Ryan Payton Forms New Studio: Camouflaj

You could say that Ryan Payton is one of America's greatest game designers, and you might be right. There is, however, no doubt that he's one of the bravest.

Having learned Japanese by playing Phantom Dust on the original Xbox, Ryan Payton lived in Japan for some time before he got a gig with Konami's Kojima Productions. There, he worked to refine some of the design elements (including the controls) of MGS4, with Western sensibilities in mind. To be frank, he made it his mission to ensure that the archaic, stilted design that was a sort of Japanese tradition was eschewed in the new game. To argue with the gaming geniuses at Kojima Productions about how to design games, as a complete outsider, could not have been an easy task. Like I said: Payton is brave.

Then, he left KojiPro to come back to America. He willingly left a job with one of the most talented developers in the world! Brave! After returning to America, he landed a job at 343 Studios, where Halo 4 was being made. Only yesterday, he announced that he'd be leaving the Halo studio to form his own studio, Camouflaj. Starting a company is probably the epitome of bravery. What made him do it? He simply wasn't happy with the direction that Halo 4 was taking. Rather than rest on his laurels and collect his paycheck, the solution was to leave and pursue his passion; he's the American Keiji Inafune! He cannot be happy unless he is pushing the medium of video games forward.

I, for one, admire Ryan Payton for his bravery and passion for the medium we hold so dear, and I can't wait to get my hands on Camouflaj's games! Good luck, Ryan!