   BS Studio Warning!!!
  I'm writing this message as a warning to all you 3D game and simulation developers.There is a small company here in Huntsville, Alabama. After working there for a year I just could not take it anymore and made it my no.1 priority to find another job ASAP. Luckily I was able to find work elsewhere.The reason why myself and many others could not bare to work there anymore is sadly due to one man. The president of the company and self proclaimed creative director. Which meant he and only him has final say about anything and everything about any project there. This would be fine if he was someone with lots of experience but this man has no idea how to make a game.He hired me to be his art director yet I dont ever recall making any type of decisions about art. I would almost have to go behind his back to be able to actually perform any kind of art director duties. He even refers to me as being defiant just because I attempted to my job as an art director.Not only that but just about every artist that did any work for him ended up with much frustration. I mean imagine someone constantly asking you to produce something cool. You come back to him with some ideas and his response is always "that's not what I'm looking for, I'm not sure what I want, come up with something cool". To this day I'm not sure that man really knows what he wants.He also hired two talented game designers yet he treated them more like interns. He would make it almost impossible for them to do any actual game design work. It was a constant battle for them to try to get any cool and fun ideas into the game just because he didn't understand them or simply because he thought he was the only one qualified to make those types of decisions.He also hired one other guy, led him to believe that he was going to be a designer for a small project. When the guy got there he ended up having to code a game all by himself. And of course all design and art decisions coming from yet again the president and self proclaimed creative director of the company.Lately this company has not been doing well. He is not able to pay all of his employees. This is not that big a deal if you know your working on a start up project and you will have some ownership of it.But imagine going to work one day and your boss gathers everyone and says "sorry guys I can't pay you this month, I don't know when I'll be able to pay you again, I'm off on vacation see ya later".The worst part here is that I'm almost certain he makes sure a few selected employees never miss a paycheck. Hell when I told him I was leaving he started to promise me that I would never miss a paycheck again.I'm also pretty sure he is being dishonest to the general public and possible investors about what his games and what his development team really is. That's how he attracts more people.Bottom line is, this guy is only after making a quick buck. He doesn't seem to care who he steps over in the process. He's probably in the process of closing down his current company, reopening under a different name so he can start over and try to make another quick buck. He's done it before.All I want is to shed some light on this situation and hopefully prevent others like me, people who put their heart and soul into the projects they work on, from falling into this trap.[Edited by - Yuno on September 6, 2008 12:09:58 PM]
  I'm not sure venting your personal opinion about a former employer on GameDev is a great idea. What if he finds out about it? On a site visited by many games industry professionals, you could adversely affect his business, and that sounds like something you could potentially be taken to court over (Maybe Obscure or some more qualified member can comment on that).But it's unprofessional in the extreme to come and rant about your employer, especially if it's one person rather than company direction/policies you disliked. Without hearing his side of the story, it's entirely possible you're the one with the ego problems and he won't give you full rein, or disagreed with your "amazing" ideas?This is definitely is the wrong forum in any case.   ;  I tend agree, it's looks unprofessional to bash an employer on forums like this. If the guy was as poor a manager as you claim the best thing you can do is find better job and move on. As for the potential of a lawsuit, I don't know if GameDev would tell you if some one subpoenaed for information related to your account or not as you maybe able quash should be filed. Though U.S courts seem to be more reluctant to to unmask anonymous posters for libel/slander suits than other common law countries.IANAL   ;  From the sound of it you seem pretty young and appear to have little to no experience in a professional setting. Plain and simple it sounds more like whining then anything else. Sorry if I seem harsh but I'm just calling it how I see it. You really didn't produce anything substantial except for the fact that your employer was difficult to work for. Most of us can identify on that level because that is just how it goes sometimes.Regardless, I realize that there are a lot of kids/dreamers on this forum with no real world exposure, but respect that GameDev is a professional site. With that being said, I'm sure we have members that are a part of start ups or smaller scale dev shops. Beit that they may be either employers or employees. None of us here want to turn Gamedev into a platform for company bashing especially if it's one sided.Bottom line...sort of an unprofessional post. If you have a true beef with your prior employer then I would suggest contacting the BBB.;  There is a saying in the business world.Nothing against you, it's just good business.That saying means that when it comes to business, there are no good guys or bad guys- but just people doing their jobs.If I were you I would take this loss and just learn from it rather than complain about something that can't be changed.This biggest achievement of his is actually a pretty good achievement if you ask me as well, Gods and Generals was a great movie- I never played the game though (or knew there actually was one)As for your experience, I must admit that it is very horrible and no self respecting person should go through that, but rather than making him seem like a bad guy, you're just making yourself look immature.I'm sorry you went through all of that though.   ;Quote:Original post by YunoI'm writing this message as a warning to all you 3D game and simulation developers.There is a small company here in Huntsville, Alabama by the name of Blue Street Studios. After working there for a year I just could not take it anymore and made it my no.1 priority to find another job ASAP. Luckily I was able to find work elsewhere.The reason why myself and many others could not bare to work there anymore is sadly due to one man. The president of the company and self proclaimed creative director. Which meant he and only him has final say about anything and everything about any project there. This would be fine if he was someone with lots of experience but this man has no idea how to make a game.Get used to having one person in charge. Sometimes it's a few people, but that has to happen so the game can have one goal or path. If everyone was able to put in what they wanted without any kind of approval process then the game could end up feeling like it lacks a common theme or direction. Referring to his lack of experience: well you did apply and accept a position there so you're partly to blame. Even beginning teams need a leader. Sometimes the leader is just as much a noob as everyone else. In your interview, did you ask him what his prior experience was? Did you ask him what role(s) he would be taking in day to day work? If not, learn your lesson now and start asking those kinds of questions before taking a job. If