3 ms·

It is great that Ubisoft is retaining its employees this way. What is unfortunate is the wasted potential. Hundreds of talented employees sitting around with no

by bmh100 12y ago

It is great that Ubisoft is retaining its employees this way. What is unfortunate is the wasted potential. Hundreds of talented employees sitting around with no management deadlines? This the perfect opportunity to create an internal innovation lab, with employees creating small experiments ("projects"). At a minimum, it hones skills and encourages collaboration between former members of different teams. In the best case scenario, new profitable games are invented. Eric Ries would have a lot to say about this.

bryanlarsen 12y ago
You've got these employees who have been working 80 hours a week in a big company, where they're told exactly what to do. Then suddenly you essentially tell them: go make some cool stuff, or you'll probably be fired. Nobody's going to tell you what that cool stuff is, though; figure it out yourself. Some people will thrive in that environment. But for most, it's just going to ratchet up the stress, especially since they're coming in burnt-out. Most working for a big company do it because they work better in an environment where they're told what to do. The path to success is crystal clear. IMO, interproject should be all about burn-out prevention. The job path for video game developers is fairly standard. You spend your 20s developing video games, and then you get married and get a real job: twice the pay, half the hours. Interproject could keep those employees in Ubisoft rather than forcing them out. P.S. By married, I mean "mortgage and a baby". Very few people in Quebec actually get married.
- Fuzzwah 12y ago
  > Very few people in Quebec actually get married. I'm interested in this line. I take it there is a cultural reason for this?
  - srgpqt 12y ago
    Very high divorce rate and overall fading religious beliefs. Only benefit to marriage is income tax relief for stay-at-home moms/dads.
  - bryanlarsen 12y ago
    Marriage in Quebec means "church marriage", and church means the Catholic church. The church had iron-fisted control of Quebec up until the 70s or so, so in backlash nobody in Quebec is religious any more. Civil marriages exist in Quebec, but they're not seen as a real marriage. So if you're not really going to get married, why have the ceremony? disclaimer: not Quebecois.

by bmh100 12y ago

bryanlarsen 12y ago

You've got these employees who have been working 80 hours a week in a big company, where they're told exactly what to do. Then suddenly you essentially tell them: go make some cool stuff, or you'll probably be fired. Nobody's going to tell you what that cool stuff is, though; figure it out yourself. Some people will thrive in that environment. But for most, it's just going to ratchet up the stress, especially since they're coming in burnt-out. Most working for a big company do it because they work better in an environment where they're told what to do. The path to success is crystal clear. IMO, interproject should be all about burn-out prevention. The job path for video game developers is fairly standard. You spend your 20s developing video games, and then you get married and get a real job: twice the pay, half the hours. Interproject could keep those employees in Ubisoft rather than forcing them out. P.S. By married, I mean "mortgage and a baby". Very few people in Quebec actually get married.

Fuzzwah 12y ago
> Very few people in Quebec actually get married. I'm interested in this line. I take it there is a cultural reason for this?
- srgpqt 12y ago
  Very high divorce rate and overall fading religious beliefs. Only benefit to marriage is income tax relief for stay-at-home moms/dads.
- bryanlarsen 12y ago
  Marriage in Quebec means "church marriage", and church means the Catholic church. The church had iron-fisted control of Quebec up until the 70s or so, so in backlash nobody in Quebec is religious any more. Civil marriages exist in Quebec, but they're not seen as a real marriage. So if you're not really going to get married, why have the ceremony? disclaimer: not Quebecois.