I'd like to share some tweets I exchanged with Mitch Dyer, but since I am not sure on the process I will refrain for now unless someone wants to explain the new process to me.
So I guess I'll just share my thoughts on this whole mess.
On IGN's failure
I do not have a problem with most of the report that IGN ran. I am not a journalist and make no claims to anything other than a base understanding of journalistic standards. But from everything I have read the veracity of the IGN report is terrible in terms of the "forced out" angle.
Anonymous sources come forward all the time to share information that we wouldn't get otherwise so if they merely reported that Amy Hennig was fired under unknown or questionable circumstances and that they would follow up for further and concrete details I would have been fine. After all, the dismissal of an individual of Amy's stature is of great public interest.
However, reporting that two very high profile. And by most accounts from people who have worked for them, decent and talented developers forced out a colleague without a shred of evidence or consideration that their reputations could be sullied and they could be labeled as egomaniacs, is deplorable.
Naughty Dog has also been praised as a studio that has little overbearing ego and a place where talent and merit are prized above all else. Something which creates a good working environment. A report that two senior employees bullied out another puts that in jeopardy. One report vs. years of studio culture.
So to move forward with a portion of the report that had not even been verified by other outlets, mind you, or have any report from Sony, ND, Neil, Bruce, or Amy or anyone else who we could verify as actually knowing what happened speaks to a severe lack of professional responsibility.
TL;DR The sad part is that the damage is done no matter how unfounded the report was. People are now speculating and that cloud will now shadow Naughty Dog and Bruce and Neil.
On Amy's firing / quitting
I love Amy. The gaming industry needs many more talented women like her at more developers. But the fact of the matter is high profile creatives are fired or leave projects sometimes. The bigger the name the more interested the public is interested in knowing all the dirty details.
That doesn't mean we are entitled to an explanation for several reasons.
In the case of at will employment people can leave or be fired with or without cause at any time. Contracts are a little messier but I digress.
Amy is entitled to privacy
Naughty Dog, like most companies, probably has NDAs in place and does not discuss internal decisions.
Many have taken that as proof that ND is "spinning" or "has something to hide." We do not know enough to make that determination without knowing the circumstances.
Outside of that ND has the right to hire and fire whomever it choses at any time with no explanation. And people have the freedom to leave.
That's my grasp of the situation.
