I feel like having ND on your resume should take you places, but I suspect from his tweets he may not be interviewing well (is it really a smart thing to say you got burnt out by crunch to a potential game dev employer?) and maybe due to the events outlined by Jason he's burnt bridges with colleagues for good referees.
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Kotaku: Former and current ND employees about the allegations
- Thread starter Kenzodielocke
- Start date
I feel like having ND on your resume should take you places, but I suspect from his tweets he may not be interviewing well (is it really a smart thing to say you got burnt out by crunch to a potential game dev employer?) and maybe due to the events outlined by Jason he's burnt bridges with colleagues for good referees.
Blackleg-sanji1
Banned
So do we at least take a step back and drop our pitchforks and wait for more info or are ppl from both sides gonna double down on their stance just because
Random Human
They were trying to grab your prize. They work for the mercenary. The masked man.
.
The point of including that line was the sentences before and after it. The line is there to explain why the employees knew about all these problems. I don't understand how that makes this a hit-piece.
Gray Matter
Member
Oh boy, kotaku bringing more clarity to this mess than either party.
I don't get how this "doesn't look good for Ballard" or how this harms his credibility. He said the sexual harassment occurred in late 2015, the mental breakdown in February 2016. It's entirely possible that the former led to latter. Imagine going to work every day, for long hours, and having to face the person who sexually harassed you.
All Kotaku's reporting says is that, yes, he had a mental breakdown in February 2016 but the Naughty Dog employees they've spoken to weren't aware of any sexual harassment.
All Kotaku's reporting says is that, yes, he had a mental breakdown in February 2016 but the Naughty Dog employees they've spoken to weren't aware of any sexual harassment.
Carbon Copy. it means e-mailing it to other people besides the person it's being sent to primarily.
ie you're sending your boss an e-mail and want to CC it to another department for some reason. (there is also BCC for Blind Carbon Copy where people other than you won't know who else received the e-mail)
Fair point, but it's important for the "could be" to not functionally mean "is." Otherwise, it leans too much into misguided stigmatization surrounding mental health issues, reinforces a false narrative where someone damaged by abuse/exploitation/whatever else is inherently less trustworthy for the symptoms of damage they showcase, and other things along those lines.
It's possible Ballard's allegations reflect some sort of error borne of distress. The existence of that distress, however, does not by itself indicate that his version of events is incorrect in any way, shape, or form.
Jonneh3003
Banned
Right...I don't quite understand most of the first page. This article doesn't disprove anything.
Been waiting for something from Jason. Seriously good work collecting as much information as possible. Hes the best in the business.
From what we know, its only at that point that he brings up the sexual harassment allegations. Thats a difficult spot for a company and they likely had no choice but to fire him. It also sucks for Ballard if the sexual harassment did occur, led to his mental breakdown, and he just never felt comfortable coming forward until he the end.
Yep. Unfortunately with him never filing reports specifically for sexual harassment, it makes the whole situation even more difficult. He has this breakdown, which results in him calling out an employee to the entire company over email. Then its escalated to Sony HR and by that point, he probably knows its highly likely hes being fired.
From what we know, its only at that point that he brings up the sexual harassment allegations. Thats a difficult spot for a company and they likely had no choice but to fire him. It also sucks for Ballard if the sexual harassment did occur, led to his mental breakdown, and he just never felt comfortable coming forward until he the end.
DangerMouse
Member
Yup, both could be the case, they aren't mutually exclusive. And we're on the outside with little information until reporting like this.
This.
ScientificPizza
Banned
so its either sexual abuse, the result of exploitative and demanding working conditions, or both
privitsan02
Member
Carbon copy. When you want to send an email to multiple people, who should be in the loop as an "fyi". Often your direct manager or director during important discussions.
I've seen a few, but they are highly unprofessional. Especially at larger corporations with a reputation to keep. Probably the worst use of CC is when people CC their directors and VPs to get the attention of someone or to throw the hot potato at them and when it's resolved, the CC'd folks magically disappear because they don't "reply all".
It irritates me.
Best wishes.
Nah. Reads to me like he snapped at the tech artist and publicly blasted him over something.
Well the statement given by ND/Sony now makes sense if this is all accurate. As always we should try to keep speculation on these kinds of issues to a minimal as bystanders.
Edit - Beaten
Have you used email before? lol
Edit - Beaten
ClearMetal
Member
I think it's understandable. Coming forward as a victim of sexual harassment is difficult enough as it is and now the spotlight is firmly centered on him. I mean, I doubt Kotaku is the only medium trying to get in contact with him. I would certainly feel intimidated when I'm suddenly expected to make additional details public.
I that light, I think it would've been better if he had brought the full story into the open immediately, on his own terms, preferably with solid evidence backing him up. But that's an easy thing to say with hindsight, of course. I just hope the current situation will not work against him.
2blackcats
Member
Maybe he's spoken to a solicitor and was told not to talk to the press.
Still not enough information available to discuss this properly.
Still not enough information available to discuss this properly.
It proves that naughty dog isn't infested with sexual harassment, and most importantly gives a reason on why Sony fired him. The two things could be linked ofc but he should've disclosed this from the beginning since it's definitely responsible even partly for why HR got involved.
