4 ms·

I worked at Zynga. They bumped my salary almost quarterly and not small amounts. By the time I left, I was making 50% more than when I started and I'd been ther

I worked at Zynga. They bumped my salary almost quarterly and not small amounts. By the time I left, I was making 50% more than when I started and I'd been there less than three years. I burned out so badly I had to leave in the middle of the day once and not come back for about a week. The entire place felt sketchy. The CEO was a known bad person, it felt like we were selling drugs to children and old women and the spam... I stayed for the money and my loyalty to my team but I hated that place.

antidaily 8y ago
Zynga seems tame compared to the predatory bullshit that plagues the App Store these days.
- MrMember 8y ago
  Not just mobile games, but AAA games from major publishers as well. Mechanics that Zynga was pushing out a decade ago in "free" games that were seen as exploitative and predatory are now found in AAA $60 PC and console games.
- busterarm 8y ago
  Do people forget that he knowingly allowed malware to be installed on his players' computers in order to earn more ad revenue? And admitted so to a room full of people?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
tootie 8y ago
> I stayed for the money and my loyalty to my team but I hated that place. Both very common. I used to work at a place that was a real meat grinder. Leadership were ethical enough on big stuff, but didn't really care about their people too much so they worked us to the bone. The team constantly felt like we were in a war together and the only thing keeping us going was us watching each other's back. In reality, our "war" was building some nonsense web sites or whatever for clients that had little practical value. Sometimes you have to step back and say you don't want to be part of it anymore and no one else should feel pressured to stay either.
busterarm 8y ago
> The CEO was a known bad person Having worked for another Mark Pincus company, I feel you.

antidaily 8y ago

Zynga seems tame compared to the predatory bullshit that plagues the App Store these days.

MrMember 8y ago
Not just mobile games, but AAA games from major publishers as well. Mechanics that Zynga was pushing out a decade ago in "free" games that were seen as exploitative and predatory are now found in AAA $60 PC and console games.
busterarm 8y ago
Do people forget that he knowingly allowed malware to be installed on his players' computers in order to earn more ad revenue? And admitted so to a room full of people?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

tootie 8y ago

> I stayed for the money and my loyalty to my team but I hated that place. Both very common. I used to work at a place that was a real meat grinder. Leadership were ethical enough on big stuff, but didn't really care about their people too much so they worked us to the bone. The team constantly felt like we were in a war together and the only thing keeping us going was us watching each other's back. In reality, our "war" was building some nonsense web sites or whatever for clients that had little practical value. Sometimes you have to step back and say you don't want to be part of it anymore and no one else should feel pressured to stay either.

busterarm 8y ago

> The CEO was a known bad person Having worked for another Mark Pincus company, I feel you.