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[silvermember]

Huh, interesting post from her (although very sad). Most people say Sony is great to work with. I wish her the best with her health + it sucks about 2 and 3

Reading number 3 has me really pissed off, actually. Smh.

It could be that Sony relative to other publishers are not bad. However, they are still demanding just like all other publishers.

I don't know enough about her situation to comment, but she does seem more like the idealistic artistic. This would mean that she probably believes an artist should have more free reign than what a publisher is willing to give.

Artist like the freedom, while investors (publishers) hate it because they are the ones whose money is at risk.

 

[StrongBlackVine]

But I heard there is no sexism problem in the games industry.

Sarcasm or living under a rock?

 

[Neuromancer]

Man I wonder what the deal was with Sony. I wish she could say more because it has always been my understanding that they were a good partner for a developer to have.

I am sad she is (sort of leaving) but I'm also happy with the the games and music she brought us. For my money Dear Esther is one of the most haunting and evocative games and soundtracks of all time. Best of luck to her.

 

[Draft]

Typical arrogant Sony.

 

[JasoNsider]

Felt sad reading that. And I can guarantee you most players don't even know half of the story when it comes to publishers. If you've been around on the development side long enough you've seen truly stunning behavior. Most players just see the polished PR side of developing a game through a publisher.

For both #2 and #3, if your first response is saying #NotAllPublishers or #NotAllTechCompanies you are seriously doing stories like these a massive disservice.

 

[Fractal]

Chinese Room is a mediocre at best studio, so I can't say I'm surprised to hear they weren't treated too warmly by publishers (in this case Sony).

 

[silvermember]

Man I wonder what the deal was with Sony. I wish she could say more because it has always been my understanding that they were a good partner for a developer to have.

I am sad she is (sort of leaving) but I'm also happy with the the games and music she brought us. For my money Dear Esther is one of the most haunting and evocative games and soundtracks of all time. Best of luck to her.

Sony could be a good partner. The only other publisher she has worked with is Frictional Games which is relatively smaller than Sony.

This could mean that her experiences with publishers is limited. When a game is headlined by a platform holder the stakes become higher. So her experience is limited, but this is simply speculation.

 

[jackissocool]

Felt sad reading that. And I can guarantee you most players don't even know half of the story when it comes to publishers. If you've been around on the development side long enough you've seen truly stunning behavior. Most players just see the polished PR side of developing a game through a publisher.

For both #2 and #3, if your first response is saying #NotAllPublishers or #NotAllTechCompanies you are seriously doing stories like these a massive disservice.

Yeah publishers really exemplify a lot of the shittier aspects of labor-employer relations. Even a "good" publisher like Sony is still participating in this system, extracting huge profits, and demands total ownership of all IP.

 

[QuantumBro]

Her issue with not getting credit in point three sounds like the problem was more with letting her husband do most of the interviews for the company rather than sexism. Glad to see she's going to be working on her own with making music.

 

[Pound_lb003]

Sony can be as amazing as you all hope, but when anything is funded by a corporation you better believe it's gonna get spent a way they're comfortable with. For better or worse. That's why artists of various mediums are all over Kickstarter. You're barely beholden to anyone, and the democracy you are beholden to can be interpretted in [often] 50,000 different ways.

So it sucks to hear. But it sounds like they need some government or arts funding council for their next project. People who are interested in the cultural importance of it rather than the business aspect.

And as the footnote it doesn't deserve to be: the sexism sounds insane. I really feel for her battling that 'cus I know I don't have to deal with that exactly, but challenging that kind of ignorance is often like banging your head against a brick wall.

 

[Springy]

Her issue with not getting credit in point three sounds like the problem was more with letting her husband do most of the interviews for the company rather than sexism. Glad to see she's going to be working on her own with making music.

Plenty of companies have female PR leads. No-one just assumes they're the creative core of the business because they're the person talking to them.

 

[AgeEighty]

Sarcasm or living under a rock?

I heard there are no people who actually live under rocks, just around them.

 

[AgeEighty]

Chinese Room is a mediocre at best studio, so I can't say I'm surprised to hear they weren't treated too warmly by publishers (in this case Sony).

