EA's bright and shiny new corporate trademark is "Challenge Everything." Where this applies is not exactly clear. Churning out one licensed football game after another doesn't sound like challenging much of anything to me; it sounds like a money farm. To any EA executive that happens to read this, I have a good challenge for you: how about safe and sane labor practices for the people on whose backs you walk for your millions?
I am retaining some anonymity here because I have no illusions about what the consequences would be for my family if I was explicit. However, I also feel no impetus to shy away from sharing our story, because I know that it is too common to stick out among those of the thousands of engineers, artists, and designers that EA employs.
Our adventures with Electronic Arts began less than a year ago. The small game studio that my partner worked for collapsed as a result of foul play on the part of a big publisher -- another common story. Electronic Arts offered a job, the salary was right and the benefits were good, so my SO took it. I remember that they asked him in one of the interviews: "how do you feel about working long hours?" It's just a part of the game industry -- few studios can avoid a crunch as deadlines loom, so we thought nothing of it. When asked for specifics about what "working long hours" meant, the interviewers coughed and glossed on to the next question; now we know why.
Within weeks production had accelerated into a 'mild' crunch: eight hours six days a week. Not bad. Months remained until any real crunch would start, and the team was told that this "pre-crunch" was to prevent a big crunch toward the end; at this point any other need for a crunch seemed unlikely, as the project was dead on schedule. I don't know how many of the developers bought EA's explanation for the extended hours; we were new and naive so we did. The producers even set a deadline; they gave a specific date for the end of the crunch, which was still months away from the title's shipping date, so it seemed safe. That date came and went. And went, and went. When the next news came it was not about a reprieve; it was another acceleration: twelve hours six days a week, 9am to 10pm.
Weeks passed. Again the producers had given a termination date on this crunch that again they failed. Throughout this period the project remained on schedule. The long hours started to take its toll on the team; people grew irritable and some started to get ill. People dropped out in droves for a couple of days at a time, but then the team seemed to reach equilibrium again and they plowed ahead. The managers stopped even talking about a day when the hours would go back to normal.
Now, it seems, is the "real" crunch, the one that the producers of this title so wisely prepared their team for by running them into the ground ahead of time. The current mandatory hours are 9am to 10pm -- seven days a week -- with the occasional Saturday evening off for good behavior (at 6:30pm). This averages out to an eighty-five hour work week. Complaints that these once more extended hours combined with the team's existing fatigue would result in a greater number of mistakes made and an even greater amount of wasted energy were ignored.
The stress is taking its toll. After a certain number of hours spent working the eyes start to lose focus; after a certain number of weeks with only one day off fatigue starts to accrue and accumulate exponentially. There is a reason why there are two days in a weekend -- bad things happen to one's physical, emotional, and mental health if these days are cut short. The team is rapidly beginning to introduce as many flaws as they are removing.
And the kicker: for the honor of this treatment EA salaried employees receive a) no overtime; b) no compensation time! ('comp' time is the equalization of time off for overtime -- any hours spent during a crunch accrue into days off after the product has shipped); c) no additional sick or vacation leave. The time just goes away. Additionally, EA recently announced that, although in the past they have offered essentially a type of comp time in the form of a few weeks off at the end of a project, they no longer wish to do this, and employees shouldn't expect it. Further, since the production of various games is scattered, there was a concern on the part of the employees that developers would leave one crunch only to join another. EA's response was that they would attempt to minimize this, but would make no guarantees. This is unthinkable; they are pushing the team to individual physical health limits, and literally giving them nothing for it. Comp time is a staple in this industry, but EA as a corporation wishes to "minimize" this reprieve. One would think that the proper way to minimize comp time is to avoid crunch, but this brutal crunch has been on for months, and nary a whisper about any compensation leave, nor indeed of any end of this treatment.
This crunch also differs from crunch time in a smaller studio in that it was not an emergency effort to save a project from failure. Every step of the way, the project remained on schedule. Crunching neither accelerated this nor slowed it down; its effect on the actual product was not measurable. The extended hours were deliberate and planned; the management knew what they were doing as they did it. The love of my life comes home late at night complaining of a headache that will not go away and a chronically upset stomach, and my happy supportive smile is running out.
No one works in the game industry unless they love what they do. No one on that team is interested in producing an inferior product. My heart bleeds for this team precisely BECAUSE they are brilliant, talented individuals out to create something great. They are and were more than willing to work hard for the success of the title. But that good will has only been met with abuse. Amazingly, Electronic Arts was listed #91 on Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2003.
