I spent a year in the games industry. There was nothing in your article that I hadn't seen in that year.
I call it my lost year. All I saw was the office until I dared to take a weekend off (to go to a convention and promote the company - at my own expense)
We were working on two Super Nintendo games, which are just as "Christmas-driven" as the rest of the toy industry. The schedule was toast before I was involved, and it only got worse. One of the games I worked on finally shipped the following Christmas - I never saw the other one.
During that year, the company churned through almost twenty people. Management was a joke, as was technical training. All for peanuts. I actually made better money the following year working for state government.
About the only good that came out of that job was that it looked good on a resume. I'm currently an Oracle specialist, building database-backed Web sites on the side (for fun!!). A DBA looked at my resume at one point and told a hiring manager to hire me because if I could program 68k assembly AND Oracle, I could do anything. Must be true - I later got his job.
Good point, though I'd think with all the butt-kissing the legislature does to attract big business here, they'd remember not to annoy the big businesses once they are here.
I remember when Intel moved in to New Mexico (I was there at the time), and I've since heard about the tailspin Albuquerque went into when they scaled back (or was it pulled out) of there. Not pretty.
But then, Intel isn't a sports franchise. Legislators looove sports franchises...
I live in Arizona; used to work for the state private industry pays much better) and I can tell you that the legislature here is the absolute stupidest elected body I have ever had the misfortune to deal with in my life.
Unfortunately, their advisors are no better.
Years of futilely voting for the best person for the job has made me cynical, except in one key issue: I can usually predict the losers in elections.
In reply to one comment, yes, the state government uses Sun servers. I personally know of at least five. This guy hasn't got a clue.
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I spent a year in the games industry. There was nothing in your article that I hadn't seen in that year.
I call it my lost year. All I saw was the office until I dared to take a weekend off (to go to a convention and promote the company - at my own expense)
We were working on two Super Nintendo games, which are just as "Christmas-driven" as the rest of the toy industry. The schedule was toast before I was involved, and it only got worse. One of the games I worked on finally shipped the following Christmas - I never saw the other one.
During that year, the company churned through almost twenty people. Management was a joke, as was technical training. All for peanuts. I actually made better money the following year working for state government.
About the only good that came out of that job was that it looked good on a resume. I'm currently an Oracle specialist, building database-backed Web sites on the side (for fun!!). A DBA looked at my resume at one point and told a hiring manager to hire me because if I could program 68k assembly AND Oracle, I could do anything. Must be true - I later got his job.
Good point, though I'd think with all the butt-kissing the legislature does to attract big business here, they'd remember not to annoy the big businesses once they are here.
I remember when Intel moved in to New Mexico (I was there at the time), and I've since heard about the tailspin Albuquerque went into when they scaled back (or was it pulled out) of there. Not pretty.
But then, Intel isn't a sports franchise.
Legislators looove sports franchises...
I laugh, sadly.
I live in Arizona; used to work for the state private industry pays much better) and I can tell you that the legislature here is the absolute stupidest elected body I have ever had the misfortune to deal with in my life.
Unfortunately, their advisors are no better.
Years of futilely voting for the best person for the job has made me cynical, except in one key issue: I can usually predict the losers in elections.
In reply to one comment, yes, the state government uses Sun servers. I personally know of at least five. This guy hasn't got a clue.
Sigh.
Not just Slashdotted..
It's all over aint-it-cool-news as well.
Can you say 'server meltdown?'
I knew you could.