he claimed charged unreasonable fees for studios to update products.

Fish's wick finally burned to the stub when GameTrailer's Marcus Beer dismissed him as a "hipster a**hole" and a "tosspot". The Canadian had refused to talk when Microsoft dismissed his derogatory claims over self-publishing on Xbox One; Fish subsequently described Beer as "an inconsequential limey f*ck" who "sits in judgement, masturbating."

It was shortly after this outburst that Fish suspended work on Fez II, describing his decision as "the end of a long, bloody campaign." He has not been seen in the industry since.