Is that how that works? If your studio makes games that some people find mediocre, the publisher earns a proportional number of "Asshole Bucks" to spend against you?

 

[mrklaw]

it does seem to me that a publisher as big as Sony would naturally create some tensions for a company as small and independently minded as The Chinese Room. Not unexpected or necessarily a negative portrayal of Sony specifically.

The rest of it is just a damn fucking shame.

 

[Cave Johnson]

Working with a publisher made me extremely unhappy and very ill. In the end I didn’t even recognize myself anymore- I had turned from a joyful, fun-loving, creative, silly, funny person into a short-tempered, paranoid, unhappy, negative heap. So much of the stress that I experienced was caused by what I see as the desperately toxic relationship that I was in. I can’t go into detail here for the reasons above but what I can say is that I look back at the way we were treated and it still makes me shake my head with disbelief. Big business and the creation of art have always been extremely uncomfortable bedfellows and making Rapture proved to be no exception for me. I don’t want to do this anymore- in fact I can’t do it. I want to surround myself with honest, open people whom I can trust. I’ve heard so many people say, “well, this is just the way publishers are” and “this is just what the games industry is like.” What I would say to that is while we all keep accepting this, while we are so afraid to challenge this behaviour then it won’t change and we all deserve nothing but the meager crumbs we are thrown.

Woah. That is extremely explicit in regards to a publisher relationship. Especially one we can conclude that is SONY. The whole piece was heartbreaking but it does put a perspective on the industry at large. One may think that it would be very forthcoming for a publisher to fund, publish and risk niche titles like these and the direct impact sounds as if they were working for an abusive factory manager to say the least.

Dan went to LA and while he was there he told Sony about it. When he returned I said “what did they think of my idea?” He admitted that he’d ascribed the idea to one of our team members, not me. He was genuinely bewildered by my anger and asked “but why does it matter who gets the credit?”

I.... don't know how anyone could put up with that... he says it doesn't matter who gets the credit except for his, you know, WIFE?

 

[Pound_lb003]

Is that how that works? If your studio makes games that some people find mediocre, the publisher earns a proportional number of "Asshole Bucks" to spend against you?

Funny and astute, bravo!

 

[hawk2025]

Ugh, that was a very sad read, and I wish her all the best

 

[QuantumBro]

Plenty of companies have female PR leads. No-one just assumes they're the creative core of the business because they're the person talking to them.

Well given that he's the creative director of the company, it's not too big of a leap for someone to make.

Most entertainment products are usually attributed to the efforts of one or two people no matter how many people work on them, it's not something exclusive to the video game industry unfortunately.

The credits to Rapture are kinda funny after reading her feelings about Sony.

 

[Neuromancer]

Is that how that works? If your studio makes games that some people find mediocre, the publisher earns a proportional number of "Asshole Bucks" to spend against you?

Apparently, haha. What a dumb remark (not yours.)

 

[NahaNago]

I.... don't know how anyone could put up with that... he says it doesn't matter who gets the credit except for his, you know, WIFE?

i'm guessing that he unfortunately felt that they wouldn't take him presenting the idea that his wife gave seriously and used someone else's name for it. and she honestly sounds like a major creative artistic person who doesn't like to be forced into a certain way of doing things.

For the whole not taking her seriously on interviews all that she needed to do was be the only one doing interviews and videos for a game so that they know that she is a big deal instead of just the wife. I honestly think that when you have a husband and wife team like that you have to earnestly work hard to not have the other partner drowned out of the limelight/headfigure of a company.

 

[Dice//]

Wtf is wrong with some people?!

"On a personal level I look back at my huge contribution to the games that we’ve made and I have had to watch Dan get the credit time and time again. I’ve had journalists assuming I’m Dan’s PA, I have been referenced as “Dan Pinchbeck’s wife” in articles, publishers on first meeting have automatically assumed that my producer is my boss just because he’s a man, one magazine would only feature Dan as Studio Head and wouldn’t include me. When Dan has said “Jess is the brains of the operation” people have knowingly chuckled and cooed that it’s nice of a husband to be so kind about his wife"

Fuck.

