Bernkastel
Ask me about my fanboy energy!
In an alternate reality Amazon would have never acquired Double Helix and we would have seen Killer Instinct 2 from them.
Can't wait for him to push the need for a union idiocy again.Yet Jason is all "Muh E3".
Can't wait for him to push the need for a union idiocy again.
It sucks that thar people lost their jobs, that's just how things work in software development. If they're good they'll land on their feet just fine
Coming from a country where unions are the norm, I'm curious. Why "union idiocy"?
$100/hr monitoring trucks? Show me where to apply please.Ahh unions, a good way to get paid $100 bucks an hour in Melbourne so 5 of you can monitor a truck going in and out of a driveway or something just as stupid. I'm sure unions have different results in different regions but.
Unions are silly for software development, you're not working in a fucking coal mine. If you're working for a company that doesn't take care of you then you move on, you don't need 400 union reps to suckle on your endless union dues, make games impossible to be financially viable and make getting things done next to impossibleComing from a country where unions are the norm, I'm curious. Why "union idiocy"?
$100/hr monitoring trucks? Show me where to apply please.
But they would have you believe that these game developers work for free and can't get a job elsewhere.Unions are silly for software development, you're not working in a fucking coal mine. If you're working for a company that doesn't take care of you then you move on, you don't need 400 union reps to suckle on your endless union dues, make games impossible to be financially viable and make getting things done next to impossible
Maybe the shitty ones can get into game "journalism", seems like it's pretty easy to get intoBut they would have you believe that these game developers work for free and can't get a job elsewhere.
I find it amazing that so many union leaders and members complain about overpaid execs, yet union leaders make a ton too.Unions are silly for software development, you're not working in a fucking coal mine. If you're working for a company that doesn't take care of you then you move on, you don't need 400 union reps to suckle on your endless union dues, make games impossible to be financially viable and make getting things done next to impossible
The fucking worshipping of these people makes me sick. They hate the publishers and act like the devs are slaves. They are forced to work and get no pay. So you better never critize a game developer. You don't know how much they sacrificed for your entertainment!Maybe the shitty ones can get into game "journalism", seems like it's pretty easy to get into
Enter the Matrix is an action-adventure video game developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Atari, released under the Atari brand name. It was the first game based on The Matrix series of films. Its story is concurrent with that of The Matrix Reloaded, and features over an hour of original footage, directed by The Wachowskis and starring the cast of the film trilogy, produced for the game.[1] It sold one million copies in its first eighteen days of release, 2.5 million over the first six weeks, and ultimately 5 million copies. The success led to the game being re-released for multiple consoles' budget brands, with the PC version getting a DVD-ROM version.[2]Thanks for destroying a terrific studio!
They made three of my favourite games:
Enter the Matrix
Gaming employees have been blessed with the fact it's a job industry that has tons of fan interaction. So you get lots of tweets, forums, and gamer/employee interaction.Based on what I've played, game development does not need to be any more comfortable of a job. These guaranteed safe workers shit out the worst games.
Coming from a country where unions are the norm, I'm curious. Why "union idiocy"?
The image gaming employees want to give is they are slaves working 100 hour weeks and are so tired they sleep at their desk.lol only the NeoGaf community can look at an industry with rife with epic mismanagement, 100 hour workweeks and extremely questionable layoffs [see Activision] and then go "No, its actually the over-entitled employees that are the problem!".
For decades a lot of people in this country [USA] have been under the impression that private sector unions are evil and can't possibly be of any use in an industry where the balance of power is obscenely stilted towards the top.
The image gaming employees want to give is they are slaves working 100 hour weeks and are so tired they sleep at their desk.
Unions were important probably 40 years ago. Not so much anymore.
As a whole, the best paying jobs and career fields aren't even jobs/industries heavy in unions. So it goes to show non-unionized organizations aren't such scrooges where employees are paid minimum wage. If people are valuable, they will get solid wages and perks regardless of whether they are unionized or not.
Unions are made simply to protect ones ass from being canned for someone better. That's why there's so many policies protecting a lousy union person from getting fired for a better replacement like non-union workers getting canned and someone stepping in to fill in.
Unions are silly for software development, you're not working in a fucking coal mine. If you're working for a company that doesn't take care of you then you move on, you don't need 400 union reps to suckle on your endless union dues, make games impossible to be financially viable and make getting things done next to impossible
You don't need unions in modern age.That's a grossly misleading and reductive way to try and summarize what unions are for. Unions are for leveraging power to try and get the employees the best deal that they can. Employment protection can be part of it, maybe it isn't. Usually its things like better pay, benefits, and protections against forced crunch caused by gross mismanagement. None of these are things that game devs have *TOO MUCH OF* right now.
Like, I get why those things might be a problem is the company is also failing anyway, but this country is rife with examples of major companies fucking their employees into the dirt and then the people on the top congratulate themselves with raises and/or golden parachutes that are completely unjustifiable under the "The company can't afford it!" or "Unions are too powerful!" excuses.
The correlation between the loss of power of the American middle class and the decline of private sector unions is pretty much direct. I get that public sector unions can really push it sometimes, but you've got to be insane if you think a game developer union president is going to make anywhere near as much money as Bobby Kotick.
That's too bad.Move on to what though? Epic crunch times and layoffs have been established as industry norms and there aren't many studios that go out of their way to avoid them. Leaving for a non-VGD job won't fix that by itself. The only thing that will really change that is.....
.....drumroll......
a union.
