Laid off EA employee speaks (NOT A MYTHIC EMPLOYEE)

[Salya Sin]

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=26120

The following link was found on a forum in response to the above article...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18532751&postcount=309

It's Pandemic studios but Reddit had linked it and I figured with all the talk... this might interest some of you.

 

[kelmo]

Yeah. This thread may get locked... Or even removed. This sort of thing is raging through all businesses. Times are hard.

But as long as upper management gets to keep the life style they are accustomed too, to hell with the peons.

This is happening in my business too.

 

[kelmo]

As long as every vice president keeps their jet skis...


I need to log out before I really go off.

 

[AtlanteanAngel]

The ex-EA employee's post reproduced here :

Zeenbor
Member
(Yesterday, 02:47 AM)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was one of the affected today.

Having worked at Pandemic for close to 5 years, it's a bittersweet moment. We literally just finished Saboteur and are extremely proud of the game it turned out to be, considering the amount of hardships we had during development. On the other hand, we now have no job and are forced to part our ways with people we hold dear to our hearts.

I can tell you one thing. The reason why the studio closed down has everything to do with the existing Pandemic management. From what we were told, Pandemic management was given free reign to do as they please. Time and time again, they dropped the ball with bad decisions (promoting/keeping people based on loyalty, no production accountability, misallocation of resources, poor milestone objectives, no mentoring, etc.). It's a true shame, as there was a lot of talent and passion at the studio.

I wouldn't necessarily hate on JR and EA's execs just yet. In my eyes, they probably made the right decision as Pandemic cost a lot to upkeep and, quite frankly, the last few products weren't up to snuff. I think many of you would be surprised how much a game like Saboteur costs to make (think ~100 people for 3 years + ~20 people for ~2 years). Add overhead cost to incompetence in management/direction and you have a pretty convincing case to cut your ties and call it a day. It probably doesn't look good for JR considering he made a cool 5 mil off of the sale of Pandemic/Bioware.

One more thing I will say: EA is totally sending Saboteur out to die. And it's a ****ing shame. It's easily Pandemic's best game yet. Of course, I am a bit biased having worked on the game for so long. If you were disappointed with Mercs2 and LOTR (who wasn't) and enjoyed previous Pandemic games, give Saboteur a shot.

Gonna pour one out for my homies.

 

[Salya Sin]

Yeah. This thread may get locked... Or even removed. This sort of thing is raging through all businesses. Times are hard.

But as long as upper management gets to keep the life style they are accustomed too, to hell with the peons.

This is happening in my business too.

OH NO! Why would it get locked or removed? Did I inadvertently break some rule? Or is it going to end up an ugly thread... I just ran across this and thought it might ease some of the UO mania everyone is going on about. If Mythic had been hammered like this... someone would have posted something somewhere... we have not heard anything... so we can probably (hope) assume that UO didn't get hit as hard as we all feared.

 

[Viquire]

As long as every vice president keeps their jet skis...


I need to log out before I really go off.

Don't hold it in, but don't spew it out either. What a world.

Love the sig, so true.

 

[kelmo]

I cause enough headaches for our lovely admins... I will hold my tongue so to speak.

I will, however, keep an eye on this one.

 

[Surgeries]

Yeah. This thread may get locked... Or even removed. This sort of thing is raging through all businesses. Times are hard.

But as long as upper management gets to keep the life style they are accustomed too, to hell with the peons.

This is happening in my business too.

Me too...and what is worse is that I get to see the bonuses that the Executive Team (VPs etc.) pay themselves, even when the company isn't hitting it's sales objectives.

It is a sad state of affairs, indeed. At least I still have a job ( I am thinking that the Payroll function may be one of the last positions to go...) and for that I am grateful. It's just sad that Execs can lead so many down that path to no job, and keep theirs.

Lame.

 

[ColterDC]

Yeah. This thread may get locked... Or even removed. This sort of thing is raging through all businesses. Times are hard.

But as long as upper management gets to keep the life style they are accustomed too, to hell with the peons.

This is happening in my business too.

You've got that right. Damn CEO's are the bane of this country.

Compare the average worker's pay to the CEO's pay in 1950, now compare those figures today. you'll see an 800% increase in the pay differences.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Time for a revolution I think.

 

[Kingshore Dad]

Yeah. This thread may get locked... Or even removed. This sort of thing is raging through all businesses. Times are hard.

But as long as upper management gets to keep the life style they are accustomed too, to hell with the peons.

This is happening in my business too.

You've got that right. Damn CEO's are the bane of this country.

Compare the average worker's pay to the CEO's pay in 1950, now compare those figures today. you'll see an 800% increase in the pay differences.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Time for a revolution I think.

sad but true.
you know in germany you only need 3 skills to get somewhere.
first you have to lack the ability to think and to ask questions.
second you have to suck up to the right people and
third you have to be a reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaallllllllllyyyyyyyy biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig *******.

for revolution i count on the frensh they will get it rolling

 

[Salya Sin]

And...

The revolution will not be televised.

