GameSetWatch - Game Developer Revisits EA

So, we at the CMP Game Group have just published the June-July 2007 issue of Game Developer magazine, and you might notice that the frowny little guy on the cover relates to the cover feature 'For Better or Worse: A Quality of Life Update'.

This Paul Hyman-penned feature (sorry, not available for free online - subscribe now and support the mag!) takes a look at the effects of EA_Spouse's call to action (and the subsequent lawsuits) regarding long working hours in the game biz. As the synopsis notes:

"In 2004, a then-anonymous letter writer, “EA_Spouse,” penned an angry and outraged treatise to the game community chiding Electronic Arts for forcing employees to work egregious amounts of overtime. In the months that followed, development studios, the IGDA, and other outspoken individuals stood up and voiced their opinion of what it means to be in this obsessively dedicated line of work, with most of them calling for industrywide change, too. Nearly three years later, has any of it stuck? Or has the call to action petered out?"

Of course, since then, EA_Spouse has 'come out' as Erin Hoffman, and she makes plenty of comments in the article about how game company cultures (and EA in particular) has changed: "From what I understand, the Los Angeles studio has made a really big turnaround, for example. I've heard mixed comments from Vancouver, and I consistently hear bad things about Tiburon." We've heard that too, judging by a brief letter received after the article debuted, and some of the feedback on the GameWatch.org forums, set up by Hoffman to help discuss the issues.

But is it fair to single out EA? Absolutely not - all major game companies have (or have had) some degree of problems with working long hours, an edgy extension of a job that can require a lot of creative dedication. But it's when working 60 or 80 or 100 hours per week becomes corporately mandated or 'tribe'-impelled and management does nothing to stop the burnout that we get into trouble.

Anyhow, the GameWatch forums, though fairly quiet nowadays, have some good discussions in general, with other companies also coming up for scrutiny and even a 'Kudos' forum calling out companies from LucasArts through EA Chicago and Destineer for their good attitude to quality of life.

And UK-based Relentless Software's David Amor, who wrote an article on this very subject for Game Developer a few months back, also popped up with an excellent, in-depth look at the problem and some possible solutions. And as we discuss the issue more, I would hope that it's only going to get better.

[Have any (anonymous, if necessary!) GSW readers had experiences with quality of life issues being addressed thanks to EA_Spouse's publicity, or has it made little difference in your neck of the woods, I wonder?]

Comments

EA made some big changes to its US studios - basically new hires (associates) get overtime pay past 40 hours. However they are not elligible for a bonus. On the other hand regular staff is elligible for a bonus. In my case the bonus was about 25% of my salary, with a sizable portion of stock thrown in, and I know that it goes much higher than that! Even so I would rather *never* have a bonus if I could be guaranteed to never have to work late.

Posted by: Anonymous | June 21, 2007 3:06 PM

I just started at EA a month ago, fortunate enough to get a manager that is very flexible with hours and overtime. But as far as quality of life goes, I just graduated BS in CS, turned down offers from Yahoo, Lockheed, IBM etc... from 65-75k, I want to make games!!! Interviewed for several positions at EA, the best hey could do was 35k. If they want to improve Q.O.L. they should offer a little bit more money, trust me they have plenty.

Posted by: Anonymous | June 22, 2007 10:12 PM

Is that 35k for a programming position? If so, then it sounds like the low end of those salary surveys may be dipping down soon.

Posted by: Gumption | June 23, 2007 12:17 AM

EA Spouse was actually one of the reasons why I dropped my dream to become a game developer and went to other fields of Computer Science when I graduated.

I was just about prepared to accept pay under the industry average, I'm young, so it didn't bother me too much.

I wasn't prepared to give up my own time. You've got me from 9-5, then I'm gone. How productive am I supposed to be when I'm miserable and tired?

I think EA Spouse hurt the industry at a graduate level, my friends and I all steered clear of game dev, despite past dreams. I think the people that wouldn't have been put off were either very very very determined, or were not even aware of the issue. The people in the latter camp are not exactly the best candidates for the job.

I hope it gets better in game dev, but right now, the reputation is not good. It's going to take a lot of good will to turn it around, and prove that working practices are no worse than other companies.

Posted by: Lewisham | June 24, 2007 9:32 PM

I was formally at EA when all of this happened and saw the changes. First up the management was TOLD to start focusing on the employees work/life and to make that their first priority... this was all good for about 6-8 months than EA posted losses. As in all business the all mighty dollar spoke first which lead to chaos. After the 6-8 months of focusing on creating/maintaining a proper work life managers where than told that this no longer mattered as everyone needed to "buckle down" and the work/life was not be discussed in One on One conferences... EA kept it quiet just long enough, showed it was making progress and than did a 180 the moment everyone forgot... I have since left the company and started with a smaller dev studio that actually cares... maybe different for the lads down in the US but the Canadian branch is still kicking the staff too this day... Don't ever belive the hype.

Worker Bee

Posted by: Worker Bee | June 25, 2007 9:34 AM

I always wondered what initiated the astonishing decline in the quality of EA's games over the last few years, and why they suddenly resorted to desperate measures to hire additional staff, even going so far as to recruit mentally unstable nutjobs like Chris Hecker.

The one advantage EA always held over other developers was a top-notch work ethic. Now that they've lost that, all they have to fall back on is the strength of their franchises ... and that may not last much longer if quality continues to spiral downward at this rate.

Posted by: Anonymous | July 7, 2007 6:16 PM