EA's attitude toward this -- which is actually a part of company policy, it now appears -- has been (in an anonymous quotation that I've heard repeated by multiple managers), "If they don't like it, they can work someplace else." Put up or shut up and leave: this is the core of EA's Human Resources policy. The concept of ethics or compassion or even intelligence with regard to getting the most out of one's workforce never enters the equation: if they don't want to sacrifice their lives and their health and their talent so that a multibillion dollar corporation can continue its Godzilla-stomp through the game industry, they can work someplace else.
But can they?
The EA Mambo, paired with other giants such as Vivendi, Sony, and Microsoft, is rapidly either crushing or absorbing the vast majority of the business in game development. A few standalone studios that made their fortunes in previous eras -- Blizzard, Bioware, and Id come to mind -- manage to still survive, but 2004 saw the collapse of dozens of small game studios, no longer able to acquire contracts in the face of rapid and massive consolidation of game publishing companies. This is an epidemic hardly unfamiliar to anyone working in the industry. Though, of course, it is always the option of talent to go outside the industry, perhaps venturing into the booming commercial software development arena. (Read my tired attempt at sarcasm.)
To put some of this in perspective, I myself consider some figures. If EA truly believes that it needs to push its employees this hard -- I actually believe that they don't, and that it is a skewed operations perspective alone that results in the severity of their crunching, coupled with a certain expected amount of the inefficiency involved in running an enterprise as large as theirs -- the solution therefore should be to hire more engineers, or artists, or designers, as the case may be. Never should it be an option to punish one's workforce with ninety hour weeks; in any other industry the company in question would find itself sued out of business so fast its stock wouldn't even have time to tank. In its first weekend, Madden 2005 grossed $65 million. EA's annual revenue is approximately $2.5 billion. This company is not strapped for cash; their labor practices are inexcusable.
The interesting thing about this is an assumption that most of the employees seem to be operating under. Whenever the subject of hours come up, inevitably, it seems, someone mentions 'exemption'. They refer to a California law that supposedly exempts businesses from having to pay overtime to certain 'specialty' employees, including software programmers. This is Senate Bill 88. However, Senate Bill 88 specifically does not apply to the entertainment industry -- television, motion picture, and theater industries are specifically mentioned. Further, even in software, there is a pay minimum on the exemption: those exempt must be paid at least $90,000 annually. I can assure you that the majority of EA employees are in fact not in this pay bracket; ergo, these practices are not only unethical, they are illegal.
I look at our situation and I ask 'us': why do you stay? And the answer is that in all likelihood we won't; and in all likelihood if we had known that this would be the result of working for EA, we would have stayed far away in the first place. But all along the way there were deceptions, there were promises, there were assurances -- there was a big fancy office building with an expensive fish tank -- all of which in the end look like an elaborate scheme to keep a crop of employees on the project just long enough to get it shipped. And then if they need to, they hire in a new batch, fresh and ready to hear more promises that will not be kept; EA's turnover rate in engineering is approximately 50%. This is how EA works. So now we know, now we can move on, right? That seems to be what happens to everyone else. But it's not enough. Because in the end, regardless of what happens with our particular situation, this kind of "business" isn't right, and people need to know about it, which is why I write this today.
If I could get EA CEO Larry Probst on the phone, there are a few things I would ask him. "What's your salary?" would be merely a point of curiosity. The main thing I want to know is, Larry: you do realize what you're doing to your people, right? And you do realize that they ARE people, with physical limits, emotional lives, and families, right? Voices and talents and senses of humor and all that? That when you keep our husbands and wives and children in the office for ninety hours a week, sending them home exhausted and numb and frustrated with their lives, it's not just them you're hurting, but everyone around them, everyone who loves them? When you make your profit calculations and your cost analyses, you know that a great measure of that cost is being paid in raw human dignity, right?
Right?
===
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This is why american programmers are outsourced.
Anonymous
November 16 2004, 21:34:58 UTC 15 years ago
Ignorance is bliss isn't it?
Anonymous
November 16 2004, 21:55:14 UTC 15 years ago
Why are things cheaper elsewhere? Any myriad reasons. Illegal labor practices, no legal recourse, much cheaper cost of living, etc, etc.
Do you really think a programmer living in America, making as little as a programmer living in a country with a much cheaper cost of living can have the same quality of life?
Get real.
