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I've worked for a couple of game studios over the years. Unfortunately, conditions were atrocious at both, something that seems to be fairly common in the indus

I've worked for a couple of game studios over the years. Unfortunately, conditions were atrocious at both, something that seems to be fairly common in the industry. My hypothesis is so many coders spent their teen years playing video games, wanting to write them, that they are willing to work in sub-par conditions. I won't work at another one, unless it's my own. Sadly, I'm not skilled enough to start my own.

agavin 15y ago
All the studios that consistently turn out brilliant games: Naughty Dog, Valve, Epic, Blizzard and many many others are really well run. Working there might often be brutal because of how hard the job is and pressure, but they know the process of making great games and the quality of employees is very very high. It's less so at the big corporate studios where marketing and big company policy has heavily infiltrated the system.
- _delirium 15y ago
  It could be the personalities of the people I make contacts with (I'm a researcher who works with research-interested game-industry people), but the burnout rate seems really high, even at the well-run places. More than half the people I've met in the last 5 years have quit their jobs within that timeframe! And a lot cited the working conditions: more or less that the pressure-cooker environment was cool in their 20s, but not a long-term career path. Some have gone the indie route, some to consulting, some back to grad school, others just left the game industry entirely for a job somewhere like Lockheed.
- stonemetal 15y ago
  Is that true though? Rockstar has a reputation for turning out great games and being one of the worst places to work.
mostlycarbon 15y ago
There are two quotes that I remember from my CS profs that have stuck with me over the years. AI prof addressing statistical vs. rule-based learning: "All models are wrong. Some models are useful." Systems level programming prof: "Now that you have a thorough understanding of programming all up and down the stack, if you want to minimize the amount of money you make and maximize the hours you work, then take a job as a video game programmer." I know several coders who have worked in the gaming industry for 5+ years and they're all completely jaded at this point.

agavin 15y ago

All the studios that consistently turn out brilliant games: Naughty Dog, Valve, Epic, Blizzard and many many others are really well run. Working there might often be brutal because of how hard the job is and pressure, but they know the process of making great games and the quality of employees is very very high. It's less so at the big corporate studios where marketing and big company policy has heavily infiltrated the system.

_delirium 15y ago
It could be the personalities of the people I make contacts with (I'm a researcher who works with research-interested game-industry people), but the burnout rate seems really high, even at the well-run places. More than half the people I've met in the last 5 years have quit their jobs within that timeframe! And a lot cited the working conditions: more or less that the pressure-cooker environment was cool in their 20s, but not a long-term career path. Some have gone the indie route, some to consulting, some back to grad school, others just left the game industry entirely for a job somewhere like Lockheed.
stonemetal 15y ago
Is that true though? Rockstar has a reputation for turning out great games and being one of the worst places to work.

mostlycarbon 15y ago

There are two quotes that I remember from my CS profs that have stuck with me over the years. AI prof addressing statistical vs. rule-based learning: "All models are wrong. Some models are useful." Systems level programming prof: "Now that you have a thorough understanding of programming all up and down the stack, if you want to minimize the amount of money you make and maximize the hours you work, then take a job as a video game programmer." I know several coders who have worked in the gaming industry for 5+ years and they're all completely jaded at this point.