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Infinity Ward Lead Developers Axed Unexpectedly
RogueyWon writes "Kotaku is reporting that Infinity Ward, the development studio behind Modern Warfare 2, has been at the center of strange events recently. Jason West and Vince Zampella, two lead developers, have been fired by parent company Activision for 'breaches of contract and insubordination.' Speculation is rife as to the reasons behind this; following Modern Warfare 2's spectacular sales figures, it seems unlikely that the studio's performance could be to blame."
probably whispered "union" and he and all his close contacts were immediately fired.
Infinity Ward is in California, where non-compete clauses are automatically void. I believe (though I'm not an expert by any means) that they can get back to work immediately should an offer present itself.
In a nutshell, developers had better vision for products and keeping niche on right track than management, so managmeent fired them.
Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision, dies and goes to Hell. The devil greets him when he arrives and says "Bobby, out of all the people up there, you remind me most of myself, so I'm going to let you choose your punishment for your first thousand years."
The two start at a short hallway labelled "First Timers" and stop at the first door. Inside is an old man, screaming, having his skin peeled off in 1 inch strips. The devil explains "At the beginning of the day, his flesh is renewed. By nightfall, he is nothing but a pile of organs hanging onto a skeleton. This is the only punishment where you get a few hours rest every night." Bobby feels a bit nervous about the long future ahead of him.
They walk to the next door. Inside is an even older man, screaming louder than the first man, and he's slowly being lowered into a vat of acid. The devil explains "This punishment lasts all day. It starts at the toes and works its way up. When you are completely burned away, it starts over. Some say that after the first 800 years, though, it feels more like a massage than a punishment. I suppose it's not so bad if you really enjoyed hot tubs when you were alive." Bobby starts sweating at the thought of his eternal reward.
They come up to the third, and last door of the hallway. Inside is an EXTREMELY old man, screaming at the top of his lungs. A gorgeous young woman, chained to him by the ankle, is giving him a passionate blowjob. The devil grins "This punishment may look like fun, but after the first few hours, you get tired, but you may never rest; not for a thousand years. This punishment is one of endurance. Now that you've seen your choices, which one will it be?" Bobby Kotick doesn't take long to decide which of the punishments he'll undergo.
"I'll take the last one. The blowjob one."
The devil accepts Bobby's choice with a nodded bow, and opens the third door. He enters in, unlocks the chain on the woman's leg and whispers in her ear "Your replacement is here, you've been relieved."
I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
non compete clauses are not enforceable when the clause will cause you undue hardship.
I.E. you are a game programmer, and your clause says you cant program at a competitor. Well EVERYONE is their competitor, there fore the clause is 100% unenforceable.
Remember, just because it's in a contract or a lawyer says it does not make it real nor enforceable. I personally strike out any clause like that, initial next to my strike out and ten sign it. I have never signed a contract that I did not modify.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The higher your talent level is, the more likely you're going to enjoy your job, simply because you have more options.
I know being a fry cook is tough for you, but chin up, soon you'll be working the burger line.
Oh, and also for the record, I LOVED working at McDonalds when I was younger. I was the only native English speaker in the store, so I got put on the "first" register for the drive through...that meant I got to sit in that little hole taking drive-through orders and taking money. It was AWESOME. Take money from the guy parked at the window while entering the next order. Didn't have to worry about putting food together, dealing with customers wanting extra stuff, dealing with a slippy floor or a hot kitchen...it really was a lot of fun. I only made $6 an hour, but all I needed the money for was putting gas in my truck and getting a little something building up for when I moved out.
I only worked there a little over a year, but it was a TON of fun. Having fun working there required nothing more than realizing that problem customers were bitching about cheese and french fries. CHEESE. AND. FRENCH. FRIES. How sad does your life have to be to complain about fast food? Obviously worse than working at McDonalds, ha!
Living With a Nerd
Socialism is good for progress. In a climate of rapidly changing technology, a country has to be able to shift gears quickly. Whole outmoded industries need to be able to just die painlessly, without hurting the people in those industries. We need a social safety net so that people can leave old, obsolete careers without fear, and educational programs that will enable us to rapidly retool our society to take advantage of the next big thing.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
What is socialism, then? Look at most of the countries that consider themselves socialist democracies, and you will see they attempt to function as I've described. Socialism is not communism, it does not mean collective control over all resources, and it does not mean the state owns all property.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
It's important to note that while Scandinavia has an awesome social safety net, it does so by maintaining pretty much the lowest corporate tax rates in the Western world (personal taxes pay those bills). Low corporate tax rates don't sit well with many American socialists, who I find see corporations as enemies rather than partners.
Also, I can state from experience that there is a definite nanny-state feel to life in northern Europe. People who like a lot of freedom in life, whether it's home schooling of children, lower taxes, personal privacy, or whatever, won't like it there much.
Canada has a good balance - a decent safety net but lower taxes than the OECD average and tremendous personal privacy protection and personal freedom. It's not really a socialist country other than healthcare though, and even then, there is a parallel for-pay system. Union memberships are at an all-time low too.