Gameloft accused of overworking employees
A former head programmer for mobile and iOS developer Gameloft has made some pretty damning accusations against the company in a complaint. Glenn Watson says that he was made to work over 100 hours a week sometimes, and that "it was after I worked four consecutive weeks of fourteen-hour days - including weekends - that I realised I needed to resign." The issues didn't stop there, either -- after Watson resigned, he claims, he was asked to apologize for leaving others behind to do the work that he passed up. He says the best apology would be to make sure his fellow employees "never get put through the same rubbish conditions again."
Other employees have backed up Watson's claims, apparently, and even the company itself says there are some long hours being worked, though they're all in line with regulations and employee contracts.
It's also true, however, that Gameloft's been releasing mobile and iOS titles at a quick rate, and the company's CFO has admitted that it's "an ugly scene" in mobile game development right now. And this definitely isn't the first accusation of employee abuse in the gaming industry -- a posting by an anonymous "EA Spouse" a few years ago laid bare the hours and problems game companies often have when they are pushing to get a game out by a certain time. We'll have to see what comes of this complaint, both in terms of actions against Gameloft, and any changes the company makes in the future.
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A former head programmer for mobile and iOS developer Gameloft has made some pretty damning accusations against the company in a...
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In such industries, pick a lower hourly rate vs. salary. I learned that at a marketing / communications company; hourly means they have to pay you overtime, salary means you are a slave. At the interview, ask for a tour and to talk to future co-workers.
July 20 2011 at 10:55 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe employees can quit if they don't like it and work somewhere else.
July 20 2011 at 1:22 AM Report abuse Permalink -2 rate up rate down ReplyIn an ideal world but its hard in this financial climate to get a Job in any sector, not to mention he won't have a chance to look for other work when he is working those type of hours.
July 20 2011 at 4:25 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyNot every sector, the software development market is on fire, with tons of jobs and top pay.
For iOS developers, its twice as good. There is absolutely no reason for any iOS developer to suffer these kinds of conditions in this market....but its unfortunately common as that job market is also leaving projects at all levels understaffed.
No, they can't. That is a falsehood perpetuated by businesses, starting with the contract you sign when you begin working for them. It's a statement that reads something like "Employment at this company is 'At will', meaning that the company can let you go at any time without notice and without reason. Likewise, you are free to leave the company at any time without notice and without reason."
I've been let go twice without reason, notice or severance in my 14-year career. The companies responsible were "sorry" that I was so out of luck, in spite of many over-long hours working for them on a low-salaried pay. They're both still in business today and I'm sure that they are getting by just fine on the backs of recent graduates. I've also quit two jobs without reason (other than being treated like trash) or notice, and the companies seemed to take it very personally.
You can't just work someplace else when nearly every company out there adheres to the same M.O. That is, if we all treat employees poorly, overwork them and pay them quite a bit less than what they're worth, then one place to work is just as good (bad) as the next. Especially in the current financial circumstances when management is VERY aware that people will take a lot of abuse because there is nowhere else for them to go.
I graduated college shortly before the beginning of the dot.com boom in the late '90s. I remember very well how employers were resentful because management had little to no idea what the internet or the WWW actually was and there was such demand for talent that they HAD to offer fair and attractive employment packages if they wanted to retain good people.
David
They can get away with because in most locations programmers are considered to be exempt employees. Frankly you like have more protections as a programmer in China.
July 20 2011 at 12:28 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI'm a software engineer who has been in the field for a long, long time.
One of the first rules I was given was:
Never work for video game companies. They'll work you long and hard, they won't pay ****, and when you get pissed off and quit, there are twenty fresh-outs who are all going to fight like hell for your spot.
Look, if you want to make REAL money and a REAL career out of the software industry, do a job that has a niche market, but that makes a difference. Write software for banks, or hospitals, or charities, or firefighters/police officers. Your software MAY not sell to as many, but it'll tend to be pricier, you will be affecting more lives seriously, and a lot more kids won't come along and steal your job because they just graduated from college.
Making video games is what every kid wants to do. So those people get abused. Not everyone wants to write power control software or mortgage origination software or satellite tracking software... but THOSE that do really are making a big difference in the world.
I noticed a long time ago Gameloft's games were always incomplete, lacking attention to detail and QA. This only confirms what many have said for a long time: Gameloft is all about SHOVELWARE.
July 19 2011 at 9:36 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI find the comments disturbing but I can't say I am surprised. I am glad that now I get to lead a company we implemented a 4 day work week + policies that essentially put an end to the overworking.
I also had an experience with a gig for a video game company in which everyone around me looked as they had guns pointed at them all day long to finish the work and of course you can imagine the kind of environment that is. I hear these comments often but more often from developers in the video game industry.
Kudos to that guy for realizing something was wrong and putting and stop to it and hopefully if GameLoft was really at fault I am sure they will take the matter seriously and right what was wrong.
Wait, what? No one is forcing anyone to work for GameLoft. If it sucks, then quit and good for Glenn Watson for doing so. If the rest of the job market sucks worse, then clearly the GameLoft job is the best option.
July 19 2011 at 9:07 PM Report abuse Permalink -2 rate up rate down ReplyIt's like this everywhere right now, in many industries. Everyone is so worried that if they quit or get fired that they won't be able to find another job, that they break their backs anytime the company asks them to. Companies are figuring this out and working people to the BONE. It's disgusting, but that's the reality of today's job market. Instead of hiring more people, they just work you harder, because they CAN.
July 19 2011 at 8:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Mark
I hear you. Ultimately these people should be lucky they even have a job, especially one of a programmer who makes quite a bit more than the typical joe, especially the ones who can't even find work.
July 19 2011 at 9:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Mabhatter
not really, the science is that people can't work "flat out" for more than about 35 hours a week. Those numbers were done during WW2 when even the government had to realize that forcing factories to "just work harder" lead to crappy, dangerous supplies for the troops. Much past 45 hours the rate of mistakes starts reducing OVERALL daily output for every extra hour... the whole "if you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to do it again?" statement is in full effect here.
Working on IT projects myself, the only excuse for those kinds of hours are doing direct installs or when things go wonky... the reality is that while games are complicated, they pale in comparison to ERP installs involving thousands of employees that cost $100,000+ per HOUR of downtime every minute they miss the mark. Blitzes sometimes have to happen... but for more than a week... somebody is just a bad project planner.
The trouble with games is that the MANAGERS are really the amateurs, so they hire amateurs. As managers they are really managing "art" so they need to develop tools different than what the ERP or Spreadsheet makers use. But FAILURE of management to develop new tools for the art of game making doesn't excuse what they're doing to employees. It's not an either-or problem.. that's narrow thinking like a boring dumb business student.
Same issue happens in Europe, Romania in the Electronic Arts's studio.
They treat the testers as crap, and the salary is very low regarding the work volume put up.
Shannon Doherty
I thought game development was basically like this anyway at any game studio. Perhaps not?
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