38 Studios layoffs

[retroshaun]

http://www.pixlbit.com/news/2141/38_...f_entire_staff

Horrible news. I have no idea how financially crippling the next round of console dev is going to be but the industry simply cannot survive much longer unless things change considerably. I was looking to work with these guys a while ago - lucky escape.

Goes to show a sportsman shouldn't be running a games dev studio I guess.

[SubaruBrat]

What do you think needs to change considerably? Charge more per game? I think the needle is pegged on cost. Lower the quality or product variety by having fewer people in industry, sales would fall. Is there a way out or have video games become a non profitable industry?

[miner2049er]

Make video games less like movies and more like games.

Movies are going the same way and will reach a point where the price pegs and they can't be made with enough story, effects, stars and glitz to be successful.

Back to bedroom coders and small production houses making "new" games rather than things that sound like rugby scores:

Halo 5 - Dead Space 2
Call Of Duty 7 - Battlefield 4

[retroshaun]

Basically Mike is spot on. I worry its also a change in mentality / expectations on the part of the games player too and maybe that will only happen when the big studios collapse and theres no-one out there with the financial clout, not to mention skill sets and team sizes, to make these projects a reality. I have seen this coming since perhaps the PS2 era but its really snowballing of late. Even the "tried and tested franchises" Mike mentions are going to struggle with the onset of the next gen systems... each revision of hardware seems to be more complex to develop for and the visual expectations are exponentially higher. Its getting to the point where just making a background environmental object can take several days and thats assuming you have good, guided art direction, which is something I never experienced in 12 years of making games. Changes in direction, feature bloat, and of course the sheer amount of financial backing needed (see the above story about 38 for examples of that) to make current gen "AAA" titles is making the business non-viable.

What worries me more is tho the industry is shifting/collapsing/changing focus, theres hundreds, probably thousands, of educational institutions refusing to recognize this and still pumping out graduates all expecting to walk into a mega job with a rosy future and thats just not going to be reality soon, unfortunately. I know so many very skilled developers who literally cant even get companies to acknowledge their applications, most likely because they are too expensive or they simply became lost in the pile of resumes. And all too often the developers are very happy to take the graduates over veterans purely based on cost, but they invariably require so much training and simply don't have the experience to actually ship a game when it comes down to the crunch.

Anyway I rabbited on enough. I am pretty passionate about this stuff, the industry was great to me for quite a long time but the writing was on the wall so long ago in my eyes, which is why I got out when I could. Looking like it was a pretty good idea too. I really hope games can simply shift and be successful with smaller projects and teams. The signs are there with mobile dev and electronic distribution - as much as I hate it, its probably good for the business in many ways - but its still a very mixed up industry that really needs a little time to regroup.

[indieseoul]

Before you cry the death of the gaming industry it might be pertinent to see why their Rhode Island Studio went Bankrupt. It has to do with the fact that they were developing an MMO during a time in which MMOs have all gone free to play. I think it has more to do with their inability to be flexible with their pricing structure and less about the current state of the video game industry. Don't get me wrong the video game industry is in trouble but in the case of this developer it has more to do with banking their future on a game genre that is having problems sparking interest in consumers.

[retroshaun]

Well, that and the fact thats its not a very good game, they heavily HEAVILY over employed, they moved states and borrowed money, and at the end of the day they demonstrated what I am talking about - games are WAY too costly to develop, they are NOT developed smartly at all (after 12 years of seeing the same f-ups in design, re-working ideas, scrapping art etc etc, believe me what I say is true on this front) and even the best game in the world can absolutely bring about the death of a company almost instantaneously if it doesn't sell by the bucket load.

It really doesnt matter if its because its an MMO because it could have been a FPS with hugely high aims, but that long dev period, reliance on outsourcing (which is a horribly managed way to develop art and the results are often of a lesser quality, or a similar cost in the end to an in house development - again, I have worked with this a lot), changes in direction etc makes it extremely hard to recoup the dev costs, they are simply spiraling out of control. And because teams are becoming so large, with such mixed skills, and spread between in house, freelance all over the world, and outsourced, the teams become management heavy too, which always causes problems.

But the original point is the industry cannot sustain the current model at all and I am way more concerned about the people rather than the industry... it can go away tomorrow as far as I am concerned, it will be a horrible moment but I just really don't see it affecting me that much as a games player if I'm honest. Its so difficult seeing all these groups of graduates every year at job fairs, so full of excitement and drive and they really aren't prepared for the state of the industry at all.

[retroshaun]

Similar to the EA souse letter, heres one from the wife of a former 38 Studios employee. I have been through these major moves a great many times myself, including one the past couple of months, so I feel her pain only too well. hat a mess.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/1...speaks_out.php

Editor's note: Gamasutra received the letter below on Tuesday evening. In it, the wife of a former 38 Studios employee describes a uniquely heart-wrenching story about uprooting a five-person family for an exciting new opportunity in Rhode Island, where now-defunct 38 Studios was located.

