Trenches comic: Thursday March 8, 2012 - Concept Faces 2

Bogey

Just A Cog.

03/08/2012 - Anonymous

For over a year I worked at an entertainment company as the sole game artist for their dozens of in-house casual Flash titles. I was severely underpaid as a temp, led on to continue by empty promises of a permanent position, and learned just how infuriating corporate environments are.

I supported all creative updates and bug fixes on existing games on top of the development of new ones. I helped wherever and whenever I could, filling roles from concept artist to pitchman to production artist. I was doing all the roles of our art director, but was paid slightly more than the minimum wage while the actual AD was schmoozing with the other execs and neglecting emails (although I would occasionally get one with a photo of him and a random celebrity to update me on his exciting life out of the office). But, with all of this going on, I was severely reprimanded both when I worked overtime, as well as when I couldn’t finish all my work in one 40 hour week.

Eventually, due to some corporate refiguring, I was let go and replaced with an unpaid intern (they “forgot” to budget for my position). I was the only one who understood the organization of files, had a relationship with the outsourced QA companies and programmers, and knew all of the little details and tasks required to pull things off. They were screwed, but because the line of command gets pretty convoluted and impersonal when each of your bosses has half a dozen more of their own spread across the world, no one thought axing a temp would make an impact.

Within weeks I received a panicked email asking me to come back. I requested, in return, a professional rate. I never heard back from them, but that was okay. I’d already gotten another position paying several times in salary at a smaller studio that keeps free beer and ice cream in the fridge at all times.

FREE BEER AND ICE CREAM.

Falx

Hell I'd work there just for the Ice Cream.

Athenor

*checks the fridge in the office*

*Sees ice cream*

*Sees Beer, wine, vodka, and more liquor, taking up more room than everyone's lunches*

Yup. I'm glad for where I work.

Green

I love happy endings

Skiddles

Do I detect a positive note from inside the industry in a tale from the trenches? Excellent.

I think this story accurately reflects the industry. Lots of companies will treat you like crap. The important thing is to find one that doesn't, get them to hire you, and then you can cue the angelic chorus.

0blique

Good for the tester for doing the right thing- looking for and getting a job with someone who treats you properly.

ArcSyn

My job doesn't even have a water cooler. And the fridge smells like something died inside.

forty

Within weeks I received a panicked email asking me to come back. I requested, in return, a professional rate. I never heard back from them, but that was okay. I’d already gotten another position paying several times in salary at a smaller studio that keeps free beer and ice cream in the fridge at all times.

FREE BEER AND ICE CREAM.

Wouldn't the ice cream in the fridge be all melty?

</wiseass>

Ori Klein

I know some people here don't like it, but I'm calling schadenfreude. That company had it coming.
Such level of incompetent mismanagement deserves failing.

At least what he hadn't earned in salary, due to filling in for everyone else, he earned in experience. This will serve him greatly in the long run.

Stormwatcher

He didn't state that the company had failed though.

Ori Klein

Stormwatcher wrote: »

He didn't state that the company had failed though.

True. Suffice to me, though, his bosses were in a tangle and were flailing hysterically, for a while.
His mark been made, his absence felt.