 

[timetokill]

I don't know why you guys are so surprised about the Sony thing.

Anyway Jessica is awesome and I wish her all the best.

 

[Magicgamer101]

I mean, it sounds like she's an artistic person who's not cut out for the business side of game development. I mean it's to be expected if you sell the IP to a publisher and they're the ones funding the game then obviously they'll place restrictions on what you can do on 'their' game.

 

[Dog Problems]

I mean, it sounds like she's an artistic person who's not cut out for the business side of game development. I mean it's to be expected if you sell the IP to a publisher and they're the ones funding the game then obviously they'll place restrictions on what you can do on 'their' game.

I get the impression that there's a lot more to it than she can talk about beyond an artistic person dealing with the business.

 

[timetokill]

I mean, it sounds like she's an artistic person who's not cut out for the business side of game development.

This is pretty insulting tbh.

 

[Fractal]

Is that how that works? If your studio makes games that some people find mediocre, the publisher earns a proportional number of "Asshole Bucks" to spend against you?

Nah, "Asshole Bucks" as you put it would imply some sort of a personal or emotional grudge. I just think this studio isn't a high-priority type from a business standpoint, so it's obvious they can expect a fair share of restrictions.

I mean, it sounds like she's an artistic person who's not cut out for the business side of game development. I mean it's to be expected if you sell the IP to a publisher and they're the ones funding the game then obviously they'll place restrictions on what you can do on 'their' game.

My thoughts exactly... especially if we're talking about a smaller game from a not so renowned studio.

 

[John Kowalski]

Very depressing letter, but very life affirming too. I hope all the best for her.

I heard there are no people who actually live under rocks, just around them.

No he's asking if you're an aussie.

 

[mejin]

I don't know why you guys are so surprised about the Sony thing.

Anyway Jessica is awesome and I wish her all the best.

Look at the support and all the praises Sony gets from developers than compare it with Microsoft and Nintendo support. Definitely I'd be surprised if Sony mistreated their studio and really disappointed cause wouldn't like arrogant Sony back.

 

[Tinfoilhatsron]

I get the impression that there's a lot more to it than she can talk about beyond an artistic person dealing with the business.

Like what?

This is pretty insulting tbh.

Why?

Yeah the game's industry has a problem with the credit thing too (besides her husband). It's not the mission or level designer who gets the credit, it's Kojima. The industry latches onto people they can hold up.
Edit: Though maybe this was a bad example because he does credit people. My bad.

 

[timetokill]

Look at the support and all the praises Sony gets from developers than compare it with Microsoft and Nintendo support. Definitely I'd be surprised if Sony mistreated their studio and really disappointed cause wouldn't like arrogant Sony back.

I don't think you realize how much of that is PR and hype-building for games.

Why?

I mean, it being GAF I'm not surprised, but it's basically saying "I don't believe what this woman is saying, Good Guy Sony is cool, problem must be with her."

 

[Kama_1082]

Woah. That is extremely explicit in regards to a publisher relationship. Especially one we can conclude that is SONY. The whole piece was heartbreaking but it does put a perspective on the industry at large. One may think that it would be very forthcoming for a publisher to fund, publish and risk niche titles like these and the direct impact sounds as if they were working for an abusive factory manager to say the least.



I.... don't know how anyone could put up with that... he says it doesn't matter who gets the credit except for his, you know, WIFE?

Good guy Sony isn't a good guy after all

 

[Jarod McChicken]

I wonder if Santa Monica Studio (producer of Rapture) will react to this. Probably not, especially since Jessica is sick.

I don't know what happened behind closed doors, but SMS seemed to be always happy to work with thechineseroom and very supportive of the game.

 

[Dog Problems]

Like what?

I have no idea. It's just a vibe I got from reading through it. But I'm sure there's been papers signed, agreements made, that states only so much can be talked about throughout the course of their arrangement with Sony. Or maybe there isn't, and whatever it is could cause trouble for The Chinese Company with future projects if she talked.

 

[Tinfoilhatsron]

What a sad, heart-breaking letter.


Obama is black, therefore there's no racism in the White House. Right?

Come on son.

