NRS working conditions - This NEEDS to be discussed

[MalevolentFix]

It baffles me that in this day and age people are so fast to defend big corporations no matter what and just don't give a fuck about the little guy who gets shafted.
It's happened before. Hell, it happens everyday. The game development industry is sick and the lack of empathy here is just ridiculous.

I have empathy. I feel bad for anyone who'se stuck in the coding team for a AAA gaming company. Or god forbid the graphic designer... I couldn't imagine being responsible for the 3D modeling in a game like MK.

The sad truth is all of these people speaking like evangelists that are going to make a difference aren't going to do shit. At least not do shit that matters.

At the end of the day like every other industry in the world, there is nothing to be done on our front as consumers, because this problem is ultimately caused BY us. Not you and I directly. We didn't want the industry to become what it is because we never really gave it any thought. But video gaming is no longer a niche hobby that thousands indulge in and get called nerds or geeks over it.

It's a billion, probably trillion dollar industry now.

Of COURSE the top dogs in the industry have skeletons in their closets. It's how they separated from the pack. They did it better. They made it more efficient. Higher quality with the same development time.

How are they keeping up with it?

We need more press on it. We need documentaries on it. We need journalists and big media outlets covering it in order to actually CHANGE anything... But just like any other industry it won't really ever happen in a way that enacts actually needed change due to the way things work in this world at the top level.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

It baffles me that in this day and age people are so fast to defend big corporations no matter what and just don't give a fuck about the little guy who gets shafted.
It's happened before. Hell, it happens everyday. The game development industry is sick and the lack of empathy here is just ridiculous.

Seconded. This is flat out unnerving, and the issue needs to be kept above water of anything is ever going to change.

 

[Skedar70]

I wish people here would be more humbled next time they rant at NRS. Why? Because I am sure the development team works really hard and extra hours to deliver the quality products we all enjoy. Feedback is cool and necessary but bitching and referring to NRS developers as incompetents is just being a jerk. Like if anybody here could do it better.

 

[NeonGroovyGator]

I have empathy. I feel bad for anyone who'se stuck in the coding team for a AAA gaming company. Or god forbid the graphic designer... I couldn't imagine being responsible for the 3D modeling in a game like MK.

The sad truth is all of these people speaking like evangelists that are going to make a difference aren't going to do shit. At least not do shit that matters.

At the end of the day like every other industry in the world, there is nothing to be done on our front as consumers, because this problem is ultimately caused BY us. Not you and I directly. We didn't want the industry to become what it is because we never really gave it any thought. But video gaming is no longer a niche hobby that thousands indulge in and get called nerds or geeks over it.

It's a billion, probably trillion dollar industry now.

Of COURSE the top dogs in the industry have skeletons in their closets. It's how they separated from the pack. They did it better. They made it more efficient. Higher quality with the same development time.

How are they keeping up with it?

We need more press on it. We need documentaries on it. We need journalists and big media outlets covering it in order to actually CHANGE anything... But just like any other industry it won't really ever happen in a way that enacts actually needed change due to the way things work in this world at the top level.

That is EXACTLY what I'm saying though. It ultimately comes down to us. If this "not our battle to fight" attitude prevails, then no one will give a fuck about investigating something people prefer to close their eyes to.

 

[stokedAF]

I don’t want unionized zombies going through the motions. Creative jobs require passion and talent. If you are better at your job you deserve better pay. If some talentless asshole is making the same money as you there absolutely no incentive to go above and beyond. Most of the NrS staff seems to be on board but these temp help complaints seem like a joke.

I make significantly more money but I hate my fucking job. And it’s not because some chick is taking a dump in the stall while I’m at the urinal lol. I would trade them in a heartbeat. I would take 12 dollars to work on MK all day, opposed to 10 hours hard labor. I have other ways to make money besides my job. This shit is laughable.

 

[TackyHaddock]

Holy shit this reminds me of the five years I practiced at a corporate law firm

Edit: except they pay was definitely NOT shitty there - we called it the golden handcuffs

 

[C-Sword]

They should pay their employees more instead of wasting money on shitty voice actors like Ronda

 

[portent]

I think it’s worth getting more information. The reason is that most game companies have extremely high turnover/churn rate, with people quitting or burning out frequently. NRS is the only AAA company know where so many people who are were working on Mortal Kombat games 20 years ago, 15 years ago, 10 years ago, 7 years ago are still working on the games today. I get the impression that things feel like a bit of a family in the office, which is rare, and very different from a Bioware corporate overlord situation where the best people are quitting left and right.