Primethius
Banned
At this point, given the lack of a complete picture, I'm inclined to believe both Ballards story and that Naughty Dog, aside from the lead in question, didn't really do anything wrong here.
Demonstrates erratic behaviour.
This is where I'm at. This doesn't hugely shift anything in either direction, and if Ballard just didn't talk to his coworkers about it than it still seems to line up. The new details, as far as I can tell, are:
- Confirmation that Ballard had a mental breakdown
- Claim that Ballard went to HR about something, although it wasn't clear what, or believed to be about something else
- None of these other people had any knowledge of Ballard being sexually harassed
- Ballard's e-mail incident, which may have been part of the mental breakdown, and got HR involved
Ballard's story isn't really supported much, but it isn't disproven, and we still have another claim that we should keep in mind.
paperspace
Member
⁣
Digital0Reality
Neo Member
Not sure where these "not looking good for Ballard" posts are coming from. It says right in the article that a current employee believes him.
Random Human
They were trying to grab your prize. They work for the mercenary. The masked man.
.
No, it isn't. People's livelihood and those that depend on them are being threatened for no other reason than an accusation. This isn't a game, so what's wrong with waiting for things to be hashed out instead of just declaring somebody is 100% lying or that someone 100% would never tell a lie just because sexual harassment is involved. We have nothing substantial here. The other threads stuffed with full throated declarations were embarrassing.
Sorry, I must have missed this. Could I possibly have a link?
DongBeetle
Banned
Lol so many people are just so ready to let Naughty Dog off the hook
Jonneh3003
Banned
Were you really in favour against David? Eat crow? What on earth. The article doesn't even prove anything.
Yes, clearly these are the only two options and there are absolutely no other ways this could go.
......You're joking right? There is a lot we don't know. It could be made up to try and save his job, or true and unjust. It could also be anything inbetween. The thing is, we don't know.
I'm not sure what you mean. If it was due to sexual harassment, we don't really know. If you mean due to the allegations themselves, Ballard made the allegations well after this breakdown.
Bits N Pieces
Member
formasymphonic
Member
I dont know why people ITT are surprised that he didnt say anything to his colleagues.
Hasnt anyone learnt anything from all the stories people have finally been able to get off their chests in t e last few weeks?
Its hard enough for a lot of victims to be able to speak up about these things in private as it is. Would any of you readily be able to vocalise that you were victimised? On top of that, we all know there are additional stigmas that male sexual abuse victims have to overcome.
I dont think we should be writing off his claims just yet.
Hasnt anyone learnt anything from all the stories people have finally been able to get off their chests in t e last few weeks?
Its hard enough for a lot of victims to be able to speak up about these things in private as it is. Would any of you readily be able to vocalise that you were victimised? On top of that, we all know there are additional stigmas that male sexual abuse victims have to overcome.
I dont think we should be writing off his claims just yet.
See that makes it seem worse to me. They should have been looking after the guy, having him on sick leave or whatever not kicking him to the curb.
Zvonimir Boban
Banned
smh
You should not be surprised by this at all. Even though there is nothing definitive one way or the other in the article video game fanboys just want their pet studio to be off the hook.
Primethius
Banned
I mean, given the details we have, the company shouldn't be on the hook. But rather the specific persons and conditions that allowed this to occur.
Publically blasting a coworker via cc to your entire company is enough to get you fired most places, most HR depts will not be lenient on something like that.
But didnt he leave the company in that time frame and come back to it? Why would he come back to a company where he was harassed? Im just increasingly confused by how this story is developing.
Yeah I also have No idea about this. Does he/she were verified as ND employee?
If the studio was infested you don't think they would notice or heard anything? come on nothing in this story is definite but the only evidence we have right now indicate otherwise. "In February 2016 I had a mental breakdown at work & Sony Playstation HR became involved" that's what he said which made it look like Sony were there to investigate and didn't have a reason to fire him. If he mentioned that it'd have looked like Sony fired him because of that which would explain why they fired him. And as far as I know no one else was verified to have actually worked at ND and said they were harassed unless I missed something?
jellies_two
Member
Maybe I am wrong but I feel this whole thing is getting turbo charged by the incorrect hope/idea that sexual harassment is a "both sides" issue, and therefore not usable in the culture/sex counter-war that seems to be raging under trump.
If a group hates "SJWs" and "political correctness" and "affirmative action" then nothing could be better than a female, or gay, Weinstein right about now. And then of course platform wars play into it as well.
Can't people let this play out to a stop before live blogging early conclusions, and demands?
If a group hates "SJWs" and "political correctness" and "affirmative action" then nothing could be better than a female, or gay, Weinstein right about now. And then of course platform wars play into it as well.
Can't people let this play out to a stop before live blogging early conclusions, and demands?
DUDE, just come out with the info! Its better to let people know about who attacked you and in what manner! Then the situation can be dealt with! Not that it absolves Sony of how shitty they treated you if that happened to you by coming forward or anything
I found that bit interesting as well. Given his pedigree and presumed skillset, you'd think he would be in high demand in the industry. From the article it sounds like there were mental health issues at play.
That would be a good idea,yes.
"Infested"?
No, because the other employees said they had no idea about the allegations.
So if he CCed the whole company they would have seen that
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