Also if top executive bonuses and middle management bloat don't make games financially unviable, a gaming union sure as shit isn't going to do it either. When Bobby Kotick reports that Activision had its heighest quarterly earnings in the company's history within hours of laying off 8% of the entire company's workforce, the logical conclusion isn't that unions are somehow going to ruin that company.
Do more homeworkEnter the Matrix is an action-adventure video game developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Atari, released under the Atari brand name. It was the first game based on The Matrix series of films. Its story is concurrent with that of The Matrix Reloaded, and features over an hour of original footage, directed by The Wachowskis and starring the cast of the film trilogy, produced for the game.[1] It sold one million copies in its first eighteen days of release, 2.5 million over the first six weeks, and ultimately 5 million copies. The success led to the game being re-released for multiple consoles' budget brands, with the PC version getting a DVD-ROM version.[2]
That's too bad.
Gaming seems to be a cyclical industry where companies are fully staffed during development and can have crunch times. But once the game releases, companies get rid of non-essential staff and crunch time is over. Then when the game is in full dev, they'll rehire people later.
No different than other industries.
Retailers hire probably double the store staff in Q4 to help out with the holiday season, and then they can them in January. And any manufacturer that is seasonal (Christmas rush time) does the same. Our warehouse staff probably doubles too as we make and ship those holiday products in heavy quantities a bit earlier. While stores set up shelves in Q4, manufacturers start making the product in the summer and unload it in September or so. We start cutting the temp hires in December because we've already shipped out all the Christmas stock.
For vacation spots, pretty sure they are more fully staffed in summer weather instead of being overstaffed when it's snowing.
You get the idea.
As I said before, if people are getting canned despite companies being profitable (as you mentioned Activision), it shows those staff add no value at that time. If that is the case, it is on the employee to prove they can be hired full time all year round to keep a job.
And if they are getting canned while still getting severance pay, it shows their existing value is even lower. It's a pain to go through layoffs and severance package (which can lead to legal battles). So if a company would rather pay you off to get rid of you instead of keep you areound on the payroll for months waiting for full development to begin again, it actually shows how little value some employees are during the quiet periods.
You are as good, and paid according to what you negotiate and how good you are.
Can't wait for him to push the need for a union idiocy again.
It sucks that thar people lost their jobs, that's just how things work in software development. If they're good they'll land on their feet just fine
Based on what I've played, game development does not need to be any more comfortable of a job. These guaranteed safe workers shit out the worst games.
Who's bitter? I make good money, have a 9-5 job and a good job. What's so hard?Shitty stuff, but hey...it's Amazon.
I'm super curious as to what happened to pr0cs and StreetsofBeige to turn them into bitter old fucks though. Bet you neither work in software development.
For sure companies have no problem paying. It all comes down to the job and how much you request and how good you are.I laughed so hard at this. And companies have no problem paying if the person is worth having? Are you for real? Does Disney music play every time you think about this imaginary industry? Please, you gotta share what country your from. People everywhere need to know about this magical Utopia where everything is great and developers don't need any kind of protection. You have this crazy vision of software development companies that seem to originate from Google recruitment videos or recruitment agency brochures.
I swear to God, warehouse guy, when you sit down at the keyboard and decide to share the next volume of tales from your ass it better have some Elves and a magic ring.
Mass restructuring/layoffs is 'always' a matter of costs. Even in companies that pay slave wages.Maybe it's a matter of costs.
Why would he? He never worked for Amazon.Please tell me Leslie Benzies wasn't affected by this
Bullshit from Jason emphasizing "during E3".
Amazon has been a non-player. I would not be shocked if they continue reassignment their gaming portfolio of assets.
And it makes sense to do it now, during June, before the quarter is over so that they can include explanations in their quarterly financial reporting.
Yet Jason is all "Muh E3".
I work in software development, and I can tell you you don't need a union. If you don't like a job, quit and work elsewhere.Shitty stuff, but hey...it's Amazon.
I'm super curious as to what happened to pr0cs and StreetsofBeige to turn them into bitter old fucks though. Bet you neither work in software development.
I laughed so hard at this. And companies have no problem paying if the person is worth having? Are you for real? Does Disney music play every time you think about this imaginary industry? Please, you gotta share what country your from. People everywhere need to know about this magical Utopia where everything is great and developers don't need any kind of protection. You have this crazy vision of software development companies that seem to originate from Google recruitment videos or recruitment agency brochures.
I swear to God, warehouse guy, when you sit down at the keyboard and decide to share the next volume of tales from your ass it better have some Elves and a magic ring.
Serious question, have you ever held a job or negotiated a pay raise? Especially if it's the software field. That happens all the timeI laughed so hard at this. And companies have no problem paying if the person is worth having? Are you for real? Does Disney music play every time you think about this imaginary industry? Please, you gotta share what country your from. People everywhere need to know about this magical Utopia where everything is great and developers don't need any kind of protection. You have this crazy vision of software development companies that seem to originate from Google recruitment videos or recruitment agency brochures.
I swear to God, warehouse guy, when you sit down at the keyboard and decide to share the next volume of tales from your ass it better have some Elves and a magic ring.
Funny you mention it, just had my 25th anniversary at work this year in software development. Guilty as charged about the old part at least.what happened to @pr0cs and @StreetsofBeige to turn them into bitter old fucks though. Bet you neither work in software development.
Serious question, have you ever held a job or negotiated a pay raise? Especially if it's the software field. That happens all the time