Although... if the French have a go at it... the above statement will no longer be true... I love the French!

 

[Der Rock]

sad but true.
you know in germany you only need 3 skills to get somewhere.
first you have to lack the ability to think and to ask questions.
second you have to suck up to the right people and
third you have to be a reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaallllllllllyyyyyyyy biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig *******.

for revolution i count on the frensh they will get it rolling

you forgot "vitamin B"

 

[Prince Caspian]

Me too...and what is worse is that I get to see the bonuses that the Executive Team (VPs etc.) pay themselves, even when the company isn't hitting it's sales objectives.

It is a sad state of affairs, indeed. At least I still have a job ( I am thinking that the Payroll function may be one of the last positions to go...) and for that I am grateful. It's just sad that Execs can lead so many down that path to no job, and keep theirs.

Lame.

Same where I work.

The guys in the trenches, the PRODUCING people -- we have to work the long hours and weekends to make unrealistic deadlines.

Meanwhile the management folks get to keep bankers hours and go out for drinks and happy hour while WE are making the money for the company.

Friggin disgusting.

 

[Ozymandies]

Floggings will continue until morale improves.

OZ
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"

 

[LadyKeroOfAtl]

No..
Let's stone them.
It's been a very long time since a public stoning. I feel that would be enjoyable to watch.
*Hurls rock at the first person with a fat wallet*

 

[AtlanteanAngel]

Wikipedia says that EA bought over OSI *before* UO. I always thought it was *after*.

Interesting information on Mythic, EA, and OSI.

"After the acquisition of Origin Systems, some staff in that company claimed that Electronic Arts initially gave them more resources, but allowed little latitude if employees made a mistake, and in some cases no longer trusted them, and even worked against them. EA has shut down studios of companies after acquiring them, including DICE Canada and Origin Systems. Gaming blogger Brian Crecente has said that fears that EA doesn't care about the quality of their products after they are acquired are debatable."

"Electronic Arts purchased Mythic Entertainment and renamed the company EA Mythic on June 20, 2006. EA Mythic renamed themselves back to Mythic Entertainment on July 10, 2008. On June 24, 2009, it was announced that as part of EA's restructuring plan Mythic Entertainment and BioWare would come together under a new RPG/MMO division headed by BioWare General Manager Dr. Ray Muzyka. It was also revealed that current General Manager of Mythic Mark Jacobs had left EA on June 23, 2009 and would be replaced by Rob Denton."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythic_Entertainment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_Systems
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Electronic_Arts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Arts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_Online

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Wikipedia says that EA bought over OSI *before* UO. I always thought it was *after*.

You were wrong.

Lots of people think that for some reason.

UO bought Origin Systems sometime around Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny, if memory serves.

I remember thinking "well great, there goes Origin." Because I hated The Bard's Tale, and a couple of other EA games.

Ultima Online has always technically been an EA property.

-Galen's player

 

[Crystal Canyon]

Same where I work.

The guys in the trenches, the PRODUCING people -- we have to work the long hours and weekends to make unrealistic deadlines.

Meanwhile the management folks get to keep bankers hours and go out for drinks and happy hour while WE are making the money for the company.

Friggin disgusting.

I would like to just one time walk into an establishment where a group of CEOs were indulging in happy hour and load them all in a Limo and take them to the parts of town where their employees live. I would like to see their reactions to seeing little children playing in the streets because they have no yards, with a wad of rolled up cloth as a football, and half of them not sure if they will hear anyone call them for supper cause their parents are both probably still at work.

Then if the reaction wasnt to my satisfactory, I would like to put their drinks "somewhere" where they would get a much faster reaction to it.

Nough said.

 

[altarego]

You were wrong.

Lots of people think that for some reason.

UO bought Origin Systems sometime around Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny, if memory serves.

I remember thinking "well great, there goes Origin." Because I hated The Bard's Tale, and a couple of other EA games.

Ultima Online has always technically been an EA property.

-Galen's player

Actually, it's something in between.

It was post U6 that EA was in talks to acquire Origin and the employees lambasted EA's heavy handed approach with some subtle anti- Electronic Arts Corporation sentiment throughout U7, released in 1992.

This sticks out in my head because the EAC logo at the time was reminiscent of a cube, pyramid, and sphere respectively. In U7, the Guardian (bad guy) was modeled after the then CEO of EA and his tools of destruction were a blackrock cube, pyramid, and sphere.

It actually started to all go downhill in U7:SI when people noticed that the promised plot was shortened, despite using the same platform as U7. There was also a huge shift of employees to go work on Wing Commander, the other hot property at the time.

The first OSI game developed fully under the EA umbrella was U8 in 1994, which was not-so-concidentally the first game that EA pressured Richard Garriot into a purely supervisory position. It sucked.

We aren't going to mention U9.

UO development didn't even begin until early/mid 1995.

 

[Heartseeker]

Yeah. This thread may get locked... Or even removed. This sort of thing is raging through all businesses. Times are hard.