Re: Ignorance is bliss isn't it?
Anonymous
15 years ago
Blow it out your ass!!!
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: Blow it out your ass!!!
Anonymous
15 years ago
Fuck outsourcing
15 years ago
And what is the number one factor of value?
Anonymous
15 years ago
Deleted comment
WHY DON'T YOU DO IT!
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 04:08:56 UTC 15 years ago
Re: WHY DON'T YOU DO IT!
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: WHY DON'T YOU DO IT!
Anonymous
15 years ago
Something positive that YOU can do.
Anonymous
November 16 2004, 22:42:37 UTC 15 years ago
There are many independent game-developers around the world who release games they have written for free. Why? Because they love it! Often, they just release them on the Internet so they can share them with everyone else. They may ask for money or gifts, but they don't expect anything.
What you should do is find some of these games and play them yourself. If you like one, send a donation to the authors. They will really appreciate it, and this will encourage them to do more of the same. Even sending a nice e-mail to them will really brighten up their day. If enough people do this, these independent developers can make a living for themselves and dedicate all their time to doing something that they love. One place where you can find such games is on the Sourceforge games and entertainment section (http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=80) (beware, many of these games are unfinished). Another place is on Allegro.cc (http://www.allegro.cc/) . I'm sure there are many more such sites on the Internet that offer free games, so if you want to mention one, please follow up to this comment..
With enough people downloading these games, everyone will realize what a game is all about, and will eventually stop buying the soul-less crap churned out by the zombified staff of the mega-corps.
Will the managers of EA suddenly become enlightened? Will a union form that will overthrow the management? That is something most of us have no control over. Will independent game developers rise from the ocean of commercial games? This is something we can all participate in. Download some games today, play them, and let the authors know you like them. If they get enough gifts, they will be inspired to make some more.
Let's bring game-development back into the hands of the game developers.
Let's make games fun again!!!
Re: Something positive that YOU can do.
November 16 2004, 23:11:00 UTC 15 years ago
Here's an idea.
Anonymous
November 16 2004, 22:49:27 UTC 15 years ago
How about all EA employees organize a massive break. What would be the reaction if ALL dev teams employees will take a break at exactly 4PM on FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19th. I'm sure that the management will notice that all the employees are all of a sudden gone for 10 minutes and are all just standing in the parking lot.
If you are for it, post a reply.
Re: Here's an idea.
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 09:33:00 UTC 15 years ago
Re: Here's an idea.
Anonymous
15 years ago
To every moron who comes here and says "stop complaining"
November 16 2004, 22:56:13 UTC 15 years ago
Just because someone else is in a worse situation than you are doesn't mean your situation isn't bad. Just because worse things could happen to you doesn't mean you shouldn't speak up.
Should victims of theft let the crime go unreported because somewhere out there, someone is getting shot? Should someone who lost an arm due to a medical mistake not complain to the hospital because somewhere out there, someone has *died* due to a medical mistake?
Should someone who is the victim of illegal practices by an employer not speak out just because somewhere out there, someone else is getting screwed over even more?
It doesn't make any sense. None. NONE AT ALL. Not in this situation, not in ANY situation. You are *extraordinarily* unlikely to be the most miserable, most suffering, most anguished, most unfairly treated person on the planet at any given time. There will ALWAYS be someone whose suffering exceeds your own. Does that mean nothing bad ever happens to you? That no injustice ever enters your life?
Things can be bad without being the ABSOLUTE WORST. In fact, they can be pretty DAMN bad. So pointing out that "things could be worse" is a job for Captain Obvious, not something that needs to be said to people who are suffering. OF COURSE things could be worse, jackass. But that doesn't mean that they aren't bad, and it CERTAINLY doesn't mean you shouldn't talk about them and try to make them better.
And to the morons of the slightly different variety who claim the people involved should "stop whining and just quit," you, too, are jackasses. Quitting solves your own personal problem, assuming you're even in a financially secure enough position to be able to do so. But what about everyone else? What about the poor sap who takes your place? Talking about how shitty it was there, telling the world about the illegal labor practices, warning the next generation, getting EA in legal trouble, suing the pants off of the managers who are personally responsible-- THAT'S solving the real problem. THAT'S what this is all about. Obviously quitting is on the to-do list for most of EA's employees. You'd know that if you read other people's comments before posting your own. But that's just a place to start. These people aren't whining, they're trying to get organized. They're standing up for themselves. They're telling the Corporate Asshats at EA to FUCK OFF instead of just slinking away and begging for a new job somewhere else while crossing their fingers and hoping it's less shitty.
