Yesterday, ArenaNet’s Mike O’Brien announced to forumgoers that longtime studio Art Director Daniel Dociu “will be leaving ArenaNet” and Guild Wars 2.
“Daniel Dociu will be leaving ArenaNet,” O’Brien writes. “Daniel has been defining the art direction for ArenaNet since 2003, before the launch of Guild Wars, and the impact he’s made on the studio and industry will be seen for years to come. It’s been a pleasure to work with him. Daniel, thank you for thirteen wonderful years creating worlds together. We’ll miss you. We look forward to your continued success.”
Taking over for Dociu is his son, Horia Dociu, who has worked on the Guild Wars franchise art team since 2003 himself.
Imagining the Guild Wars franchise without the elder Dociu is impossible to me right now; he has remained my favorite gaming artist for many years. I very much hope we see him pop back up at another MMORPG studio in the future. How about Amazon?
Source: Official forums. Thanks, Tibi and Jesse.