Anyway, I think it’s worth getting both sides to this story before anyone boycotts or jumps to huge conclusions.

I agree completely. It may or may not be a family atmosphere, but there are more than a few moving parts here, including any response from NRS addressing this. It would be completely unfair to jump to any conclusions about this until either more people come forward corroborating these claims, or to hear from NRS what they have to say about it.

That said, there are also a few other things to remember.

-The 2019 average Minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour, though it is important to note that number has not changed since 2009. People accepting these jobs are being paid 39.58% higher than the national average minimum wage.

-People are ACCEPTING these jobs. While it's important to understand what you're getting into, if you accept the job, then you accept the responsibilities that come with it, including potential mandatory overtime.

-If the claims about women being paid less for the same work are true, no matter where, that must change. Women aren't charged less when they buy the game, after all.

 

[scarsunseen]

Hold up.. $12/hr to be game developer? If that's true, that should be a crime lol. Also, this person wrote that temps work for 9 months, but she only worked there for 5 months. Sooo... what happened? Quit? Fired? She said "all this in 4 months. i've heard worse stories, especially about harassment, but those rely a bit too much on secondhand information."

So she didn't fulfill the 9 month contract and she herself said she relies too much on secondhand information. And she also doesn't want articles about her story without her permission first because it's "crazy rude and irresponsible." That's not how the world works. People can write articles about whatever they want. It's irresponsible if it's reported in a non-objective way.

I'm not saying this person is wrong, but we aren't being presented with all the information.

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

On the whole "what a "coincidence" that this comes out right around the release of mk11!" thing... of course it is going to come out at the same time as their game releases. Because people are talking about the company. That isn't evidence of anything shady happening for attention, it is just natural that this is when it would be discussed and brought up

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

Hold up.. $12/hr to be game developer? If that's true, that should be a crime lol. Also, this person wrote that temps work for 9 months, but she only worked there for 5 months. Sooo... what happened? Quit? Fired? She said "all this in 4 months. i've heard worse stories, especially about harassment, but those rely a bit too much on secondhand information."

So she didn't fulfill the 9 month contract and she herself said she relies too much on secondhand information. And she also doesn't want articles about her story without her permission first because it's "crazy rude and irresponsible." That's not how the world works. People can write articles about whatever they want. It's irresponsible if it's reported in a non-objective way.

I'm not saying this person is wrong, but we aren't being presented with all the information.

I agree. While it is probably likely that they either quit or were let go in relation to these problems imo, we definitely need the full story. I hope we are more likely to get the full story if we talk about it publicly though! Idk how much NRS even reads TYM anymore but I am sure there is someone. At the very least the more eyes on it the better.

I know you aren't actually arguing against that lol just thoughts

 

[stokedAF]

On the whole "what a "coincidence" that this comes out right around the release of mk11!" thing... of course it is going to come out at the same time as their game releases. Because people are talking about the company. That isn't evidence of anything shady happening for attention, it is just natural that this is when it would be discussed and brought up

No it’s just more kicking people while they are down. That’s life and most love it. Oh hey you don’t like the towers? I shared a bathroom with boys!

 

[virtiqaL]

So this is how 16bit lost his weight

Apparently did more than make him lose weight.

 

[TackyHaddock]

Man, $12 an hour for that kind of work? I had no idea it was that low. Here, just basic office clerical work pays more than that.

I have to wonder who is to blame though. Does WB keep NRS on such a strict 2-year release schedule that it forces NRS' hand and they have to crunch so hard? Or does NRS readily accept those working conditions?

If it is the tight two year schedule that dictates everything including the crunch, the only remaining variable is the pay. If you are going to work people so hard, they deserve better pay than starvation wages.

 

[portent]

Support economic and political policies which help workers secure better pay, benefits, and working conditions, across all professions. https://www.epi.org/policy/

I highly respect this. So many of us here are VOTING AGE adults. How many are registered to vote, or are actively following candidates fighting for higher wages in their area?

-Anyone who is saying something in here and isn't prepared to vote to make changes with regards to wages, hours and workplace abuse legislation isn't doing their job.

