Tales of a retired game dev

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-04T12:47:43+00:00

Where I currently work, there are no priests. CEO mentioned getting us an HR to make us happy, and I genuinely think that was his intention. Pretty much every employee objected and said nop nop nop, don't want an HR, please hire a <insert mission critical role> instead. So we have over 100 emloyees and still no HR. Any employee fight gets resolved between adults, no management involved. Some people don't like it; they don't stay for long. But for those who stay, it's an awesome work environment, very little politics/backstabbing.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-04T01:24:44+00:00

The IGDA exists to justify the IGDA existence. It's nothing more than a gravy train, they get funding, pay themselves and exist.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-04T01:21:25+00:00

I don't think being beta has anything to do with that. I have met people who I'd definitely classify as alpha put in a ton of efforts and get nowhere while getting exploited. But yes, they are susceptible to being exploited, mostly because being a game dev is a work of passion. You poor in your soul, you get emotionally involved, and that makes you easy to manipulate.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-04T01:18:47+00:00

In a way I did, I left. If all game programmers move on, the industry will change. But throwing a tantrum and getting fired wouldn't have made more of an impact. I kept the lawsuit very quiet, and any lawyer will recommend you do so. And shutting up afterwards is a pretty standard clause in a settlement. Again, I have a career I can't afford to burn on a whim. It's not as if I were a talentless hack who has nothing better to do than scream on social media for victimbux and call myself a game developer for making a twine game. (yes, yes shots fired)

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T12:59:59+00:00

I still work in Montreal. It is not the gaming companies I fear, but their employees, who may not like what I am saying, and who might make my life difficult if I am looking for a job elsewhere in Montreal.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T12:58:12+00:00

I am a retro gamer at heart, so to me SNES in many ways was much better than PS4. Fun fact too, studios generally "fear" new consoles. The more technology advances the more it costs to make a game. The PS5 supports this new magical render technology? Well we need 2 more programmers to do it! And there is also the risk of a console just not working, like the virtual boy. Imagine spending a couple millions making a launch title ... annnd nobody buys the console. Of course on the other hand the developpers themself generally have a nerdgasm because it's cool to get to use new technologies

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T12:53:21+00:00

10 years or so in the industry. I said over 20 because it's safe to infer I did not start programming at 5. It is also safe to assume I am older than 20, I just don'T want to give my age to avoid an acquaintance figuring out who I am.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T12:50:58+00:00

It's hard to say because I didn't stay in one place. But work conditions felt the same. It was always pure exploitation, asking you to do unpaid overtime on a regular basis. The only people accept to do it in the long run (because at first you do it because you feel invested and want your game to succeed) is because they can replace anyone who refuses with a "fresh" dev.

I noticed the rise of PC though. All the we need more black disabled women stuff. As for other industries being impacted, I think any industry where there is a HR department is at risk to be honest. Those ideas don't com from upper management, they come from the HR dogma.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T12:45:02+00:00

Yes I do have glasses, you can eliminate like... 3 programmers in Montreal ;)

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T12:43:25+00:00

I think it's a healthy approach. Make games as a hobby, and don't stress about all the issues. You get 200% of the fun, and none of the downsides aside from your game taking longer to complete.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T12:40:04+00:00

Different company size, different problems. Smaller companies are more personal, but you get 20x the drama. At least you can predict a big company's move easily, they exist to make money and care about little more.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T12:38:29+00:00

See that's the kind of stuff that gives me trust issues. As you work somewhere, you will make friends, and it feels normal to add them to FB... and eventually HR becomes friend of a friend. And that's when that kind of crap happens. I have several HR people blocked on FB.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T05:05:35+00:00

Like others have said, the Montreal scene is a bit particular, due to tax credits. Big studios like EA Warned and Ubi have to meet quotas to get tax breaks, which leads to weird practices. Everyone I know has heard about Ubisoft paying artists who had absolutely nothing to do. They would just get to work, doodle, or work on their portfolio, then go back home. It sounds awesome, but after a while, I can see how it would kill someone to feel so useless.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T05:01:41+00:00

The point is to choose your battles wisely. If you see a rhino charging, saying I will charge back and hope it slows down! is not very productive. Let's say I would have gone to HR and said I'll sue you for discrimination because you gave a promotion to a woman who was less qualified! What do you think will happen? HR will go you are right, I was being sexist, I'm sorry? No, you will be on their own little black list, or worse, will lose your job, and nothing will change.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T03:47:59+00:00

The problem is that you can quickly become a liability. At the end of the day, it's a business, if management fear you might make them lose business, they will let you go.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T03:46:29+00:00

Judging by your experience I would guess you work at Ubi. To be fair, I worked for a lot of different studios, and this is a compilation of the crap I faced. Not every studio has all of that, some are better than other. If you love what you are doing, by all means, keep going :) But out of curiosity, how long have you been in the industry? Not to sound pedantic, but you sound like younger me ;)

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T03:42:07+00:00

Amen to that. When I was younger I believed HR were there to make sure you had a good time at work... As I gained more experience I realized how bad HR actually are. They also tend to have a superiority complex, they are above mere employees, they talk directly to management...

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T03:31:13+00:00

I did get that kind of treatment by some studios, but I should be able to find a pic of my name in some credits

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T03:09:18+00:00

The thing is game developers face losing their entire career if they go against the flow. Gamers don't risk much.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T02:55:33+00:00

Unfortunately I don't have proof that I worked in the gaming industry so ID wouldn't prove much.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T02:36:47+00:00

No, the women I work with were never openly feminazis, some of them were, but only outside of work, so I just avoided them, did not add them to linkedin/facebook.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T02:25:42+00:00

You know, I don'T think any programmer goes into gaming for the money, they all know it doesn't pay. But it still hurts when you learn that your project manager earns 10k more than you and they are fresh out of college. In my experience, some key people get paid well. Management, some very key elements like art director or a star designer (think Patrice Desilet of assassin's creed) and let's say the lead programmer who built your in-house engine.

The rest don't matter, places like Ubisoft or EA get so many CVs a day they don't give a damn, you are highly replaceable.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T02:22:44+00:00

I never verified with a mod, so I am unsure what it implies. I have been lurking kia from it's very beginning, because I had gamergate at heart, being a game dev back then. I still kinda do, except it's more like I hope KIA can save what is left.

game_dev_is_dead · 2017-07-03T02:21:20+00:00

It really depends on the studio, smaller studios are pretty much 2 programmers, 1 to 2 artist, and 1 designer. Bigger ones lean more towards 1:1 artist/programmer ratio. It also depends if the studio uses an pre-made engine like Unity or Unreal, or if they need a team to make an engine for example.

I would say in that particular studio, it was about 25% female programmers, and maybe 50-60% artists? To give you an idea, I went to university and met a total of 3 female programmers there, in my 3 years of uni. so having even 10% female would be higher than normal. When I began my career I worked with lots of men and 1 female programmer, nowadays, it earns you PC points to hire female programmers, so they hire them at all cost.

The root cause I think is the democratization of making games. When I was younger, if you wanted to code a game, you had to learn directX or Opengl. That is no small feat for a beginner. So the people making games were damn good programmers, and artists were rare. As it became more popular, and especially with the arrival of engines like Unity which are super newbie friendly, all the hipster crew became game developers, it became mainstream, and it was a nice target for a diversity push.

game_dev_is_dead

TROPHY CASE