Anonymous Bioware Mythic insider rails against studio owners
An anonymous Bioware Mythic insider set to be laid off in November has posted a scathing blog post, aimed at the studio’s owners EA and under the psudonym of EA Louse.
In a direct reference to 2004’s EA Spouse debacle, the poster has attacked business practices at EA, individually picking out percieved failures in each of the Warhammer Online project management members.
“We shut up and did what we were told, by people too afraid to tackle real problems. It is a culture of fear,” EA Louse writes in a post called 'Why Warhammer Failed'.
“All of them failed, badly, in Warhammer, and each of them is in a position of authority in the new company, while the rest of us are facing pink slips.”
Studio executive producer Jeff Hickman, group general manager Rob Denton, general manager Eugene Evans and an unnamed ‘boss’ all come in for caustic assults on their individual work ethics and characters.
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Former Mythic CEO Mark Jacob’s leaving of the firm upon its merger with Bioware in 2009 is mentioned, with heavy implications made as to those involved.
The poster also seems to ‘out’ an upcoming EA Ultima ressurection project for Facebook that is the brainchild of Mythic’s creative director Paul Barnett. This revelation comes only a few weeks after Barnett expressed his wish to see the Wing Commander series re-released via Twitter.
Finally, EA Louse brings into question the development practices on yet-to-be-released Bioware MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic.
All in all, quite a hit-list. The full blog post can be read here.
This is nothing like EA Spouse.
EA Spouse was pointing out the intolerable strain being placed on individuals, their relationships and their families by development practices.
EA Louse is launching scathing ad hominem attacks on management. It reads like an embittered, junior, ill-informed staff member who doesn't know the full story but wants to lash out at being made redundant.
It would not surprise me if there were many mistakes made in the projects he talks about; I can't think of a less constructive way to go about raising them than this post.
It's an anonymous post alleging/outing dubious practices at EA. So 'EA Louse' is a bit comparable to 'EA Spouse'.
From a certain POV, I'm sure you could pick holes in EA Spouse's view on the company, too.
My point wasn't aimed at Develop.
EA Louse is trying to defend his position by saying that, like EA Spouse, he was trying to out bad practices that were damaging important things lik relationships, marriages and families.
I think that was self-justification. EA Louse is just venting his spleen at bosses. Fair enough, his choice (although personally I think it's foolish).
But his approach - vindictive, ad hominem, petty, self-absorbed - do him no favours.
I read the original post with interest. To anyone with development experience the comments made will have the ring of truth. Is this the way to raise issues? Probably not, but I recognise the frustration and anger at finding yourself out on the street while incompetent managers glide off with their pockets stuffed... Management with no experience? Seen it. Leads right out of college? Been there. Crazy marketing and unrealistic management hype that make you wonder if you're working on the same project? All too common. The industry is still (relatively)new, though, and these things have to be worked through the hard way.
I think Nick hit the nail on the head. You can counter his argument about truths and untruths, but at the end of the day. Mythic or no Mythic, this happens everywhere in the industry. Its nice to see someone be so passionate about it they are willing to risk so much expression there opinion. Arrogance and paranoia are destroying the games industry.
Sorry Nicholas, but that's a pretty close description of the last 20+ years in game development as I've seen it.
Then again, you'd have had to have been in the games industry, as an actual developer, for more than 20 years to have seen it... as opposed to 7 years in "executive" roles.
Specialities: Business development, capital raising, strategic growth... don't see much "game development" in there.
Job Roles: CEO, Owner, Non-executive Director, Consultant... Analyst... (You sound like Pachter) No artist, coder, designer, animator, or something even remotely development related?
So what exactly is is that qualifies you to deem this blog as "junior and ill informed", when you've never experienced development at the level of this person? Or is it that you've been part of the problem, not part of the consequences of that problem, that gets your goat so much? Doesn't hit a nerve does it?
I'd hazard a guess that you've probably never gone for months without pay, while the directors swan off in one of their cars, to one of their houses, like some of us have.
Pick 20 people out of 50 experienced developers (i.e. been there, done that types), and they could write you an account of exactly the same thing, at the company they work (or have worked) at. I guess company blinkers are only issued to staff at a certain rank and above.
Interesting choice of words by the way "vindictive, petty, self-absorbed", sounds like a good description of a director or manager, in the games industry.
As others have said, the blog is simply saying what everyone knows. None of it is specific to EA, and a lot probably not even specific to the industry as a whole.
It's impossible for me not to read this as a petty and misplaced swipe by one of the many, many people who lose their jobs. And I say that as someone on the lowest rungs of the ladder on a rolling contract with the never-ending risk of redundancy looming over me. Wah wah wah. I love my job.
If EA Louse thinks that is bad, they should see the shady stuff that SCEE Studio Liverpool indulged in.
I could write an entire feature on that. In fact, I would be more than willing to if the invitiation to do so were given.
The EA ship continues to sink... this year 2013 EA was named worst company for second consecutive year. And now Keaven Freeman leaves the Warhammer Online ship. Tough year for EA. Again EA Louse was right. He was always right. Warhammer Online should be free by now.
