I have not worked at the companies you worked at based on dates and descriptions, but I've worked with people you've worked with. (Atari-funded studio with MMO

I have not worked at the companies you worked at based on dates and descriptions, but I've worked with people you've worked with. (Atari-funded studio with MMO logic in the database? Yep.) I can't gainsay anything you've said. The flip side, however, is the creativity. At my last job but one I worked with writers who I've respected and whose work I've enjoyed since I was 18. I work with artists who do stuff that blows me away. It's the only industry where I get to be involved with that kind of creativity on a daily basis, and that is more emotionally satisfying for me than (say) search. Oh, and the stability is no worse than startups. I've worked at two studios that are more than ten years old at this point, one that cratered, and one middleware company that probably doesn't have a ton of life left in it. All four of the companies I worked at in Silicon Valley in the 90s are gone, and two of those were serious business (Sun and AltaVista).