The disappointing launch of action game MindsEye may have affected more than just the studio making it—Build a Rocket Boy. In an interview with FRVR, actor Alex Hernandez, who plays the role of MindsEye protagonist Jacob Diaz, has spoken about how it felt to see the general public’s and critics’ reactions to the title, and how it might affect his future work. He described seeing the reception of MindsEye as being “hard” for him.
“I’m not gonna lie about that,” said Hernandez. “It’s a difficult thing to spend two-and-a-half years on a project that you’re really proud of and you’re proud of your contribution to it. And I only had positive experiences working on it. The people I was working with, I was proud for them, of them, I wanted it to be a success for them just as much for myself.”
It is worth noting that MindsEye’s Jacob Diaz isn’t the first time that Hernandez has played the protagonist for a title that saw a middling reception at launch. He has also previously portrayed Mafia 3 protagonist Lincoln Clay. Back when it came out in 2016, Mafia 3 was praised for its writing, dialogue and characters, but criticisms about the title came down to the fact that it had too much open-world padding.
Hernandez spoke about his perception of the gaming audience, noting that attachment to various games tends to be quite strong for their fans. This, paired with the anonymity afforded to users on the Internet, tends to provoke vitriolic reactions from some. As Hernandez noted, some would even say things “they would never share to your face, ever.”
“Gamers are a unique species, and I am one of them, where the attachment to the experience and the product is so strong, the feelings are so strong, and the internet is an anonymous place where people will share things they would never share to your face, ever, even if they actually hated it… they just wouldn’t look you in the face and say, ‘everyone who worked on this game deserved to die. This is f***ing awful, these guys are idiots.’ No one would ever say that to your face. And, I think, at the same time, you’re entitled to that.”
Ultimately, however, the launch of MindsEye made Hernandez question if he would find work in the gaming industry again, since some players might end up associating him being on the title’s cover as him being personally responsible for its many faults.
“Just the response… I was like, ‘I might never work in a game again,’” said Hernandez. “Because one of the caveats of being the face on the box is that people, rightly or wrongly, will associate all of their opinions and, more importantly their emotions, about this game with my face,” he said. “After about two days of allowing myself to wallow, and my wife being very supportive… you move on. Because for me to sit in that wallowing, it doesn’t allow me to learn.”
Not all is lost for him, however, since he is quite happy to see his face on the cover of a major video game launch. Noting it as being something of a childhood fantasy for him, Hernandez spoke about still being happy with the work he did, while also noting that he still loves working in the industry.
“It’s the flip side of the blessing that it is to be the guy on the box, and I say this with no ego attached, I have two boxes in my house that have my f***ing face on it,” said Hernandez. “I got to work in video games. I was a 13-year-old kid playing games being like ‘I wanna do that one day’, and then I f***ing did it twice… I am blessed to work in a job that I love with people that are incredibly talented, and even when things go off the rails, there’s some incredible work.”
MindsEye was released earlier this year on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more details, check out our review.
It’s always tough to see a project not meet expectations, especially when so much effort goes into it. It’s interesting to hear the actor’s perspective, and I hope they find new opportunities in the gaming industry moving forward. Here’s to future successes!
Absolutely, it’s disheartening when hard work doesn’t pay off as expected. It’s interesting to consider how the reception of a game can impact not just the developers but also the actors involved, shaping their future opportunities in the industry. Hopefully, they can learn from this experience and come back even stronger!
I completely agree; it’s tough to see hard work go unrecognized. It’s also worth noting that sometimes a difficult launch can lead to valuable lessons for future projects, both for the studio and the actors involved. Hopefully, this experience will inspire growth and improvement in their next endeavors!