you had a problem with this, then you probably shouldn't have accepted the job. You're the Art Director- what is your prior experience? Perhaps you're not qualified as well to direct and lead a bunch of artists. Quote:Original post by YunoHe hired me to be his art director yet I dont ever recall making any type of decisions about art. I would almost have to go behind his back to be able to actually perform any kind of art director duties. He even refers to me as being defiant just because I attempted to my job as an art director.What size was this crew? The smaller the group was the more it makes sense for the head guy to steer the ship. You were hired as Art Director, but consider that you may have been hired and placed in the group to help communicate the creative director's vision: not yours. You seem to be highly emotional about this, but I feel the entire story isn't being told. Maybe you didn't understand what your position and role were going to be at first and wanted to be able to make the shots. In my job I'm able to call some of the shots but I also have to make sure my decisions adhere to the core game design of the project. Quote:Original post by YunoNot only that but just about every artist that did any work for him ended up with much frustration. I mean imagine someone constantly asking you to produce something cool. You come back to him with some ideas and his response is always "that's not what I'm looking for, I'm not sure what I want, come up with something cool". To this day I'm not sure that man really knows what he wants.Welcome to my daily work experience- however the crew I work with have developed systems that enable and help different departments communicate with each other. My discipline is music- and not everyone can talk objectively about music. Some lack the knowledge and others just lack the experience. So part of the trick is to learn how to understand folks that don't know jack about your discipline. Did you have creative meetings before you started creating concept and content? Did you set up (on paper) a list of attributes and also have supplied references for what this creative director thought would be acceptable? From your description- it doesn't sound like it. Part of the responsibility as a video game artist is to know what vision you're there to support. Quote:Original post by YunoHe also hired two talented game designers yet he treated them more like interns. He would make it almost impossible for them to do any actual game design work. It was a constant battle for them to try to get any cool and fun ideas into the game just because he didn't understand them or simply because he thought he was the only one qualified to make those types of decisions.I love what my creative director told the entire team: Game designers are not the creators of game design ideas. They shouldn't be charged with making all of the design decisions. It's the team's job- all of us! Someone from programming can have a great idea and share it with the game designers. Someone from audio or art can have a great game design thought and pass it on to the game designers. Game designers are shepherds of  game design ideas.Sounds to me, while perhaps a bit too active, the creative designer was just trying to help out. Pretty common on professional video game teams as well. Quote:Original post by YunoLately this company has not been doing well. He is not able to pay all of his employees. This is not that big a deal if you know your working on a start up project and you will have some ownership of it.But imagine going to work one day and your boss gathers everyone and says "sorry guys I can't pay you this month, I don't know when I'll be able to pay you again, I'm off on vacation see ya later".The worst part here is that I'm almost certain he makes sure a few selected employees never miss a paycheck. Hell when I told him I was leaving he started to promise me that I would never miss a paycheck again.Welcome to start up company reality. This happens in other industries too. Perhaps not with the boss going on vacations, but not getting paid is a harsh reality. When you took the job- what kind of contract did you sign? What did it say about payment? Does he still owe you money according to the contract? If you can prove that some were never going without pay and the boss was going on vacation using company funds then you may have some legal options. However, this is alot to prove and seeing as how you're no longer in that office, I would think that would be very hard to do. (I'm also NOT a lawyer.) Sometimes with start ups- the money just isn't there. My friend is one of the co-founders of company (not in the video game industry) and sometimes his paychecks are late. Now he always gets paid, but start ups for video games go through this. Again, you knew this was a start up and accepted the job. Now you seem to be so upset. Have you worked for a start up before? Quote:Original post by YunoI'm also pretty sure he is being dishonest to the general public and possible investors about what his games and what his development team really is. That's how he attracts more people.If you're going to make this claim- you really need to back it up with evidence and examples. Anyone can call anyone anything on the internet. Since many of you other grievances sound more like the norm for poor or start up video game development (and management), I doubt the validity of this statement. Quote:Original post by YunoBottom line is, this guy is only after making a quick buck. He doesn't seem to care who he steps over in the process. He's probably in the process of closing down his current company, reopening under a different name so he can start over and try to make another quick buck. He's done it before.Oh by the way this mans biggest achievement is a game called Gods and Generals. Look it up.Or better yet, here's a link to the game's review http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/g...als/review.htmlAll I want is to shed some light on this situation and hopefully prevent others like me, people who put their heart and soul into the projects they work on, from falling into this trap.Again, to me it sounds like you just didn't realize what you were stepping into and now regret it. For me this isn't really a valid warning- but does serve as a very useful discussion on what it is really like working on some start up companies. A good rule of thumb- only post what you can prove 100% without a doubt. Everything else, do not post publicly. For example, I can prove to you 100% that I took a company to court and sued them for $4500 for nonpayment and breach of our contract. I can also prove that I won the case. I'm not against posts giving a heads up to contractors- after all I've been screwed in the past and want to help others avoid those pitfalls (remember FXHire07?) Just make sure you can prove what you claim. Nathan[Edited by - nsmadsen on September 6, 2008 9:01:09 AM];  Good to vent because the alternative is to spontaneously combust, though I dont think it should be posted in the help wanted section   ;  I don't believe this belongs in Help Wanted.   ;  Thank you all for your replies.I apologize if it seemed like I was whining or just plain crying over spilled milk.  I most certainly learned my lesson, and my intention was not to put any blame on anyone for my bad experience.I do however feel terrible at the thought of anyone else falling blindly like I did. So I am just trying to help out. Take it however you want, and use me as an example of what not to do if you wish. As long as it helps you to not fall into the kind of trap I did.;  It's better if you dont post names (company names) or references, that can backfire on you. Some companies have better understanding on how to run a successful business, some are just clueless.   