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Hey Mental, maybe you should have stayed at JAMDAT...
- Somehow, we still tolerate each other. Eventually this will be the only forum left.
The slave-driving thing is more myth than rumor, from what I know of EA employees. A good friend of mine works there as a programmer and enjoys his job very much. The "EA Wife" blog was a single project that went out-of-control; unfortunately, they are still paying the PR price for it. Kali mentioned awhile back that the EA employees he knows are quite happy, relatively speaking, and the little I know has indicated the same. It is true that hours for employees may be expected to go more than 40 hours a week at times - even much more - but that's hardly limited to EA in the game industry. Long hours and quality of life issues are a large concern to the industry as a whole at present.
I might have been eligible for stock options at this point had I stayed, and I certainly would have been better off financially. I'd be working less hours, too - starting a company is hard, and has required a lot of dedication on my part so far. However, due to the challenges of starting a new company and leading a development project, my skillset is almost certainly magnitudes greater than if I had stayed. As well, my present job offers me more flexible working hours - which, I was surprised to find, are something that makes an incredible difference in my quality of life - and a huge amount of creative responsibility and freedom - to which the above comment applies equally well. In a nutshell, yes, I am currently far poorer than if I had stayed, but I am also rather significantly happier.
The only thing that I truly regret about leaving is the connections I would certainly have made, and would have, had I stayed, since I'd have had the opportunity to make contacts at EA at this point as well. However, every single other part of my life is much more fun than it was while I was there, and I find it hard to regret that.
I might have been eligible for stock options at this point had I stayed, and I certainly would have been better off financially. I'd be working less hours, too - starting a company is hard, and has required a lot of dedication on my part so far. However, due to the challenges of starting a new company and leading a development project, my skillset is almost certainly magnitudes greater than if I had stayed. As well, my present job offers me more flexible working hours - which, I was surprised to find, are something that makes an incredible difference in my quality of life - and a huge amount of creative responsibility and freedom - to which the above comment applies equally well. In a nutshell, yes, I am currently far poorer than if I had stayed, but I am also rather significantly happier.
The only thing that I truly regret about leaving is the connections I would certainly have made, and would have, had I stayed, since I'd have had the opportunity to make contacts at EA at this point as well. However, every single other part of my life is much more fun than it was while I was there, and I find it hard to regret that.
Lies! All lies! EA is the devil! Hell, even Peter Jackson hated them for ignoring any of his input on the Lord of the Ring games. He's signed up for Ubisoft for his King Kong game.
Rosalina: But you didn't.
Robert: But I DON'T.
Rosalina: You sure that's right?
Robert: I was going to HAVE told you they'd come?
Rosalina: No.
Robert: The subjunctive?
Rosalina: That's not the subjunctive.
Robert: I don't think the syntax has been invented yet.
Rosalina: It would have had to have had been.
Robert: Had to have...had...been? That can't be right.
Robert: But I DON'T.
Rosalina: You sure that's right?
Robert: I was going to HAVE told you they'd come?
Rosalina: No.
Robert: The subjunctive?
Rosalina: That's not the subjunctive.
Robert: I don't think the syntax has been invented yet.
Rosalina: It would have had to have had been.
Robert: Had to have...had...been? That can't be right.
Yeah, lots of people who play BF2 are really upset with EA about how it turned out. I am one of those people because the game's menu screens are so buggy and glitchy that it crashes constantly.SineSwiper wrote:Lies! All lies! EA is the devil! Hell, even Peter Jackson hated them for ignoring any of his input on the Lord of the Ring games. He's signed up for Ubisoft for his King Kong game.
"An old man dies, a young girl lives, fair trade." - Bruce Willis from Sin City.
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I didn't say they had a reputation for top-notch games, either. 
Just that they don't mistreat their employees the way many people seem to think they do.
Just that they don't mistreat their employees the way many people seem to think they do.
Hahahahha....my friend worked on that. He was working on the online components, though...Barret wrote:Yeah, lots of people who play BF2 are really upset with EA about how it turned out. I am one of those people because the game's menu screens are so buggy and glitchy that it crashes constantly.