You all are assuming that the sexism point blends in with the publisher point. They might be seperate things. Her criticism might be about stuff like censorship and taking stuff out of the game or really, really tight deadlines. Or not. Guess we will never know.

SMS was mentioned because they were the producers apparently. Does being a producer have anything to do with publishing?

 

[Fractal]

I mean, it being GAF I'm not surprised, but it's basically saying "I don't believe what this woman is saying, Good Guy Sony is cool, problem must be with her."

Why should things be so black and white?
We can't see the full picture due to insufficient data, but I have no doubt the truth is somewhere in the middle. I'm not calling her a liar, but I also very much doubt she's an innocent victim of a great injustice. I stand by my statement, she seems like a rather passionate artist, but she also seems to lack a business perspective.

 

[Guri]

Chinese Room is a mediocre at best studio, so I can't say I'm surprised to hear they weren't treated too warmly by publishers (in this case Sony).

I mean, it sounds like she's an artistic person who's not cut out for the business side of game development. I mean it's to be expected if you sell the IP to a publisher and they're the ones funding the game then obviously they'll place restrictions on what you can do on 'their' game.

Dear Esther got profits six hours after its release on Steam. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs sold 120k in the first week, which is a lot for a game with that budget. Everybody's Gone to Rapture was the best selling PSN game in Europe (they're from the UK) in August. That's quite a lot for a studio defined as "mediocre" and is exactly what publishers are interested.

In the mean time, Hello Games performed well with Joe Danger, but its sequel sold 90% less. Would you define them as mediocre? Sony isn't publishing or investing in No Man's Sky, while they did that for Everybody's Gone to Rapture. So I guess they felt it was a worthwhile investment and they were right, isn't that correct?

(Both Hello Games and The Chinese Room deserve a lot of respect, by the way, even if you don't like the kind of games one of them does.)

Finally, it's no secret that there are many issues in a relationship between developers and publishers. Devs in general have many stories to tell and a lot of them with business skills. A woman who is in this industry for eight years is not just leaving the business side, but game development as a whole, except for music. Think about that. So consider what other developers faced and she had similar situations, plus aggravating her illness in the process.

We just lost someone talented in storytelling because of how the games industry currently is. And every part of this is understandable, but so sad.

 

[kyser73]

Aside from the sexism she's just making a point that many creative people who just want to create have issues when they deal with suits.

KPIs, key milestones, whatever development philosophy/process Sony follows to keep projects on track, management meetings and so on...many creative people see all this stuff as pointless bullshit (and some of it is) and having to deal with that on top of being ill and the endless sexism I'm not surprised she found dealing with the publisher side a hassle.

 

[timetokill]

Why should things be so black and white?
We can't see the full picture due to insufficient data, but I have no doubt the truth is somewhere in the middle. I'm not calling her a liar, but I also very much doubt she's an innocent victim of a great injustice. I stand by my statement, she seems like a rather passionate artist, but she also seems to lack a business perspective.

So the person who's been called "the brains of the operation" repeatedly and has helped the studio get to the successful position it's in just happens to lack a business perspective?

Huh. That's interesting.

 

[Interfectum]

Her criticizing Sony has stirred the pot in here it seems. That's the least surprising thing in her goodbye post, yet the most talked about here.

 

[timetokill]

Her criticizing Sony has stirred the pot in here it seems. That's the least surprising thing in her goodbye post, yet the most talked about here.

I know. It's so sad but as soon as I read it I knew what the response would center on here :\

 

[Tinfoilhatsron]

I don't think you realize how much of that is PR and hype-building for games.


I mean, it being GAF I'm not surprised, but it's basically saying "I don't believe what this woman is saying, Good Guy Sony is cool, problem must be with her."

I think the problem is what she CAN say and what she CAN'T. I read that as that poster originally did b/c she can't really name specific problems so I thought it was about money and pubs messing with the game. (Which they are known to do) It could also be from overworking her and not accomodating her due to her illnes, I've been kinda in that spot before, where bosses won't give time off or make you "handle" it.

But you're pretty fair. Again, I guess we won't know till 10 to 20 years later.

