Not long ago, we rebroadcasted some not so nice things that an ex-Square head honcho had to say about his former company. And more recently, a number of comments made by other past employees have further tarnished the reputation of the Japanese gaming giant.
But instead of what could be construed as petty, passive aggressive behavior on a social network, these words have far stronger implications. According to Kotaku, the sentiments were shared on an employment site, one that is designed for workers, usually former ones, to share insight as it pertains to where they used to work. Either to entice or warn their would be successors.
One employee has this to say:
"For each project, each position is then turned into a clique, and without a big time creator's recommendation, it's impossible to get ahead… One's practical worth isn't really looked at, but rather, personal friendship is how merit is assessed."
And here's another, less than pretty picture:
"You're given so much work, and the atmosphere is that if you cannot keep up, they'll axe you… There's a tendency to ask workers to do more physical labor than mental labor."
The process of making games, especially at AAA studios, has become increasingly difficult over the years. Those who work for American publishers have their own fair share of horror stories, but over the past half decade, there seem to have been a concerted effort by some publishers to create a more conducive atmosphere.
Though it should be noted that this only really happened when family members, frustrated by seeing how their loved ones were being mistreated, became whistle blowers. It'll be interested to see if anything similar happens in Japan, where reports of high profile creators walking out on their homes of many years, are becoming way too common.