The description of events differs from Gamasutra's previous report, due to its unique viewpoint from someone who didn't work at the company, but relied on it just as much as an employee. She wished to remain anonymous, but Gamasutra verified her husband's name and former position at 38 Studios.

Below is the "38 Studios Spouse's" full letter:

I want to tell a different, but not impartial, side of this story. I am telling this for two reasons. First, to raise awareness and help for any of the family or employees involved. Second, so other people know what companies can do.

I am not a 38 Studios employee, a big baseball star (who may or may not have trusted the wrong people), or some politician trying to prove a point. I am very involved though and affected by this disaster, as a wife and mother, who has moved the most important people in my life to a new state. I knew Rhode Island would be different, but hopefully still an adventure and maybe a home eventually.

We moved to Rhode Island at the end of December 2011. We opened our presents on Christmas Day, took down our tree on the 26th, and began packing and loading moving trucks on the 28th, all because my husband was hired by 38 Studios and told he had to start work as quickly as possible. We spent a month living out of a hotel searching day after day for a house to rent. My children could not get back into school and could not start a new life until we found a place to settle. Finally we found a place to live, paid deposits on the house, utilities, etc. and moved. We registered all three children at all three new schools, because we do have one in each - elementary, middle, and high school. Finally, our stuff is delivered and our life can start again. It's always hard to move and this is our second big move, but we finally made it to the point where we can re-build our support system and boy were we ready.

My husband has been in the gaming world for a long time. Most of his life has been spent working in this industry and he is well equipped to deal with the problems that go with it. He is usually hired when things are ready to be tied up and finished or they need someone with experience who can tell the left hand how to work with the right hand to meet the release dates set.

The first week he worked at 38 Studios he was concerned about the different teams and their ability to work together. He went to more than one executive during the weeks that followed encouraging them to make changes or deal with the release date issue. The company was not ready for him to do the job he was hired to do, therefore he was placed on other projects to wait it out.

Obviously, in the weeks to come our family had less trust in what we were being told. We did not have a chance to love 38 Studios or [founder and ex-baseball pro] Curt Schilling. We really only saw the landslide of mistakes and ultimate failure. We did not see this coming or could we have ever imagined how in 2012 a company could get away with treating employees this way. There have to be laws or safety nets or something … right?

So, on the 15th of May I sat down to pay bills and upon checking our bank account noticed we had not had our direct deposit made by 38 Studios. I called my husband and asked him to check on it when he got to work. When he came home that night he told me that he had to stay for a 5 o'clock meeting to find out they didn't make payroll. He was unhappy, but said that he was promised they were working on the problem and sure they would have it worked out by the next day.

The next day began at 7:30 am and ended at 7:00 pm. It took 10 1/2 hours to find out that they still could not pay him and didn't have any answers. On the May 16th-21st, my husband returned day after day, told to drive in to work and promised pay, but every day came home empty handed after late meetings and more promises. The longest day was 12 hours and each day we were spending more money on gas and more hope going out the window. During this time, we were also trying to keep our children from worrying while they spent each day hoping to catch a glimpse of their dad before they went to sleep.

By the 22nd we were really scared and feeling lied to, my husband decided it's time to work from home to save the gas money as did many others at the studio. At many times it occurred to us to just give up and move on, but we didn't. There was one main reason. If we left the company we would be responsible for the relocation costs of moving to Rhode Island from just five months ago and we did not have the funds to pay for that after not receiving paychecks. From May 22nd-24th, my husband worked from home trying to come up with ideas to get anything out the door and bring in some money to save 38 Studios. We also get another kick while we were down on May 22nd, when one of the employees' wives is at her pregnancy check up and is told that her insurance company has notified the doctor that it was ending at midnight on the 24th of May. When confronted, 38 Studios admitted they had been aware since the 21st of May that due to lack of payment for several months, insurance was going to be canceled on May 24th.

Again, they knew the problem existed and chose to not tell us or give us any notice. On the 24th of May, my husband was laid off officially after six days of wasted gas, with no payment of wages for all of May (1st-24th), no insurance, slim chances of ever seeing any money since the State of Rhode Island would be paid first by all asset sales, and had to drive in once more to get his belongings and attend a meeting on unemployment benefits.

