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The reason I left the games industry after 10 years (aged 31) was because there was a serious lack of professionalism with project delivery, which leads to ridi
by louthy 14y ago
The reason I left the games industry after 10 years (aged 31) was because there was a serious lack of professionalism with project delivery, which leads to ridiculous hours, and the pay really isn't worth it after a while.
As the consoles got more and more powerful, the pressure to deliver next-gen experiences just overwhelms the team. Quite often at the expense of delivering good gameplay.
I worked at a number of medium sized development houses, and the failure rate was probably 75%+. Some games wouldn't make it to market after 2 years+ development, some would make it to market but the publisher buried it (no real marketing). The most successful title I worked on was one for Nintendo, where the focus was on the gameplay (our producer was Shigeru Miyamoto). Even that title was massively late.
I was an engine and tools programmer and I believe the level of complexity of the systems being developed (to fit into consoles with very little power, slow memory etc.) was pretty high compared to development in most other fields. So the rewards should be there too.
However, I think the constant struggle that development houses have to keep their heads above water - due to the high failure rate of games - means that the rewards aren't competitive. So naturally you start looking elsewhere, especially if you have new found responsibilities in your life.
It's a shame really, because it's actually one of the most fun and creative fields to develop for (in my experience) - however it's just set up for burnout and disillusionment.
I left 7 years ago to form a healthcare software startup here in the UK and haven't looked back since.
- Crake 14y agoOff topic sort of, but--how is the programming market for developers in the UK? I'm an EE major and think it'd be cool to live abroad for a while after I get my degree, but I've heard the UK doesn't treat their engineers very well. Does this extend to developers too?
- louthy 14y agoThere's a strong startup community in the UK (well London at least), also lots of games companies, and then you have the financial sector where the rewards are very high (if soul destroying). So yeah there's lots going on. Obviously it depends which company you work for in terms of how well you're treated, that's obviously an intangible. For example I employ several developers now, and I very, very rarely ask them to work out of hours. If they have ever done it then it's because they wanted to, I also will stop them working excessive hours - which stops the peer-pressure aspect of the long-hours culture. I give clear ownership of key areas of our product to developers, so they feel a sense of pride and responsibility for what they're doing. I will also offer pay rises when I feel they're underpaid, I don't want to wait until they're halfway out of the door before offering what they're worth. Also I'm flexible with working-hours and remote working. It's not hard to have a basic respect for your staff. Even the games industry which I said didn't pay well, with long hours etc. is good to work in as a young developer. It's a very creative environment to be in, and most of the programmers I worked with were hyper-talented and have gone on to running their own startups, or are high up the food chain now. So in terms of learning ones trade and gaining long term contacts it's great.