UO Without GrimmOmen

Here is a person who not only really cares about his job but also truly loves the game. His devotion over the years to the game has not gone unnoticed. At least not by those of us who play the game and appreciate the amount of work that goes into creating the art.

He listens. He communicates. He is honest. He cannot be replaced.
This is the type of person who made a to-do list on his Stratics blog with " a list of UO issues that our community has requested as 'Needs Some Extra Love'".

The biggest mistake EA games could possibly do right now is to remove this sort of talent under the guise of trying to save a few bucks. I don't understand the thought process that would bring executives to the conclusion that removing real talent is a good move. What is the vision of this company? Is Ultima Online going to continue to be the "training ground" for newer bigger titles? Is our game like the New Player Quest of game developers?

We lost a lot of quality people over the past few years, not the least of which are names like Leurocian, Draconi, and Wilki (among others). People with a proven track record of actually caring about the game. For some reason it continues to amaze me that the powers that be cannot see that they could be running the top running money maker in MMOs if they'd just hang on to quality talent.

Instead they give them notice, ask them to train a replacement, and send them on their way. We as players should be irate. We should be writing letters and signing petitions. We should be protesting.
You simply can't replace the love of the game.