Ok, so time to lick our wounds, get back on the horse, and find a new job. At least we stuck it out and won't have to pay back our relocation costs according to the Chief Operating Officer. Wrong! On June 1st, we get a letter from Atlas Van Lines with 10 days to pay our overdue moving bill of a sizeable amount. Six months has gone by since our move. There was no notice at any point that this had not been paid and now we get a bill with 10 days to pay. Why now? Haven't they had 6 months to collect this? Didn't the company say we would be let out of our contract since they folded? Couldn't they have given us a heads up at any point before we were broke and our savings gone to feed our children? After all, a heads up on this might have alerted us to a problem with 38 Studios before we got to this point. Well on one page in a series, of approximately 45, we signed a document stating in tiny print that we would be responsible if the company does not pay. I don't know if most people are aware, but moving with three kids, a dog, and a cat from one coast to another is a bit tiring and this document was of course presented on the day our stuff arrived in Rhode Island, which was chaos.

So, there goes our credit rating no matter how hard we are trying to still pay for all bills with no income. We have no income, no time to prepare, and I will not let my children starve to pay for a move that did not exactly work out. Why hadn't Atlas collected from 38 Studios? We were told by an Atlas representative that they had a special working relationship with Curt Schilling, therefore they were trying to work with him. Must be nice to have at least 30 days, let alone six months to pay for this bill.

Am I angry? You bet! I have been taken for a ride and am having to take a handout from the government for the first time in my life. Who do I get to direct my anger at? Nobody! The ones responsible aren't around to chat with or pay for the consequences of their actions. At moments I think Curt Schilling trusted the wrong people, but at least he is having to deal with this mess too. At other times, I am angry and think Curt Schilling is a smart man and should have done better!

Where will we go and what is next? I have no idea and am just trying to feed my family and love them and hope moving my kids again won't completely break their trust in us or hurt them too much. I think we could have liked Rhode Island. I think of all the supportive people and friendly faces and how much kindness we have been offered since this happened from people we barely know. We will probably be moving away from this state and paying taxes and working somewhere else soon. It is a shame that certain politicians couldn't get past the need to prove a point about being against 38 Studios and see they were harming their state in the long run. I mean 38 Studios was already here and the way I see it anything that could be done to make it a success would only benefit Rhode Island. As it stands, there are close to 300 very talented people dispersing all over the country and out of Rhode Island. There is an empty building with no game to be sold and a bunch of equipment that will not come close to paying for what is owed more than likely. And worst of all, there are some great people here in Rhode Island that will not benefit from the boost in economy.

My husband is interviewing daily thanks to an amazing industry trying to make up for what has happened. He is a talented man, who feels somehow responsible for moving our family into this mess and wishes he could have saved this company and every person at 38 Studios' jobs. He is just trying to take away what lessons he can and move on.

Me? I blame a company named 38 Studios and all of their executives for moving so many families while knowing they weren't paying bills, weren't going to hit their dates, and were running out of money. Learn this lesson from our struggles so you never have to experience it first hand. Protect yourself and family any way you can, read the small print, and realize no matter how big the company is if they run out of money there is very little you can do to get what is owed to you.

[Nurmix]

Back to bedroom coders and small production houses making "new" games rather than things that sound like rugby scores:

Halo 5 - Dead Space 2
Call Of Duty 7 - Battlefield 4

Well said, UK.

I guess the perceived safety net provided by going with established, proven IPs outweighs creating new and innovative titles that may or may not catch on. Combined with out of control production costs, this is definitely a recipe for disaster.

But will the young gamers accept anything less than what's being created now (as far as graphics and high production value is concerned)? I think if the titles focus more on playability, and achieve that, then they will succeed. But if they don't, then I, like Retroshaun, won't feel terribly affected by it as a retro-gamer at heart.

[Gordon Bennett]

Unsurprisingly I agree with the consensus on the forum. There's quite a lot about modern gaming that has left me feeling alienated. The high-profile games with massive budgets are only one aspect. The problem is obvious, it comes down to money. Big games cost an enormous amount to produce and distribute. That money comes from publishers who want a return on their investment plus a healthy profit, consequently they will invest safely in sequels, clones of existing successful titles and licenced games. Very much like Hollywood.

On the other hand, again like in film, independent games are thriving. I'm very happy with the things I've been seeing from independent developers, paericularly on the PC. Fresh ideas, niche subjects and a growing level of quality. Plus most are available at a bargain price if not for free. I've picked up a few indie adventure bundles for a fraction of the price of any AA release and enjoyed them thoroughly. Also, I spent a few days looking around the web for freeware games and picked up a very nice collection of intriguing games, many of which look much more polished than anything that I would have expected for nothing.

[Blackzc]

Its about time for another (crash). With F2P and the war on used games there will be a backlash from this crap. Have you seen what EA is doing with BF3? Five expansions in 9 months. Lord Of The Rings Online started out as a very solid off the beaten path MMO that i played for 3 years. Its now turned into a freemium type game that constantly tries to manipulate you into spending money. It just kills and cheapens the game. Its a market that isn't there hanging on for dear life. I don't see it lasting

Time to face facts. The market has to adjust and some of these coders will need to find something else to do for a while. Its not the end of the world.