StaceyPowers Posted September 28, 2019 Posted September 28, 2019 We often hear a lot about video game developers that are notorious for crunch time or other dubious policies, but I don’t hear as much about companies that stand out for treating their employees well. Does anyone know of any? It’d be nice to know which companies to go out of my way to shop from. @The Blackangel @skyfire @killamch89 @Alyxx @kingpotato @Executor Akamia @DylanC
The Blackangel Posted September 28, 2019 Posted September 28, 2019 I know nothing of the internal workings of any companies, so I'm out on this discussion. But I have heard from many sources that Microsoft doesn't exactly treat its employees well, which doesn't surprise me.
Alyxx Posted September 29, 2019 Posted September 29, 2019 I hear the working conditions at Valve are amazing. Though the absolute lack of any kind of pressure there might be why they barely release their own games anymore.
skyfire Posted September 30, 2019 Posted September 30, 2019 I think as far as crunch time is concerned, this is crunch time full industry. So we can't blame the company for this. It's like those share market based companies where you can't have control on the crunch time and other work part. But for other social and the behavior policies I think many companies fail on this. Alyxx 1
Alyxx Posted September 30, 2019 Posted September 30, 2019 Crunch has always been a part of game development whenever a contract or deadline is involved. killamch89 1
kingpotato Posted October 2, 2019 Posted October 2, 2019 Not really sure, Nintendo maybe ? I know that some Japanese companies have always had issue with crunch. killamch89 1
killamch89 Posted October 3, 2019 Posted October 3, 2019 On 10/1/2019 at 9:59 PM, kingpotato said: Not really sure, Nintendo maybe ? I know that some Japanese companies have always had issue with crunch. Nintendo, CD Projekt Red and Valve I've heard treat their staff pretty well but the others all have horror stories and former employees revealing the horrible working conditions they had to tolerate.
skyfire Posted October 4, 2019 Posted October 4, 2019 I think most of the game companies are in rush schedule and they tend to make a lot of mistakes and issues on the human resource front because they have deadlines. So I think treatment and other things are likely to have their share of the issues in near time too. I don't think any company for that matter would be perfect. killamch89 1
killamch89 Posted October 4, 2019 Posted October 4, 2019 12 hours ago, skyfire said: I think most of the game companies are in rush schedule and they tend to make a lot of mistakes and issues on the human resource front because they have deadlines. So I think treatment and other things are likely to have their share of the issues in near time too. I don't think any company for that matter would be perfect. I agree with your comment for the most part but there are companies like Nintendo, CD projekt Red and a few others that have policies in place to ensure that their staff is satisfied and treated well.
Alyxx Posted October 4, 2019 Posted October 4, 2019 On 10/2/2019 at 4:59 AM, kingpotato said: Not really sure, Nintendo maybe ? I know that some Japanese companies have always had issue with crunch. There have been some horror stories like Sakurai literally finishing Smash Bros. from his hospital bed. Not sure if that's due to company pressure or him being dedicated though.
kingpotato Posted October 5, 2019 Posted October 5, 2019 (edited) 13 hours ago, Alyxx said: There have been some horror stories like Sakurai literally finishing Smash Bros. from his hospital bed. Not sure if that's due to company pressure or him being dedicated though. I heard that one before , in my experience crunch can happen anywhere so I dont think any company is safe from it , but as well its an issue that can always be fixed and its also less likely to appear in other jobs. Edited October 5, 2019 by kingpotato
skyfire Posted October 5, 2019 Posted October 5, 2019 19 hours ago, killamch89 said: I agree with your comment for the most part but there are companies like Nintendo, CD projekt Red and a few others that have policies in place to ensure that their staff is satisfied and treated well. Yes then there are companies that have those abandoned zombie projects like e.g . dead island 2 type where the companies just give up when they can't do perfection or lack funds.
killamch89 Posted October 5, 2019 Posted October 5, 2019 22 hours ago, Alyxx said: There have been some horror stories like Sakurai literally finishing Smash Bros. from his hospital bed. Not sure if that's due to company pressure or him being dedicated though. I'd like to know the answer to that one because it'd be horrible for a company to force you into doing work on a hospital bed. Aren't the hospitals supposed to have a policy in place to prevent their patients from undergoing undue stress if it doesn't help with patient's recovery?
skyfire Posted February 11, 2020 Posted February 11, 2020 I heard not exactly video game company but game engine company Unity seems to be better for treating employees right.