Talking about injustice isn't whining. Pointing out that other injustices are worse doesn't constitute an intelligent comment. And posting before you read and think makes you a jackass.
Re: To every moron who comes here and says "stop complaining"
Anonymous
November 16 2004, 23:07:26 UTC 15 years ago
Re: To every moron who comes here and says "stop complaining"
15 years ago
Re: To every moron who comes here and says "stop complaining"
15 years ago
Re: To every moron who comes here and says "stop complaining"
Anonymous
15 years ago
Anonymous
November 16 2004, 23:43:11 UTC 15 years ago
Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
Anonymous
November 16 2004, 23:59:45 UTC 15 years ago
You say you guys have to crunch from 9 AM to 10 PM, 7 days a week, 90hrs/week, etc.
Can you tell me honestly, out of those 90 hours, how many of it is spent in:
Actual coding/debugging?
Surfing the web?
Checking your stocks?
Checking your fantasy sports teams?
Reading Drudgereport?
Reading/posting on message boards, like this one?
Taking 1.5-2 hour lunch breaks?
Coffee breaks?
"Doom 3 breaks" or "Halo 2 breaks"??
A quick run to Fry's or Best Buy?
Or just sitting around, chatting and whining with other co-workers about how much you're overworked?
Re: Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
November 17 2004, 00:18:51 UTC 15 years ago
The number of assumptions folk are willing to make on behalf of my SO and his coworkers staggers me. It really, honestly does. The case for corporate abuse here is so strong that it makes me question basic humanity that anyone could argue with it. I realize that those who do so are some combination of stupid or not reading the article, but my points are fairly simple; perhaps I was just too lengthy about it.
The only 'breaks' being taken on this project for the majority of the team, that I have seen, actually stood in that office and watched them do what they do, are taken when the management requires the entire team to be there when they have no tasks assigned to them. They do this frequently. They will not release employees to go home and remain on call, and as a result you have a huge number of people toward the end of a project sitting around with nothing to do. I have watched these people. When they have nothing to do, they do MORE WORK. Until there is no more work to do. They voluntarily take on other tasks until there is literally nothing left in the queue.
Other teams might be different, but I will go to bat for this team anytime anywhere. They are by and large an excellent group of people who in no way deserve the treatment that they're getting.
I'm rather tired at the moment, but I will be putting together a FAQ with answers to common questions/comments, including this one ("your SO must not be doing his job right"). I do, however, have a collective answer for the commenters here who have either deliberately or accidentally ignored arrant answers to their concerns, and chosen to think the worst of not just EA employees as a group but my SO and his teammates in particular: RTFA, and swallow your assumptions sideways, they will greater benefit the world in that configuration. And for those foolish enough to want his job after all of this, you can apply at EA.com. Tell them I sent you.
Re: Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
15 years ago
Re: Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
15 years ago
Re: Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
Anonymous
15 years ago
Can I ask the original poster an honest question?
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 00:07:20 UTC 15 years ago
You say you guys have to crunch from 9 AM to 10 PM, 7 days a week, 90hrs/week, etc.
Can you tell me honestly, out of those 90 hours, how many of it is spent in:
Actual coding/debugging?
Surfing the web?
Checking your stocks?
Checking your fantasy sports teams?
Reading Drudgereport?
Reading/posting on message boards, like this one?
Taking 1.5-2 hour lunch breaks?
Coffee breaks?
"Doom 3 breaks" or "Halo 2 breaks"??
A quick run to Fry's or Best Buy?
Hitting on the secretaries or cute artists?
Or just sitting around, chatting and whining with other co-workers about how much you're overworked?
Non-Trolls, please read...
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 00:49:29 UTC 15 years ago
These people are Trolls. I know it almost seems like they really beleive the nonsense the type but beleive me, all they want to do is get a rise out of you. Look, its working!
I encourage you to read this page as it eloquently explains who these people are and how to defeat them. http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm
The only way...THE ONLY WAY to get rid of them and their ridiculous blather is to ignore them.
Now, back to the matter at hand. This is the very beginning of something bigger and better. An organized effort to create more hospitibal work environments in our field. Keep it alive and dont let the trolls derail you!
Re: Non-Trolls, please read...
15 years ago
Re: Non-Trolls, please read...
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: Non-Trolls, please read...
