Discussion on the Gaming Industry, brought up by Netflix Show Patriot Act

[Swashbuckler_Gus_Server_14]

Hello all,

So this game chat is not about the game itself, but the men and women behind the game: the wonderful PerBlue Team. This actually stems from a recent show that I watch on Netflix called “Patriot Act” with Hasan Minhaj. They are currently on their 3rd season. I WOULD RECOMMEND WATCHING THE SHOW FIRST, and comment below on your thoughts.

They started off their 3rd season with a discussion on the Gaming Industry. They talked about a couple of issues regarding the practice of “Crunch” (how game developers are asked to work long, grueling hours, without overtime pay or proper compensation, in order to push the game to its release goals. Some gaming companies lay-off hundreds to employees once a product is made (again without proper compnesation). When this point was made in the show, I quickly had guilt. I remember many times how a patch release for this game went out, and how I, along with countless players slam PerBlue for putting out “bad patches”. After watching the show, I realized then and there how so much work and effort goes into creating a working product. Like it’s so easy to talk about the problems of the game. But in actuality, there are many components players may not now that goes into the development of a mobile app.

The show also talked about the “Bro Culture” in some corporations. The show also talked about briefly, sexual discrimination in many of these places, and how many employees are trying to Unionize.

So I want to ask any game developer that plays this game or aspire to be a game developer, what your thoughts on the matter? Would you put up with Crunch? What about sexual harassment in the workplace?

Also, @Polaris and Team: as an insider and a worker in your company, what are your thoughts on the matter? What issues are your colleagues most worried about? Have you ever experience being laid-off after a project was completed? How did that go down??

[Pipsqueak]

I find it incredibly unlikely any PB employee is going to come on here to discuss the matter, haha.

I don’t think any of us have ever felt badly about the developers & designers behind the game, rather the management of it & decision making.

Hit up Glassdoor reviews if you want some interesting insights

[Polaris]

It’s good as a consumer to know more about the industry or company you’re supporting with your time or money.

I can tell you that PerBlue is a great place to work. As an independent studio that grew out of a dorm room at UW, the leadership cares about the employees and doesn’t treat us as disposable. The company puts a lot of effort into making sure we’re happy, and we have the support and fun activities we need to create great games. Work - life balance is very important here, which is why we don’t offer 24-7 support, and I send my team home at the end of the day to relax.

While we do sometimes have crunch time before a product launches, PerBlue tries to limit it so it has as little impact as possible on our lives. We have families and friends that need our time, even when there’s a product we’re trying to get out the door. As an example, one team was recently in crunch mode, but it was limited to just a few weeks at a time, and not everyday. The company provided dinner each night (and not just pizza, but real, cooked dinner - ok, sometimes pizza but there’s usually a vote), and then there was a nice catered meal when it was done.

It makes me sad to read about game companies that have massive layoffs because a game doesn’t do well, or because it’s ready to ship and they hired up too many people to get it out the door. Bro Culture makes me sick. I’m very glad to work for a company where it’s not tolerated at all.

We’re passionate about making good games and having fun while we do it!

[Filadae_Djaq]

…
…
If PerBlue is around for at least 6 years then I will try to get hired

Yeah it is sad that prople in the gaming industry get layed off just because a game went down. It isn’t their fault, technically it is the person-who-came-up-with-the-idea’s fault

[PawpsicleSticks]

It’s good to know you’re treated well. I know a large amount of people- practically everyone after a bad update- act as if you’re a bad gaming companies, like Electronic Arts. While there are times it feels like our complaints are ignored, PerBlue usually listens and delivers. There’s never any “surprise mechanic” type of garbage.

Perblue has done a great job of making the game, even if there’s been choices we didn’t agree with. And for that, thank you.

[Ryan_Sinbela_1]

I watch them. Because of you I just remember they are going to start a new season.

[Black_Widow]

Thanks for this comment it’s really nice to hear more about the company and its the first time I’ve actually been like oh these people do actually care about us and their staff, it’s just lovely to hear
And something I’ve always wanted to ask, why Polaris? Like I have black widow because I love the marvel character

[Polaris]

why Polaris

In a previous job I worked on a pirate game, and when I was thinking about a new name, navigation popped into my head. A guiding star seemed like a good theme for my support character.

[TherMasterStitch]

Fitting name because you shine the brightest!

[TheSpaghettiKing]

Wow, you put a lot more thought into your name than I did! I literally just saw the Bella Notte as my default avatar when I started and wondered, “What can I do with this?” (At the time I didn’t know you could change your avatar) I saw the spaghetti and the fact that I was male and deserved respect(kidding), so boom, TheSpaghettiKing.

[TherMasterStitch]

Well don’t forget in the beginning for a while we couldn’t change our avatars. That was a special surprise around the anniversary I think?

I remember how I came up with my name:

I did Master Stitch for Kung Fu Panda and Lilo and Stitch.
I saw many people had the same name.
I added The in from on it.
I changed it to Ther to reference how Christopher Robin first introduced Pooh in the first book.

But to get back to the original discussion: perblue seems like a great company to work at!

[Filadae_Djaq]

Well this isn’t the “Forum User Name Origin” thread (I should make one), so let’s get back on topic. @Polaris was simply answering @Black_Widow’s question

[TheSpaghettiKing]

Forgive me for going off topic Filadae, I meant to say when I started playing the game a long time ago. I didn’t know that i could change my ingame avatar at the time, so that’s what I meant.

[Filadae_Djaq]

You are forgiven. But it seems like @TherMasterStitch got the notification of your reply…