A Fun Essay By The Spouse Of An Ea Employee
KungFuSquirrel
Basher of Muttons Join Date: 2002-01-26 Member: 103Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Basher of Muttons Join Date: 2002-01-26 Member: 103Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Anonymous statement on crunch mode</div> <a href='http://www.igda.org/Forums/showthread.php?threadid=13068' target='_blank'>http://www.igda.org/Forums/showthread.php?threadid=13068</a>
Fortunately I'd already landed this job when one of their designers called me about various open design positions they had. Eep.
Fortunately I'd already landed this job when one of their designers called me about various open design positions they had. Eep.
Comments
Ever since EA went full-on publishing they've been bad for the games industry as far as I'm concerned. It's scary to think they actually made good games themselves back when the industry was young and full of hopeful sparkle instead of the corporate cash machine grinding along with greedy idiot business men at the wheel and a few scattered people who still care and manage to produce the goods from time to time =3
there are these crazy things called labor laws in the US. you can't be worked that many hours, and especially can't not be paid for them...
As I said elsewhere, all you have to do is wait. Industries are self-correcting. The people who are wronged will eventually fight back. There's no need for extra legislation, 'movements', or media explosions - just the hundreds of angry workers having tens of thousands of dollars stolen from each of them.
-Craig<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well, I'll graduate in four to seven years, depending on how much more school I decide to take and how much I suck at it ( <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> ). I can only pray that the industry will be better by then.
Thing about that, too, is that it's basically mandatory. It's one thing for someone to have some spare time in the evening or on a weekend to come in and work an extra few hours, doing so on their own accord to make sure everything gets done in time. I do that all the time on weekends when my wife works and I get bored at home - I might as well put my time to good use somewhere, right? But it's another entirely to force it upon people day after day after day.
Crunch happens everywhere. But it doesn't have to be a painful life-sucking experience.
Thing about that, too, is that it's basically mandatory. It's one thing for someone to have some spare time in the evening or on a weekend to come in and work an extra few hours, doing so on their own accord to make sure everything gets done in time. I do that all the time on weekends when my wife works and I get bored at home - I might as well put my time to good use somewhere, right? But it's another entirely to force it upon people day after day after day.
Crunch happens everywhere. But it doesn't have to be a painful life-sucking experience. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Crunch for Duke Nukem no longer exists.
They say a lot of the big corporations are soulless money hungry organisations. I had hoped this was not true ._.
Small businesses are more lax on their policy concerning human resources, but there's still the word "business" in it.
Edit:
Hopefully XP-Cagey isn't putting up with this abuse.
They say a lot of the big corporations are soulless money hungry organisations. I had hoped this was not true ._. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
/me gives huggles and love to Activision.
And not just because they pay my bills. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> There is no other major publisher in this industry I would ever want to work for in first-party development. Nobody's perfect, but to anyone looking for a job, I highly recommend any of the Activision studios - Raven, Infinity Ward, Gray Matter, Treyarch, etc.
A) it may have been an isolated thing
B) it's illegal, so smart employees would have sued
C) a good job is hard to find, take what you can get and if it's terrible, quit
teh end.
They say a lot of the big corporations are soulless money hungry organisations. I had hoped this was not true ._. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
/me gives huggles and love to Activision.
And not just because they pay my bills. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> There is no other major publisher in this industry I would ever want to work for in first-party development. Nobody's perfect, but to anyone looking for a job, I highly recommend any of the Activision studios - Raven, Infinity Ward, Gray Matter, Treyarch, etc. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Troika and Valve too, I believe. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
You should go talk to them and ask them about this.
A) it may have been an isolated thing
B) it's illegal, so smart employees would have sued
C) a good job is hard to find, take what you can get and if it's terrible, quit
teh end. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I know someone who used to work there who read this statement and confirmed every part of it and then some. And gave some harrowing numbers on crunch time hours and duration on another project there. It's not isolated.
Technically, it's not illegal, because software developers are not included in provisions for better treatment (for who knows what reasons), as stated in the article (but other areas of the entertainment industry aren't included, oddly enough). It's a weird setup, but no single person (and very few groups of people, particularly game developers) have the resources to bring any claims to a lawsuit even if they could muster up the legal grounds to do so. Sucks.
A good job <i>is</i> hard to find, especially in an industry where smaller studios tend to crumble, which is why people flock to the big studios, because they're supposed to be secure jobs. And, in many cases, they're not. And if you're on your first project (and EA is scrounging up a lot of new talent to replace the throngs of experienced vets who have gone on to greener pastures), if you leave before it's done you will <i>not</i> be able to easily find another job.
On that note though I would love to go and work for Valve.
Only problem is, I live in the UK. So even if I got a Green Card and managed to get in I'd probably start missing the BBC or something.
I'm sure Activision has a branch or three somewhere down in england... heck knows where though =o
EA has relasaed a lot of crappy games, but there are some good ones.. NFSU is a good one I think
Can anyone elaborate on the kind of thing that happens to a small game company when it starts up, etc, and leads to it being forced out of business?
I'm never, EVER going to buy a EA game again. Or rent. Screw supporting their ****.
Also, KFS or anyone in the know, know if Ubisoft is a good one to work under?
Also, KFS or anyone in the know, know if Ubisoft is a good one to work under? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well, as much as I hate EA's existance, I still might rent the new Goldeneye game that's coming out. So far though, it seems to be a complete failure, as you play as the "rogue agent" that mysteriously lost an eye and now has a "goldeneye". That has got to be the lamest effort I've ever seen at making a 007 game, and as each one is released, they just get worse and worse.
Goldeneye 007 HL2 mod anyone?
get me a job KFS!!
PM me with your info and stuff and I'll see if I know of any places or people I can refer you to.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Also, KFS or anyone in the know, know if Ubisoft is a good one to work under?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I don't know for sure, but I do like Ubi. Though their studios are huge - beyond the point where I'd feel comfortable working. Too impersonal between people. I have a hard enough time keeping everyone at Raven (on the other projects at least) in memory, even with making a conscious effort to know who everyone is.
90 hour weeks? Way to suck the life out of the people who make fun games. I've always enjoyed EA's corporate bulls*** as well.
What with games like CnC Generals without blood, albeit not an important feature, but I do recall an article stating they didn't want to offend anyone...
Then you have stuff like Need for Speed Underground for PC with no LAN options....
Yeah well played.
Pushing the designers to the limit I can easily see now why all of EA's products end up like this =/
EDIT: I'd love to see all of EA's game devs do a strike, though I'm sure the outcome would be an inevitable lawsuit to get them back to work...
Developers really need collective bargaining. This kind of crap is what unions were born out of in the first place.
I'm sure there'd be some wonderful anti-trust angle the EA lawyers would seek out...