HitmanHQ Mailbag by: Tech21 | October 18, 2001 The only question on our minds now was: "Who is Anna Olinsky?" I knew she was inside Remedy. But who was she? An artist? A level designer? A producer? Perhaps the janitor? From the tone an content of the mails, I was able to rule out any high level positions. First of all, the high up guys would never release personal opinions concerning a competing development studio - it's just not good practice. Second, creating scandal in the midst of the high profile retail release of Max Payne would be a major mistake. Anna was obviously someone not concerned with the welfare of her employers or the success of her game. What was her motivation? Who knows. The next e-mail came five days later - the following Wednesday. FROM: Anna Olinsky SUBJECT: Where Did All The Really Good Games Go? coders are just playing with graphix now The simplicity was frightening. Through this deviously suggestive subject/message combination, we finally realized her motivation behind the betrayal of Remedy: Anna hated the current state of the games industry. She obviously believed innovative gameplay was lacking across all players in the industry. Her backhanded comments concerning Hitman were just of front for her true scheme of bringing down Remedy Entertainment and IO Interactive. When the scandal between the two studios hit news sites across the Web, neither would be able to survive the onslaught. Fortunately, the journalistic integrity of the good folks at Gamespot.com allowed them to see the distant implications of releasing a story like this, and nothing amounted. All was quiet for several weeks, as I myself debated on whether to publish the e-mails. Was the downfall of two of the most talented development teams in the world worth a few extra hits on HitmanHQ? I decided it wasn't. Then, on September 20, another e-mail arrived. FROM: Anna Olinsky SUBJECT: no multiplayer is pathetic /// new graphics and a few fixes are not a new game Anna, I also did not liked it, as did the other reviewer who took a crack at it. It's no Max Payne, but Hitman came out 18 months ago - you have to account for aging. Rorschach It was a forward. Anna wasn't working alone. Why she would want to disclose her confidant to me was a mystery - and it was unsettling. Was this her way of admitting failure? Was she dumping her plan? Who the heck was Rorschach? None of these questions would ever be answered. Unfortunately I haven't heard from Anna for a month now, and only now have I found it safe to finally publish her story. Through a complex profiling system, we were able to produce a composite sketch of Anna and Rorschach. We remind you that these are only a concept artist's rendition. Anna Olinsky Rorschach Whether the gaming world will hear from Ms. Olinsky again is anyone's guess. No matter, Max Payne was enourmously successful, Hitman 2 is anxiously awaited, and IO Interactive and Remedy Entertainment are still going strong. It is my deepest hope that nothing published here will change any of that. Next: Meanwhile...

-Return to HitmanHQ-