15 years ago
Re: Non-Trolls, please read...
15 years ago
IGDA Responds...
November 17 2004, 00:49:04 UTC 15 years ago
http://www.igda.org/qol/open_letter.php
Personally, I think that's a good letter and agree with most of the sentiments in there. Because of that, I joined the IGDA (full, paid membership and everything) and volunteered to help on the Quality of Life issue.
They have a lot of sane opinions and some reasonable clout with companies, and are working to get a Quality of Life program put into place - with this they would rate companies and give out a seal of approval of some kind that people would look for when applying to a company, which I think is a great idea.
Anyone seriously interesting in furthering game industry advocacy should join, I believe - people like the IGDA, I believe, will help us work towards solutions that don't involve unionization or future lawsuits.
-Peter
Re: IGDA Responds...
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 02:15:46 UTC 15 years ago
I think this is a great idea, one of the best I've heard.
My one worry with this is that it won't stay honest, that it will be driven by corporate sponsors eventually. The only reason I say this is because someone posted here a few days ago, saying he was a game developer from England who had started a small union over there, but when he tried to sponsor an IGDA meetup, IGDA turned him down and said that their other sponsors didn't like it.
Taking what this poster said at face value, and recognizing that I don't know much about the IGDA, do you think this is a danger? If IGDA meetups can be influenced by their sponsors, why not something like a Quality of Life seal of approval?
Re: IGDA Responds...
15 years ago
Re: IGDA Responds...
Anonymous
15 years ago
Wow.
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 01:23:33 UTC 15 years ago
You probably should write in anonymously with this to the CEO.
You obviously don't want a job.....
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 01:38:37 UTC 15 years ago
RZ
Re: You obviously don't want a job.....
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 04:34:09 UTC 15 years ago
"The pros know how the industry is and what is expected of them..."
That's right, and we are the pros. Have you noticed which people are criticizing this blog? Those who don't do what we do. Those not professional enough to get these jobs. I saw one guy say he would give his left nut to work at EA. BS, anyone with half that resolve would be there already if he wanted to.
I know what drives this industry, Two things. When I got into this business I thought the goal of managers and owners was to make the most money possible. Logical, right?
Very naive of me. Number one is ego, number two is money. Most people who seek a position of power get an ego boost by looking down on the "inferiors" who do the work. If you have to respect an inferior to make money, it isn't worth it. Don't believe me? Look around you again.
You are also poorly informed: most game companies are not upfront about benefits and hours - benefits are exaggerated, crunch time is supposedly "avoided except as a last resort". Right.
Your fellow student is wising up fast - good for him, he'll probably do well for himself.
You, on the other hand, sound like a sheep praising the wolves. You'll make someone rich.
Leo
it's an old story
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 02:11:33 UTC 15 years ago
The taint spreads...
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 03:16:54 UTC 15 years ago
They talk about how bad it was at EA, but they're no better. Same shit...different company.
Care to Name Names?
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 04:33:25 UTC 15 years ago
Re: Care to Name Names?
Anonymous
15 years ago
Deleted comment
Re: An Email I've Been Keeping for a Rainy Day
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 05:58:15 UTC 15 years ago
Re: An Email I've Been Keeping for a Rainy Day
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: An Email I've Been Keeping for a Rainy Day
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: An Email I've Been Keeping for a Rainy Day
Anonymous
15 years ago
Well... no.
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: An Email I've Been Keeping for a Rainy Day
15 years ago
"Stop Whining"
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 04:33:57 UTC 15 years ago
"my husband works too hard. WAH WAH WAH..." Bottom line lady your husband has a great job in an industry that requires its employees to work more hours to compete on an international level; if he doesn't like what he is doing he can quit and leave a vacant spot for someone who realizes what a privilege it is to work on video games for a living, not hire a lawyer and try to make other people lose their jobs by suing the company. Its money grubbing people like you who make life harder for everyone else; please just shut up.
i'll reply - because itz fun
Anonymous
November 17 2004, 04:42:56 UTC 15 years ago
ea_spouse rocks. don't let anyone tell you different. Now GRILL MY WHOPPER, YOU FUCK.
Ha
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: Hahahah!
Anonymous
15 years ago
I LIKE MY WHOPPER WITH CHEESE; NO PICKLES.
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: I LIKE MY WHOPPER WITH CHEESE; NO PICKLES.
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: Ha
Anonymous
15 years ago
Re: "Stop Whining"
Anonymous
15 years ago
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