Ex-Ubisoft Employee Exposes The Horrors Of The Company - General

[QUOTE=Scot;46528201]"supposed" stopped watching[/QUOTE] *meme face thumbnail* stopped watching

I suppose that's why Valve takes longer with their stuff, I assume they treat their employees better and have better hours.

man this shit is just awful I hope companies like ubisoft go dead bankrupt. I don't care about my games looking pretty, that's [B]all[/B] these companies care about. Making the game pretty but run and feel and play like complete shit. It's all marketing, not even a video game.

[QUOTE=ThePanther;46528120]Look at Bungie with Destiny. That was a huge team, and they worked for a long time on that game (as far as we know) and it still was a VERY mediocre imo. Not too many bugs, but very lazy content.[/quote] Maybe if Bungie had a brain and actually focused to develop it on the PC, it would have been somewhat better. What the fuck did everyone expect from an MMOFPS on a god damn console? Just because they made a successful series (Halo) on a console, doesn't mean that all games on consoles will be successfull. There are some genres of games that are not meant to be for consoles, and if they are made for them, they will be bad or medicore. The whole "next gen consoles" are a load of marketing crap and i pity those who believe in it. Besides, Bungie became a pretty shit dev after all the people who worked on Halo left the company and they never really offered anything good other than Halo before that either.

man who didn't work on Unity sticks up for his beloved Unity QA team while revealing that he was at a personal meeting with yves where his only revealed information is a quote from a [url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-22-ubisoft-has-endured-a-93-95-percent-piracy-rate-on-pc]publicly published interview[/url]. despite calling yves a cunt and allegedly not caring about ever getting a job in videogames again, he refused to provide any sort of credibility or identifier of his employment, instead choosing an anonymous confession ripped straight out of EA spouse, all at a convenient time where the a lot of people can easily project their [url=http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1437926&p=46529817&viewfull=1#post46529817]anger at a specific product[/url] and selectively cling to anything else that'll possibly justify their hatred of a video game publisher AIGHT OK

[QUOTE=Aw3s0m3n3ss;46529636]This sounds like something a fucking mafia boss would do to his underlings if they messed up.[/QUOTE] To be fair there was that husband in the whole Amy's Baking Company spiel who acted like a mafia thug, so it's not entirely implausible.

there's a side to this that isn't presented by these videos, by the informants, and by the public in general it reminds me of ww1 stories that we're told in school. we read all the sad poems, we're told how awful it was and how disgusting it was, but then if you look into the facts, that war had the lowest desertion rates of any war at the time as far as i am aware. why? cos some people liked it that's why i've met ubisoft devs, quite a few of them. they're super intelligent and super nice people. do they hate their higher ups? some of them yeh. are there a lot of dickhead pencil pushing assholes who want to get their name on the next big document so they can get a promotion? yeh. is it a massive ballache to work with like 6 studios all in different time zones all over the world? of course but are the teams made up of some of the greatest artistic and programming minds in the world? yes they are, and the games are the biggest blockbusters out there. there are a lot of, perhaps indoctrinated, workers at places like ubisoft that [i]love their job[/i]. they love pressure and they love knowing they're working on something that is one of the biggest commodities in the world. whether the game gets slated by the pc community and, shock horror, gets a 7/10 instead of an 8 or 9, they're still selling millions of copies and getting their game advertised in the superbowl n shit. that's a massive source of pride for an artist maybe that will change because this ordeal with asscreed unity has of course been an unprecedented level of bullshit, but it's something that i expect will change very slowly and internally over a long period of time

In game development delaying your game by a few months really does nothing but good. The fans might complain a bit but they are still going to buy the game whenever it releases and in the end its in their best interest to wait. I mean who the fuck goes "im not going to buy this game because it got delayed" Take your time and make it good so you dont need to be a shitbag company, and so that customers wont abandon ship as soon as they see what a mess your game is. Ubisoft can p. much say goodbye to customer retention.

[QUOTE=TheRealRudy;46528128]Wow. I really hope Ubisoft gets voted as worst company of the year and start to realize some things like EA did. Ubisoft is exactly as EA was two(?) years ago (if not more worse), and EA is starting to get better and better again. What a bunch of dickheads Ubisoft is.[/QUOTE] Not enough people realise What Ubisoft does. I bet the average console user thinks Ubisoft is some based company.

This is hilariously fake, but any reason to make another thread to hate on ubisoft is a good one, I guess The indie market is currently thriving. Unless your knowledge in gamedev requires you to have 30 other people doing 30 other things to complete a game, you should seriously consider going indie. Especially if they treat you like that

Anyone who thinks this is exclusive to Ubisoft is insane. Big Publishers only care about $$$$, whether it be SEGA or Ubi or EA or Activision or any of them. Stockholders and Boardmembers want the money. they'll do anything for it.

