XXXXXX

Metro Last Light had the worst development conditions in all of gaming

deactivated-59b71619573a1 · 2013-05-15 11:57:43

I'm gonna post a lot of this article because it needs to be seen. Metro Last Light has had some of the worst working conditions I have ever heard about for a game. Tiny studio space, constant power outtages and having to smuggle dev kits back home. They even had to make the game dressed in parkas because the heating wouldn't work for them at times. Jason Rubin is best known as the co-founder of leading game developer Naughty Dog. More recently, however, he had the thankless task of trying to overhaul struggling publisher THQ.The budget of Last Light is less than some of its competitors spend on cut scenes, a mere 10 percent of the budget of its biggest competitors. Yet it is lauded for its story and atmosphere. It is built on a completely original and proprietary second-generation engine that competes with sequels that have stopped numbering themselves, with more engineers on their tech than 4A has on the entire project. Yet its tech chops are never in question.And all of this is compounded by the conditions this Ukrainian team works under in Kiev. The entire 4A studio would fit easily in the (underutilized) gym at EA Los Angeles' offices. Yet Last Light's Metacritic score blows away Medal of Honor Warfighter. As undeniably fantastic as competitor BioShock Infinite may be, the team was given whatever resources they needed to make the title. At the same time, 4A's staff sat on folding wedding chairs, literally elbow to elbow at card tables in what looks more like a packed grade school cafeteria than a development studio.When 4A needed another dev kit, or high-end PC, or whatever, someone from 4A had to fly to the States and sneak it back to the Ukraine in a backpack lest it be 'seized' at the border by thieving customs officials. After visiting the team I wanted to buy them Aeron office chairs, considered a fundamental human right in the west. There were no outlets in the Ukraine, and our only option was to pack a truck in Poland and try to find an 'expediter' to help bribe its way down to Kiev. We gave up not because this tripled the cost, but because we realized that the wider Aeron chairs would require spreading out people and computers, which would lead to extra desks, and that ultimately would have required bigger offices. Yes, really. articleSo the next time somone bashes the game just think a little about what they had to go through to make it, and still pulled off a wonderful experienceSource

151 results
1
2
3
4

This topic is locked from further discussion.

the_bi99man

11465

Forum Posts

Wiki Points

Followers

Reviews: 7

User Lists: 0

#151 the_bi99man

Member since 2004 • 11465 Posts

Just to throw it out there. The person who told this story in the first place was Jason Rubin, former CEO of THQ, before they went bankrupt. It wasn't actually anyone from 4A. 4A Creative Director Andrew Prokhorov just responded, though.

"It is a fact that our work conditions are worse than those of other developers outside Ukraine," he said. "I don't think anyone can doubt that--yes, it's true that American and most of European developers operate in a country far more comfortable than Ukraine. And yes, the publishers pay them more. This is clear: the more 'reasonable' the country the less the risks. And we don't want to be all dramatic about that--after all, better conditions are earned, and we strive to do this as soon as possible."

DAT SAUCE

11 years ago