-Anyone who is saying something as irresponsible as "what are you going to do about it" is part of the problem instead of attempting to be part of the solution.

 

[spidey300]

why does test your might, a forum site based on the discussion of mk need to discuss the work policies of the nrs company? it's none of your business. what are you going to do?

 

[portent]

why does test your might, a forum site based on the discussion of mk need to discuss the work policies of the nrs company? it's none of your business. what are you going to do?

If your future wages and salary mean anything to you, then the wages and salaries of other workers need to matter. Those wages and salaries dictate the national average minimum wage, which will directly affect what you are/will be paid for whatever job you do.

Likewise, how people are treated in the workplace, and the laws that are written to govern them will directly affect how you are/will be treated at your job.

So yes, it is your business to be informed about these.

 

[Pterodactyl]

This is happening a little too often in this industry. I hope it gets fixed soon.

Yeah every couple of months something like this comes out.

I wonder if this is a new problem or if people are finally starting to speak up in the games industry

 

[Ilthuain]

Game Developers are salaried, not on $12/hr. WB benefits are pretty good for dev positions (I almost took a gig with a WB company elsewhere).

I'd take this person's story with a grain of salt. Crunch happens, and there certainly are toxic AAA work environments in the industry, but some of the elements of this don't add up considering my experiences in the industry and knowing people who work(ed) at WB/NRS. The "women being excluded due to distraction" thing would be a huge HR violation, for example, and the suits would come down on that hard.

 

[spidey300]

If your future wages and salary mean anything to you, then the wages and salaries of other workers need to matter. Those wages and salaries dictate the national average minimum wage, which will directly affect what you are/will be paid for whatever job you do.

Likewise, how people are treated in the workplace, and the laws that are written to govern them will directly affect how you are/will be treated at your job.

So yes, it is your business to be informed about these.

this is nrs. a video game company in the pocket of wb. my work is nowhere near the category of these companies

 

[portent]

this is nrs. a video game company in the pocket of wb. my work is nowhere near the category of these companies

Neither is my work, however the national average minimum wage is directly affected by every working person in the USA. Likewise, how each of these people are treated, either justly or unjustly, at work, directly affects the baseline by which laws are drafted or changed.

At the bare minimum, it is important to be informed, and that is what I am going to do, at the bare minimum. I'm not taking that article as gospel, it's information to be processed. There are very likely 2 other sides to the story, NRS' side and the truth, which resides somewhere in the middle.

 

[xenogorgeous]

You for real?

So you ? Show me real proof of these accusations against NRS and I change my opinion ... otherwise, I keep my opinion .... Any idiot can cook up crazy and weird stuff in order to sue great companies for easy money .... that's unfortunately what some idiots do for living, mainly in America.

 

[ItsYaBoi]

So you ? Show me real proof of these accusations against NRS and I change my opinion ... otherwise, I keep my opinion .... Any idiot can cook up crazy and weird stuff in order to sue great companies for easy money .... that's unfortunately what some idiots do for living, mainly in America.

They can’t sue, these terms will be covered in their contracts. There isn’t anything illegal about it, just immoral practices.

Proof would require them most likely breaking their NDA. Breaking an NDA will blacklist them from ever working in the industry again and could result in a lawsuit against them.

So yeah, you have to take people for their word at times like these. It’s odd some choose to defend a corporation first over somebody being overworked. Modern society eh.

 

[xenogorgeous]

They can’t sue, these terms will be covered in their contracts. There isn’t anything illegal about it, just immoral practices.

Proof would require them most likely breaking their NDA. Breaking an NDA will blacklist them from ever working in the industry again and could result in a lawsuit against them.

So yeah, you have to take people for their word at times like these. It’s odd some choose to defend a corporation first over somebody being overworked. Modern society eh.

good call .... yeah, workers that are overworked and underpaid have reasons to fight for their rights, but, the law must investigate both sides .... what is fair, is fair !

 

[ItsYaBoi]

good call .... yeah, workers that are overworked and underpaid have reasons to fight for their rights, but, the law must investigate both sides .... what is fair, is fair !

Agreed. Last I heard Jason from Kotaku was investigating this. He’s a very good investigative journalist, so he’ll get to the bottom of it and confirm or deny the allegations soon.