4 ms·

I assume it’s because Epic presented a ton of cash and a small but profitable company found it attractive. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to work for or be par

I assume it’s because Epic presented a ton of cash and a small but profitable company found it attractive. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to work for or be part of Epic, so that’s my assumption of gobs of cash.

merlincorey 5y ago
You must have missed the recent news about Simon Peyton Jones leaving Microsoft for Epic Games[0], then. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29131996 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29131996
- efficax 5y ago
  Staff moves at that level are a lot different than your average joe, huge paychecks involved and lots of insulation from the product org
  - merlincorey 5y ago
    Are you suggesting the primary reason SPJ moved to Epic Games is because they offered him more money than Microsoft? Reading the message from SPJ[0] seems to indicate he is excited for the people and projects he will be working on as well as being given the freedom to continue working on education, functional programming research, and continuing to work in the Haskell ecosystem. Of course large amounts of money are involved for an engineer of SPJ's renown and experience - that requirement exists for any company that want's SPJ's time. [0] https://discourse.haskell.org/t/an-epic-future-for-spj/3573 https://discourse.haskell.org/t/an-epic-future-for-spj/3573
    - efficax 5y ago
      That's what I mean by insulation. Bagging a "famous" engineer is a political and PR move and they get a lot of freedom to define the role, something that most of us can't do
      - merlincorey 5y ago
        Every one of us can negotiate and hold out for what is important to us -- sure, SPJ may have more leverage than most of us, but it's not required to be at that level to be able to find a place with freedom if that's what you are looking for.
pier25 5y ago
But what's in it for Epic?
- micromacrofoot 5y ago
  The Metaverse (Epic has hosted music events in Fortnite that have had millions of attendees), diversifying their game store. They've also bought art and 3D asset companies recently.
- xxr 5y ago
  Perhaps Epic originally wanted to purchase itch.io but couldn't settle on a deal so they went to the O.G. instead?
- chmod775 5y ago
  Presumably game creators will be able to purchase bandcamp music from right within Unreal soon. You already can purchase a variety of things like textures, models, code, etc.
johnnyanmac 5y ago
"I can’t imagine anyone wanting to work for or be part of Epic" creators of one of the two largest third party game engines? A chance for your product to be integrated in a tool used by game studios throughout the world? You really can't imagine any reason past the monetary to work with Epic?
- prepend 5y ago
  I think their products suck and are sleazy. I don’t think I’ll ever be in a position where I have the opportunity, and I’d work if I was starving, but I don’t want to work for a company that makes bad products as a result of a bad philosophy. It’s nice to be a programmer and have options but I wouldn’t work with a company that makes such invasive software.

merlincorey 5y ago

You must have missed the recent news about Simon Peyton Jones leaving Microsoft for Epic Games[0], then. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29131996 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29131996

efficax 5y ago
Staff moves at that level are a lot different than your average joe, huge paychecks involved and lots of insulation from the product org
- merlincorey 5y ago
  Are you suggesting the primary reason SPJ moved to Epic Games is because they offered him more money than Microsoft? Reading the message from SPJ[0] seems to indicate he is excited for the people and projects he will be working on as well as being given the freedom to continue working on education, functional programming research, and continuing to work in the Haskell ecosystem. Of course large amounts of money are involved for an engineer of SPJ's renown and experience - that requirement exists for any company that want's SPJ's time. [0] https://discourse.haskell.org/t/an-epic-future-for-spj/3573 https://discourse.haskell.org/t/an-epic-future-for-spj/3573
  - efficax 5y ago
    That's what I mean by insulation. Bagging a "famous" engineer is a political and PR move and they get a lot of freedom to define the role, something that most of us can't do
    - merlincorey 5y ago
      Every one of us can negotiate and hold out for what is important to us -- sure, SPJ may have more leverage than most of us, but it's not required to be at that level to be able to find a place with freedom if that's what you are looking for.

pier25 5y ago

But what's in it for Epic?

micromacrofoot 5y ago
The Metaverse (Epic has hosted music events in Fortnite that have had millions of attendees), diversifying their game store. They've also bought art and 3D asset companies recently.
xxr 5y ago
Perhaps Epic originally wanted to purchase itch.io but couldn't settle on a deal so they went to the O.G. instead?
chmod775 5y ago
Presumably game creators will be able to purchase bandcamp music from right within Unreal soon. You already can purchase a variety of things like textures, models, code, etc.

johnnyanmac 5y ago

"I can’t imagine anyone wanting to work for or be part of Epic" creators of one of the two largest third party game engines? A chance for your product to be integrated in a tool used by game studios throughout the world? You really can't imagine any reason past the monetary to work with Epic?

prepend 5y ago
I think their products suck and are sleazy. I don’t think I’ll ever be in a position where I have the opportunity, and I’d work if I was starving, but I don’t want to work for a company that makes bad products as a result of a bad philosophy. It’s nice to be a programmer and have options but I wouldn’t work with a company that makes such invasive software.