[QUOTE=bdd458;46530165]Anyone who thinks this is exclusive to Ubisoft is insane. Big Publishers only care about $$$$, whether it be SEGA or Ubi or EA or Activision or any of them.[/QUOTE] yeh the dudes who make the lego games work exactly the same as what's described in this video. they all do like 18hr days in the last couple of months to get those games out you know what actually, all the graphic designers and marketing dudes my dad employs, including himself (worst of all probably), all do unpaid overtime and 12hr days to meet deadlines. honestly it's the nature of working in the creative arts - you set yourself an optimistic deadline to get the job/funding/publishing and then you work like hell to meet it. and at the end of it you get an artistic product you can be proud of, money, and more work it's terrible but sometimes i kinda just see it as a tradeoff for living what is essentially most people's dream regardless of that though you'll honestly be hard-pressed to find any job these days where you aren't at least somewhat expected to pull your weight further than what your contract dictates. and yeh without over-time. engineering? you bet. independent retail work? sure. any art or music job? definitely it's the terrible nature of this world we live in, but if you want a stable 9-5 go and work a shitty office job i guess. thinking that this is some horrible epidemic of slave labour that only exists in games is ignorant

lol @ encouraging independent startups as a solution. yes, with the hardcore videogaming audience struggling to justify their 1-2 $60 dollar game purchases in a year. WHAT WE REALLY NEED is a bunch of fractured independent studios creating 10 $20 titles in place of a single AAA release. lol, the video game market isn't going to graciously spawn a sizable market for you just because you decided to stick it to the man and follow your dreams of Finally Creating A Good Videogame like in the old days edit: if you want a job making video games, EA / Ubi is realistically the best option: there's always positions open and the barrier of entry is low. you can follow your alternative videogame dreams if you want but don't be surprised when that dream gets lost inside the market along with any significant income source you had before. Arguably the worst thing about working at EA / Ubisoft is that every time you talk about work people take it as a sign to preach their discontent with their videogames/bugs/holy shit scum ass dlc practices!! and it's pretty annoying

[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;46530207]yeh the dudes who make the lego games work exactly the same as what's described in this video. they all do like 18hr days in the last couple of months to get those games out you know what actually, all the graphic designers and marketing dudes my dad employs, including himself (worst of all probably), all do unpaid overtime and 12hr days to meet deadlines. honestly it's the nature of working in the creative arts - you set yourself an optimistic deadline to get the job/funding/publishing and then you work like hell to meet it. and at the end of it you get an artistic product you can be proud of, money, and more work it's terrible but sometimes i kinda just see it as a tradeoff for living what is essentially most people's dream regardless of that though you'll honestly be hard-pressed to find any job these days where you aren't at least somewhat expected to pull your weight further than what your contract dictates. and yeh without over-time. engineering? you bet. independent retail work? sure. any art or music job? definitely it's the terrible nature of this world we live in, but if you want a stable 9-5 go and work a shitty office job i guess. thinking that this is some horrible epidemic of slave labour that only exists in games is ignorant[/QUOTE] My dad works a state away, alternating between day and night shifts, and only comes home when he has time off, it really is just the nature of the world. I mean on one hand I feel bad for the devs, but on the other I don't hear any sort of large scale uproar about this so I assume they understand it's what has to be done for video games to be made.

[QUOTE=ImperialGuard;46529499]The problem with this is that it's a pain in the ass to get a job in the industry cause so many people want one, and the companies know that you won't quit for this reason.[/QUOTE] You just gotta buy a cheap wearable hidden camera, walk into that office, ask for a raise, then expose and sue their asses. You'd have money to cover you while you find a new job.

[QUOTE=Foogooman;46530525]You just gotta buy a cheap wearable hidden camera, walk into that office, ask for a raise, then expose and sue their asses. You'd have money to cover you while you find a new job.[/QUOTE] now where are you going to find a new job as the dude that wears hidden cameras to sensitive meetings

[QUOTE=Juniez;46530596]now where are you going to find a new job as the dude that wears hidden cameras to sensitive meetings[/QUOTE] The CIA, as a double agent working at the FBI. (Or the other way around). :v:

Also, everyone defending the Ubisoft that worked on the actual game- I never got the impression anyone was mad at the developers of the game, but rather Ubisoft as a publisher. Most criticism I've seen implied or seemed to assume that problems with the game are due to it being rushed out, not because the people actually making the game are bad at their jobs.

[QUOTE=Biscuit-Boy;46531703]Also, everyone defending the Ubisoft that worked on the actual game- I never got the impression anyone was mad at the developers of the game, but rather Ubisoft as a publisher. Most criticism I've seen implied or seemed to assume that problems with the game are due to it being rushed out, not because the people actually making the game are bad at their jobs.[/QUOTE] They aren't, by all respects other than the technical problems unity is a very competent game, franchise fatigue non-withstanding I'm having a decent time with it whenever it decides to work like it should. Every major problem with unity has everything to do with being rushed out to meet the holiday season which seems pointless because it'd probably sell like hot cakes no matter what. The AC games at large have very talented teams behind them. Ubisoft is just a terrible, awful publisher who are probably the biggest enforcers of the current pre-order culture and the most willing aside from EA to completely murder a games functionality for the sake of a deadline, but at least EA is improving.

