A New Destination: How Open Roads Changed Direction And Saved Its Turbulent Road

Introduction

Every road trip has bumps along the way – unexpected potholes, constant traffic, and extra pit stops. There are stretches of nothingness, and your numb mind tries to pass the time until you reach the destination. Sometimes the open road instills a sense of freedom; other times, you feel trapped. However, the memories that help us power through the tedium often stick – singing along to a classic, having a heart-to-heart conversation, or observing a surprising sight.

In creating a game about a road trip, you could say Gone Home developer Fullbright experienced these highs and lows at every turn. Two years ago, the debut trailer for its third game, Open Roads, was met with excitement. And rightfully so, as it centered on a mother and daughter’s journey to discover more behind their family history – a different set of protagonists than we usually see in our video game adventures. The hand-drawn art style popped, but it also turned heads for the top-tier talent cast in the two leading roles: Keri Russell (The Americans, Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker) and Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart, Dopesick).

The reveal got people talking, and a year later, people were talking again – but for more complicated and alarming reasons. Multiple allegations of employee mistreatment surfaced against Fulbright co-founder and Open Roads creative director Steve Gaynor, causing him to step down from the project. Outside of the concern for a healthy working atmosphere and the employees that suffered, many questioned if Open Roads would survive the turmoil and not get lost in the wreckage of Gaynor’s negative actions.

A small team wanted to ensure it didn’t, staying on and finishing the game. However, they knew some big changes needed to be made on the game and how the studio collaborated on projects. They needed to put the studio’s previous, damaging leadership style in the rearview mirror.

This is how they got back on the road and found a new route to their destination.

Changing The Plan

Changing the Plan

Open Roads could not continue development as it was. The studio’s bureaucratic structure was hurting everyone involved, and the best option was to remove Gaynor altogether. That wasn’t the simplest decision as he owns Fullbright. When news of Gaynor’s harmful management hit, the Open Roads team posted a statement on Twitter. It stated Gaynor would step down as creative director and transition to a writer on the project. However, that’s no longer the case.

“When that last information came out, we were still kind of figuring out what role Steve [Gaynor] was going to play in Open Roads as he still is the company’s owner, so it’s kind of an unusual situation,” says art director Noël Clark. “But as of June of 2021, he hasn’t really had any involvement in Open Roads. We’ve taken it and made it our own.”

The next step was deciding which team members wanted to stay at Fullbright. Fifteen employees had already left the project since development started in 2019. So many people came in and out that the developer questioned if there could be a unified vision. The remaining employees started simple, asking who wanted to keep making Open Roads. Then the team had to decide if finishing the game was feasible. Six members thought so. “It felt like there was still something about the game that we found very compelling,” says engineering lead Aaron Freedman.