GTA 6 aside, next year is special, and not just because My Chemical Romance, Metallica, System of a Down and The Cure are all touring around the same time. Bully, Rockstar's most underrated game, turns 20, raising hopes for some form of celebratory re-release.
But while I gear myself up for a potential return to Bullworth Academy, the devs behind the open-world game are revealing another side to the release. According to one developer, the process of shipping Bully was nothing short of exhausting, leading to mixed memories overall.
"The memories of it are love-hate. It was a fun, weird, hellish, chaotic, awesome time," Andrew Wood, Environment Artist on Bully, told Retro Gamer. "I reflect back fondly on the people and the times and the crazy things we did after hours, but then I think about the stress."
When he says stress, he means stress. Long days, working every day of the week trying to get the project over the line and out the door for the October release. People were coming and going due to the sheer pressure and grueling hours. "There were constant internal conflicts due to the stress of always being at work. A couple of people had mental breakdowns. They snapped. It was difficult to work in that kind of environment, but I knew that Bully was going to be worth it in the end, so I stuck it out."
"When we were pushing to release the game, we were revoked our lunch and our dinner breaks. They actually catered food into the office because they didn't want us leaving! It started to feel like a prison for a lot of people."
"It was brutal at times, especially near the end. We were working seven days a week, averaging 18-hour days," Wood explains. "It just burned people out. We had a lot of turnover, but I decided to stay because I just knew the project was going to be something special."
At least he can be safe in the knowledge that what they managed to create was indeed something quite special. Shaping the GTA formula around a boy at a boarding school wanting to cause upheaval in the education system, Bully remains distinctive for its humor and teenage perspective.
Over the years, a legitimate cult following has formed around it, as more people enjoy it as a slightly esoteric spin on Rockstar’s archetypes. Wood’s own recollection hasn’t colored his view of Bully’s legacy.
"I love the game, and I love the fact that almost 20 years later, people are still cherishing it," he finishes. For anyone from Rockstar who might be reading this: people would definitely cherish a 20th anniversary remaster, too.