But as long as upper management gets to keep the life style they are accustomed too, to hell with the peons.

This is happening in my business too.

You've got that right. Damn CEO's are the bane of this country.

Compare the average worker's pay to the CEO's pay in 1950, now compare those figures today. you'll see an 800% increase in the pay differences.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Time for a revolution I think.

"This."

 

[Llwyd]

You've got that right. Damn CEO's are the bane of this country.

Compare the average worker's pay to the CEO's pay in 1950, now compare those figures today. you'll see an 800% increase in the pay differences.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Time for a revolution I think.

I've always thought that anyone who is good at their job deserves decent pay. A great transmission man is as valuable to society as any corporate executive, and frankly, those executives would have a devil of a time if they had to function without secretaries....

Unfortunately, a revolution isn't likely to change much, except who's at the top; and human nature being what it is... it would most likely happen all over again with the new top dogs.

 

[Experimental]

You've got that right. Damn CEO's are the bane of this country.

Compare the average worker's pay to the CEO's pay in 1950, now compare those figures today. you'll see an 800% increase in the pay differences.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Time for a revolution I think.

Yup. Where I work, the upper echelon have their own personal fully equipped gym, a private physicians office with physicians to see to their health care needs on the spot, no waiting, their meals are catered while those of us who eat in the cafeteria see the prices go up and the portions get smaller, they get a huge salary while we get bene's taken away and the CEO, COO and CFO all got "sign on" bonuses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars AND their housing paid for and we had to foot the bill by way of staff cutbacks.

 

[Cetric]

Heard a good one from my Mom who works for the county. To cut costs they locked the thermostats at 65 and took out every 3rd lightbulb in the buildings. But here is the kicker.. they paid the highest paid maintenance person (assistant building and grounds supervisor) overtime (think 50 dollars an hour) to go to all the county buildings and take out the lightbulbs.

 

[Llwyd]

Heard a good one from my Mom who works for the county. To cut costs they locked the thermostats at 65 and took out every 3rd lightbulb in the buildings. But here is the kicker.. they paid the highest paid maintenance person (assistant building and grounds supervisor) overtime (think 50 dollars an hour) to go to all the county buildings and take out the lightbulbs.

The supervisor should have assigned those duties to the maintenance crew and shared the overtime.

 

[onthefifty]

while i'm all for capitalism in its purest forum i'm quite dismayed at the actions of our elected body today.

anyone want a good take on things read matt taibi's article's on goldmine sachs at rolling stone.

for the life of me i have no idea why the people of the U.S. aren't walking down pennsylvania avenue with the torches and pitchfolks. maybe more people are concerned with who's advancing on american idol or john and kate plus 8.

i feel for the ea people and all middle class people that were shown the door thru this crisis while the fat cats received huge sums of government money to bail them out of problems they created and than the gov't money went to paying another round of obscene bonuses.

disgusting. Think about it hard the next time you go to the voting booth.

 

[Magdalene]

Lovely admins *cough* think this thread is going totally off topic, that's all.
(not OT-NHB off topic, just OT).

 

[Prince Caspian]

I would like to just one time walk into an establishment where a group of CEOs were indulging in happy hour and load them all in a Limo and take them to the parts of town where their employees live. I would like to see their reactions to seeing little children playing in the streets because they have no yards, with a wad of rolled up cloth as a football, and half of them not sure if they will hear anyone call them for supper cause their parents are both probably still at work.

Then if the reaction wasnt to my satisfactory, I would like to put their drinks "somewhere" where they would get a much faster reaction to it.

Nough said.

What pisses me off worst about it is, when you come right down to it, *managing* people (ie giving orders) doesn't actually make a dime for the company. What makes money for the company are the people manufacturing the product or performing the service. Don't get me wrong, management IS necessary to marshall forces, but they universally get paid FAR too much for the lack revenue they generate.

Its just like when I was at a major telephony software firm that will remain nameless at the moment -- the sales idiots would make extravagant promises that were not realistic (especially regarding timelines). So what happens? The actual talent of the company, the producing employees (programmers, tech writers, QA, IT) kill themselves and work untold hours trying to make good on this idiotic promise.

And when the miracle is pulled off, who gets the credit and the bonus check? The fuddermucking IDIOT who put us in this situation in the first place. HE sure as hell didn't put in the late hours making this fantasy a reality. In fact I believe he went off on vacation while we were scrambling.

I was out having some drinks with a gal in our sales department and she told me of all the early bar parties and complimentary dinners they get weekly, while the rest of us are doing the actual work that puts the bread in the bank. I tried to convince myself the sour feeling in my stomach was just this lousy beer I ordered and not indignation.

Anyhow. I guess that's my proletariat cheerleading for today.

 

[Belmarduk]

You've got that right. Damn CEO's are the bane of this country.

Compare the average worker's pay to the CEO's pay in 1950, now compare those figures today. you'll see an 800% increase in the pay differences.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Time for a revolution I think.

100% right

 

[MadTexan]

EA purchased OSI in September of 1992