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When did Corrinne Yu leave Naughty Dog? (Now lead dev manager of Amazon's Prime Air)

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R

Rollo Tomasi

Member
Remember, she worked on the UC4 demo that was shown off at PSX last year.

She probably helped get the UC4/Naughty Dog PS4 graphics engine up and running and didn't have much else to do in the later stages of game dev.
 
Caayn

Caayn

Member
Valnen said:
You'd think companies like Sony would open the vaults to keep such employees then, right? So they can continue to have great talent working on their games? Isn't that kind of important?
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In cases like her Sony isn't the only one with a bag of money, other companies are too. In the end it's all about who offers the best complete package (pay, challenge, living with family ,etc).
 
E

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
People change jobs all the time. Why is it particularly important in her case? I am sure that she is a talented developer like every one else working on prominent games, but according to the credits in Halo 4 and TLoU:R she was not in a lead position in either case.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Valnen said:
You'd think companies like Sony would open the vaults to keep such employees then, right? So they can continue to have great talent working on their games? Isn't that kind of important?
Click to expand...
Compared to what Amazon can offer for working on a project that will revolutionize the shipping industry? Yeah, I doubt it.
 
P

prwxv3

Member
Valnen said:
Damn, how come Naughty Dog is having such a hard time keeping it's employees?
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There was a speech that a ND employee gave where they said their retention rate is pretty low.

ElTorro said:
People change jobs all the time. Why is it particularly important in her case? I am sure that she is a talented developer like every one else working on prominent games, but according to the credits in Halo 4 and TLoU:R she was not in a lead position in either case.
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Because of "what is going on at ND"
 
T

Tapejara

Member
I was hoping we'd see how far she could push Naughty Dog's tech/the PS4, though I suppose we'll still see the results of her work in Uncharted 4. Best of luck to her at Amazon.
 
L

LiK

Member
ElTorro said:
People change jobs all the time. Why is it particularly important in her case? I am sure that she is a talented developer like every one else working on prominent games, but according to the credits in Halo 4 and TLoU:R she was not in a lead position in either case.
Click to expand...

She was working hard on UC4 tech. So the fact that she left before the game is out was what surprised us.
 
S

sjay1994

Member
michaelius said:
Where are my Druckmann jokes ?

I'm so dissapointed gaf :D
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giphy.gif
.
 
N

Neverforget

Member
I remember her coming to work with ND... Either time really is moving faster, or she didn't stay long.

I guess she had a better offer with Amazon, can't blame her.
 
G

GifGafIsTheBestGaf

Member
yeah, the other day i was wondering myself op. what happened to her after the demo because she went silent

on another note, she was too good for this industry so i hope what she is doing know is more fulfilling
 
E

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
LiK said:
She was working hard on UC4 tech. So the fact that she left before the game is out was what surprised us.
Click to expand...

As does/did everyone else working in that sub team. I just wonder what distinguishes her from any other member of that team. I couldn't even name one except lead programmer Jason Gregory, and him only because he wrote a book about game engines.

All I'm saying is that this likely not as dramatic as it sounds. People leave and join teams all the time.
 
N

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
The Rain King said:
TLoU PS4 and done?

Seriously though, what is going on at Naughty Dog?!
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While I think people usually understate staffing changes at Sony (by claiming all their layoffs are expected when they're clearly not), this type of thing isn't too unusual.

A lot of major development studios have lost senior staff this generation as the breadth of games that can be made in the AAA space and the promises of "we'll work less hours" continue to fall through.

We're at the point where many notable developers have either worked on the same franchise for 7-10+ years with no end in sight or they're having children who are becoming 6-8 years old and will start remembering all their interactions with their parents (or if they're working too much, the fact that they're never there).

Given the plethora of opportunities outside AAA game development these days, many are taking the option to either go work on smaller projects, work in game related academia, work at service providers (consulting services, engine companies), or simply leave the industry.

While on occasion you see a situation like Amy Hennig joining Visceral, if you look back at all the major developer departures over the past five years, you'll notice almost none of them went back into AAA.

Most studios don't have the same level of magnifying glass on them as a studio like Naughty Dog though. Many people have noticed departures at similar status studios like Epic, Valve, or Bungie, but many people don't even note the senior staff leaving Gearbox, much less studios of a lower prominence. This is part of why Naughty Dog seems extra unusual even if it's not overly so.
 
F

Fezan

Member
There was a gaffer who predicted this. that she will be quietly retired from get job. Mod were in that thread and ge want banned
 
Karak

Karak

Member
Due to her past I am very interested in seeing what she can work with tech that might not be all that powerful. She has serious chops.
 
B

barit

Member
This explains why ND jumped from 60fps back to 30fps for UC4 /s

On serious note: sad to see her leaving ND just after over a year. She is very talented what I've read. Good luck with the new job tho <insert game of drones joke here>
 
R

Rodney McKay

Member
Quotient said:
Salaries and hours are significantly better outside the game industry. So it is no surprise she left.
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I'm sure the salary is much better at Amazon (they pay quite well), but everyone I've known who has worked at Amazon (from engineers to senior managers) has said that the hours are pretty shitty there.
 
S

slavesnyder

Member
ElTorro said:
As does/did everyone else working in that sub team. I just wonder what distinguishes her from any other member of that team. I couldn't even name one except lead programmer Jason Gregory, and him only because he wrote a book about game engines.

All I'm saying is that this likely not as dramatic as it sounds. People leave and join teams all the time.
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Tststs, you naughty dog.
Of course you know.
 
D

Detective

Member
Probably seeking Something else.
Remember when she left 343 to ND. Man that thread was big and full of praises and what not.
 
R

Ricky_R

Member
Fezan said:
There was a gaffer who predicted this. that she will be quietly retired from get job. Mod were in that thread and ge want banned
Click to expand...

I remember that, but he was saying a lot more than that. Also, there's no indication here that she was "retired" from her job.
 
P

Pooya

Member
She probably got a better offer, I bet Amazon pays a lot better than Sony. When you reach a certain level of experience, it's easy to change jobs quickly, people do it all the time in my field, there is hardly any attachment.
 
W

wrowa

Member
Let's be honest, Amazon Prime Air is a really fascinating topic and Amazon is likely paying better than any company in the game's industry too.
 
V

vcc

Member
Valnen said:
You'd think companies like Sony would open the vaults to keep such employees then, right? So they can continue to have great talent working on their games? Isn't that kind of important?
Click to expand...

Sony's vaults are pretty meager even with the PS4's success. Her contribution to the ND project may also have come to an end or Amazon was willing to spend that much more.

ND is a game studio, paying gaming money. Amazon is a tech giant paying tech money. Despite the overlap gaming money is much less than tech money. People in gaming will work for less to work in gaming.
 
D

DangerMouse

Member
Damn, that was fast I had no idea either, obviously there's nothing to worry about since they were great with the Ice Team even before they added her to the team but still seems like a sadly big loss after such a big addition to the team.

Good luck to her in the new job.

META said:
Isn't she considered a programming maestro? I knew she did some amazing tech work for Halo 4.
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Yeah. I read the same, insanely talented, when everyone was talking about her contributions to Halo 4 and her move to ND.
 
C

crooked spin

Member
People in tech and media industries bounce from job to job, really nothing more to the story I'm sure (aside from better pay & work/life balance that has already been mentioned).
 
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