[deleted]
Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
91–100 of 197 posts
Re: Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
#92Adventure games seems to be a segment that is especially prone to boom and bust cycles. This has to be at least the third major collapse, following Infocom and LucasArts. Even when well executed, the formula is hard to keep fresh, and the emphasis on story and writing leads to generally poor replayability. Particularly now, in the youtube/twitch age - most of the enjoyment of these kinds of games is watching the stor…
LucasArts, while they made adventure games, was just as if not more well known for their action and franchise titles such as all the Star Wars games. Knights of the Old Republic and sequel, Jedi Knight and several smash hit sequels, TIE Fighter, Republic Commando (basically all the Star Wars games) were squarely in other genres, and all very successful titles. They had some less successful ones as well, which probabl…
As long as there are some blockbuster indie games that make their creators rich, and as long as games are fun to make, I don't think we'll see the entire industry die out.
But yeah, making an indie game is on average not a good financial decision.
Re: Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would assume that an actuary might put the cost of an unemployed person twice that than an employed person. Because technically people with chronic health problems would tend to be unemployed.
Companies also get good rates because they can negotiate based on volume.
my company is big enough they self insure. aetna, etc exists to administrate the program
Re: Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, this is something that can be fixed by law. At least my native country Finland has a sort of public bankruptcy insurance (“palkkaturva”) that extends automatically to all employees. In the event of a bankruptcy leaving you with unpaid wages, you file an application with the same office that handles unemployment benefits, and they will recompensate you. C-level managers are exempt.
This is something entirely different. And FYI a strong incentive for companies to never offer any kind of severance in these situations since it's all socialized. Better to just be transparent about things so employees can properly consider the risk in the situation.
Better it be required by law and provided by the government than you hoping you'll get severance and being beholden to a company's "generosity", and the company include the additional tax payments as cost of doing business (same as the other employment taxes they're required to pay).
Re: Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
#95The worst part for many of these people is that our country still links health insurance with your employer. It is bad enough to suddenly lose your job and primary source of income, but that type of thing is often unavoidable when a company goes belly up. However only getting a week's notice before all your health insurance benefits disappear is the type of thing that just shouldn't happen in this country.
What happens in the US if you leave your employer when in a degraded health state (let's say cancer)?
For acute emergencies, like a heart attack or car accident, US hospitals are obligated to treat your immediate needs if you enter the lobby.
You just clutch your chest and say, "Help, I think I'm having a heart attack!"
Sadly, cancer doesn't qualify. Either you pony up $50,000 - $200,000 in the hospital lobby, or they call a security guard and escort you out of the building. Then you go home and die.
Re: Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is something entirely different. And FYI a strong incentive for companies to never offer any kind of severance in these situations since it's all socialized. Better to just be transparent about things so employees can properly consider the risk in the situation.
Better it be required by law and provided by the government than you hoping you'll get severance and being beholden to a company's "generosity", and the company include the additional tax payments as cost of doing business (same as the other employment taxes they're required to pay).
The issue is severance during company bankruptcy.
Nobody ever expects companies to be 'generous' that's not a thing - the issues are in contracts like anything else.
Re: Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
#97This studio closure hits a little close to me, since I know a few former employees: - They really did not see a full studio closure coming so suddenly. Yes, they were aware that they were struggling, but the 25% staff reduction was supposed to keep the studio sustainable. - They were in the planning stages for an original IP, their new leadership realized too late that expensive IP licenses were unsustainable. - Thei…
I wonder how many companies ever lay off 25% of staff and then actually come back to succeed?
I can't really think of any examples off hand.
Re: Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
#98They have quite a few jobs open: https://telltale.com/jobs/
Re: Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
#99The worst part for many of these people is that our country still links health insurance with your employer. It is bad enough to suddenly lose your job and primary source of income, but that type of thing is often unavoidable when a company goes belly up. However only getting a week's notice before all your health insurance benefits disappear is the type of thing that just shouldn't happen in this country.
What happens in the US if you leave your employer when in a degraded health state (let's say cancer)?
Best approach is probably to be a multimillionaire...
Re: Telltale Employees Left Stunned by Company Closure, No Severance
#100Adventure games seems to be a segment that is especially prone to boom and bust cycles. This has to be at least the third major collapse, following Infocom and LucasArts. Even when well executed, the formula is hard to keep fresh, and the emphasis on story and writing leads to generally poor replayability. Particularly now, in the youtube/twitch age - most of the enjoyment of these kinds of games is watching the stor…
We share different views of the world...
First, Infocom was arguably supplanted by Sierra and other graphical games. They died during an oncoming boom. Sierra's reign [and LucasArts earlier titles] in the late 80's to mid-to-late 90s were very much the golden age of adventure games.
Second, LucasArts went on for about 15 years after they stopped creating / releasing adventure games. Their last Adventure game was Grim Fandango in 1998, and the closed in 2013. I can't see how LucasArts closure is unrelated to boom or bust cycles in adventure games.
Third, there are a huge number of adventure games coming out all the time. It surprises me honestly. While a few companies--like Wadjet Eye Games and Daedalic--seem to be doing okay, the bulk of them close up shop after one or two games. To me--as a lover of these type of games and a reviewer for JustAdventure--The market seems overly saturated for such a niche audience. There is the occasional big event such as the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter, but the community doesn't seem to change size.