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This is not limited to game studios, or even software in general. Unfortunately it's everywhere.

pjmlp 14y ago
Not really. In most European countries, unions tend to be strong enough to prevent this type of situations in regular IT shops, if you complain about it. Just in the game industry, people tend to avoid to complain, because it is so hard to get into.
- motoford 14y ago
  Definitely a case of where you live I suppose. I have never heard of a union IT shop here in the states.
  - marvin 14y ago
    Once again, it comes back to the meaning of the word "union" in the US versus Europe. Labor unions in Europe usually have less focus on enforcing a monopoly on labor and more focus on having good, safe conditions for sustainable work, arranging courses and sharing experiences, etc. For example, pretty much all Norwegian IT workers are organized either through Tekna (union for Masters degree holders in technical subjects) or NITO (union for engineers and technical personnel). Being organized in such a community is a huge bonus when it comes to bargaining power and decreasing the leverage employers have due to ignorance or lack of information on salaries, etc. This comes in addition to all the advantages you get for having easy access to like-minded professionals.
    - mercurial 14y ago
      I think it really depends on where you live. Nordic countries (just moved to DK) seem heavily unionized, while it's much less prevalent in the French IT sector, for instance.
- enjo 14y ago
  You clearly have never experienced Symbian or Nokia development efforts. Both places where complete blood-baths, at least from my perspective as an outsider working pretty closely with teams inside of both companies.
  - da02 14y ago
    Have you written about it? I never get tired of hearing about (metaphorical) death marches and blood-baths in different industries.
  - pjmlp 14y ago
    Actually I used to work for that Finnish company. But here in Germany we have good unions that are able to say _stop_. So those blood-baths had limited extent here.
MartinCron 14y ago
It's a question of degree. Video game development does have a very different supply/demand environment going for it than other kinds of software development. Where I am (both geographically and in my career) I'm treated pretty darn well.
kokey 14y ago
Not everywhere, just everywhere where supply of people wanting to work in a particular industry far outstrips demand. The entertainment industries always had this (music, film, television, computer games) as well as politics (where you have a lot of unpaid interns) and also girls wanting to become flight attendants (Ryanair makes you pay for the training etc.) In industries where skills are in demand, employers have the treat these skills carefully or lose them to someone else. This includes fast growing industries (Linux, web, mobile) and skills that are both hard and really unsexy to obtain.
- brazzy 14y ago
  > skills that are both hard and really unsexy to obtain. Perfect example: SAP consulting.
willyt 14y ago
It's very prevalent in architecture.

pjmlp 14y ago

Not really. In most European countries, unions tend to be strong enough to prevent this type of situations in regular IT shops, if you complain about it. Just in the game industry, people tend to avoid to complain, because it is so hard to get into.

motoford 14y ago
Definitely a case of where you live I suppose. I have never heard of a union IT shop here in the states.
- marvin 14y ago
  Once again, it comes back to the meaning of the word "union" in the US versus Europe. Labor unions in Europe usually have less focus on enforcing a monopoly on labor and more focus on having good, safe conditions for sustainable work, arranging courses and sharing experiences, etc. For example, pretty much all Norwegian IT workers are organized either through Tekna (union for Masters degree holders in technical subjects) or NITO (union for engineers and technical personnel). Being organized in such a community is a huge bonus when it comes to bargaining power and decreasing the leverage employers have due to ignorance or lack of information on salaries, etc. This comes in addition to all the advantages you get for having easy access to like-minded professionals.
  - mercurial 14y ago
    I think it really depends on where you live. Nordic countries (just moved to DK) seem heavily unionized, while it's much less prevalent in the French IT sector, for instance.
enjo 14y ago
You clearly have never experienced Symbian or Nokia development efforts. Both places where complete blood-baths, at least from my perspective as an outsider working pretty closely with teams inside of both companies.
- da02 14y ago
  Have you written about it? I never get tired of hearing about (metaphorical) death marches and blood-baths in different industries.
- pjmlp 14y ago
  Actually I used to work for that Finnish company. But here in Germany we have good unions that are able to say _stop_. So those blood-baths had limited extent here.

MartinCron 14y ago

It's a question of degree. Video game development does have a very different supply/demand environment going for it than other kinds of software development. Where I am (both geographically and in my career) I'm treated pretty darn well.

kokey 14y ago

Not everywhere, just everywhere where supply of people wanting to work in a particular industry far outstrips demand. The entertainment industries always had this (music, film, television, computer games) as well as politics (where you have a lot of unpaid interns) and also girls wanting to become flight attendants (Ryanair makes you pay for the training etc.) In industries where skills are in demand, employers have the treat these skills carefully or lose them to someone else. This includes fast growing industries (Linux, web, mobile) and skills that are both hard and really unsexy to obtain.

brazzy 14y ago
> skills that are both hard and really unsexy to obtain. Perfect example: SAP consulting.

willyt 14y ago

It's very prevalent in architecture.