[QUOTE=xfreak341xx;46531788]Every major problem with unity has everything to do with being rushed out to meet the holiday season which seems pointless because it'd probably sell like hot cakes no matter what..[/QUOTE] yeah sure, but it wouldn't sell as much which is unacceptable.

Most of this is such a crock of shit, people that write most of this shit up know almost nothing about the games industry and are just trying to generate drama to explain what is a much more complex problem and the nature of the industry and making such a massive and complex product.

and yet barely any of us here give a shit about people in sweatshops who have the same (if not worse) working experience

[QUOTE=bdd458;46530264]I don't hear any sort of large scale uproar about this so I assume they understand it's what has to be done for video games to be made.[/QUOTE] I can't imagine they have a choice when it comes to demanding that they not be overworked. They can just be replaced by people who'll be more than eager to work at a AAA, despite the long hours.

this guy sounds like seth rogen if he didn't smoke so much weed

[QUOTE=MasterFen006;46531963]and yet barely any of us here give a shit about people in sweatshops who have the same (if not worse) working experience[/QUOTE] vast majority of people very much care about that but you can't direct your attention everywhere at once, and your attention will always be primarily directed at that which strikes you closest to home

I'm always really skeptical about people who have literally nothing good to say about a company they leave. I can understand having a lot of complaints, but having nothing really good to say about the company makes me think they're just full of anger and hatred and are blinded by that.

[QUOTE=elowin;46528677]I think it's probably exaggerated, but true.[/QUOTE] It isn't, and they aren't even close to being the only company doing this. [editline]20th November 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=latin_geek;46530154]This is hilariously fake, but any reason to make another thread to hate on ubisoft is a good one, I guess The indie market is currently thriving. Unless your knowledge in gamedev requires you to have 30 other people doing 30 other things to complete a game, you should seriously consider going indie. Especially if they treat you like that[/QUOTE] You haven't the faintest, and being independent makes the run up issue worse if you've actually been ignorant or enthusiastic enough to oversell your product and build time. The Indie scene is even worse; there's a real culture of conformity and politicizing your shit that's expected and if you don't play ball, you aren't going to get jack shit for coverage unless you're independently wealthy. Do you some research before making completely inane statements. [editline]20th November 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Juniez;46530251]lol @ encouraging independent startups as a solution. yes, with the hardcore videogaming audience struggling to justify their 1-2 $60 dollar game purchases in a year. WHAT WE REALLY NEED is a bunch of fractured independent studios creating 10 $20 titles in place of a single AAA release. lol, the video game market isn't going to graciously spawn a sizable market for you just because you decided to stick it to the man and follow your dreams of Finally Creating A Good Videogame like in the old days edit: if you want a job making video games, EA / Ubi is realistically the best option: there's always positions open and the barrier of entry is low. you can follow your alternative videogame dreams if you want but don't be surprised when that dream gets lost inside the market along with any significant income source you had before. Arguably the worst thing about working at EA / Ubisoft is that every time you talk about work people take it as a sign to preach their discontent with their videogames/bugs/holy shit scum ass dlc practices!! and it's pretty annoying[/QUOTE] lol, it's pretty obvious you've just started; I guess if you're content to simply grind out commercial product that's fine, but I'd really like to see how much your attitude will have changed ten years from now when making tree/vegetation models 24/7 for an engine for four years at three different grind houses has been your sole source of regimented income.

There's no real proof that this guy is real, I wish there was proof because this would spark much more attention and hopefully get Ubisoft in more trouble and publicity.

[QUOTE=27X;46533548]lol, it's pretty obvious you've just started; I guess if you're content to simply grind out commercial product that's fine, but I'd really like to see how much your attitude will have changed ten years from now when making tree/vegetation models 24/7 for an engine for four years at three different grind houses has been your sole source of regimented income.[/QUOTE] it's a job; not every project is going to be a new opportunity to expand your horizons or whatever. if you get hired as a foliage artist then you're going to be doing just that. maybe you should have used your ten years' experience and connections to score a better gig than grunt work foliage

[QUOTE=27X;46533548]lol, it's pretty obvious you've just started; I guess if you're content to simply grind out commercial product that's fine, but I'd really like to see how much your attitude will have changed ten years from now when making tree/vegetation models 24/7 for an engine for four years at three different grind houses has been your sole source of regimented income.[/QUOTE] this is pretty ignorant tbh. for one, most companies don't have people with job roles that specific. some of the very large AAA studios do, sure, but the simple solution to being in a job like that is a. your portfolio should have been better and then you wouldn't have been stuck as a foliage artist or b. work harder, speak to the right people, prove yourself, and get promoted to a better position that said, most AAA companies run a pretty extensive benefits system for their artists. all we ever hear about is how terrible crunch time is and how people work 20hr days and such. what we don't hear about is the reverse of that; the downtime that most studios give their staff during changeover periods into new projects where you come into work without a project to work on and can essentially do whatever you want. basically you're paid to learn. and these studios have complete access for all their staff to stuff like cgtutors which is worth thousands of dollars