I have no idea. It's just a vibe I got from reading through it. But I'm sure there's been papers signed, agreements made, that states only so much can be talked about throughout the course of their arrangement with Sony. Or maybe there isn't, and whatever it is could cause trouble for The Chinese Company with future projects if she talked.

If she signed an NDA, would she in a tough legal spot? Don't really know much about those.

 

[Dog Problems]

If she signed an NDA, would she in a tough legal spot? Don't really know much about those.

Yeah, it would specify what can and cannot be talked about.

 

[timetokill]

NDAs and contract agreements generally have a "you can't shit on us publicly" clause.

But even if she wanted to be specific and break NDA, she wouldn't because she doesn't want to hurt TCR's business reputation.

 

[Fractal]

Dear Esther got profits six hours after its release on Steam. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs sold 120k in the first week, which is a lot for a game with that budget. Everybody's Gone to Rapture was the best selling PSN game in Europe (they're from the UK) in August. That's quite a lot for a studio defined as "mediocre" and is exactly what publishers are interested.

In the mean time, Hello Games performed well with Joe Danger, but its sequel sold 90% less. Would you define them as mediocre? Sony isn't publishing or investing in No Man's Sky, while they did that for Everybody's Gone to Rapture. So I guess they felt it was a worthwhile investment and they were right, isn't that correct?

Dear Esther started out as mod and is a very simplistic game... I doubt developing it was overly expensive. Amnesia was a strong IP so while it's true it sold well for a game of its size, it also faced a lot of well deserved criticism due to being notably inferior to its predecessor. Rapture statistics are less than relevant to this discussion since the development "issues" pointed out here happened before its release... so I stand by my statement.

And yes, from a business standpoint, I'd call Hello Games "mediocre" as well. Definitely not someone I'd be providing with too much resources.

So the person who's been called "the brains of the operation" repeatedly and has helped the studio get to the successful position it's in just happens to lack a business perspective?

Huh. That's interesting.

I get the impression her husband was handling the business side of things, while her job was primarily as an artist.

 

[timetokill]

I get the impression her husband was handling the business side of things, while her job was primarily as an artist.

That's really not how her and Dan work at all.

 

[Jarod McChicken]

I mean, it being GAF I'm not surprised, but it's basically saying "I don't believe what this woman is saying, Good Guy Sony is cool, problem must be with her."

Well, if you find other testimonies of creators who were extremely unhappy and very ill after working with Sony, feel free to bring them. Maybe Jessica's post will encourage similar cases to share their bad experiences. I'm pretty sure Sony or any other companies would be happy to get some feedback if it can help to avoid some bad PR like this in the future.

At least, she seemed to be happy on a musical front when she wrote that PS Blog post back in July, talking about the wonderful Sony sound and music team.

Her criticizing Sony has stirred the pot in here it seems. That's the least surprising thing in her goodbye post, yet the most talked about here.

It's also the only subject videogame related, and this is a videogame forum. I mean, the illness is a very intimate matter, and the misogyny has nothing to do with this industry in particular.

 

[Tapejara]

That was a depressing read. Best of luck to Jessica.

 

[Interfectum]

It's also the only subject videogame related, and this is a videogame forum. I mean, the illness is a very intimate matter, and the misogyny has nothing to do with this industry in particular.

Ohh boy.

 

[Jarod McChicken]

Ohh boy.

You can tell the difference between "there is no misogyny in the videogame industry" and "there is no more misogyny in the videogame industry than anywhere else", right ? I'm sure you can.

 

[Fractal]

That's really not how her and Dan work at all.

Alright, then we'll have to agree to disagree. But statements like these aren't what I expect from someone experienced with any serious business dealings:

I had turned from a joyful, fun-loving, creative, silly, funny person into a short-tempered, paranoid, unhappy, negative heap.

It’s very simple: do what makes you happy. People often ask me (with a tinge of annoyance at times) why I’m so cheerful, silly, full of mischief, always laughing. Well, one thing that you learn when you are degenerating (as we all are I suppose, some just more quickly than others) is to make the very best of every single day. To see the beauty, the ridiculousness, the wonder, the hope, the sadness, the sheer magnificence of the world around us. I exhort you to laugh, love and really live.

But they are what I'd expect from a passionate artist...