Big brother in game development
Japan is like the mecka of video game development. At least that’s how I see it. But the japanese have such a strict work culture, I don’t think I would want to work there.
All of this is based on what I heard from the ex Ksatria, now Koei artists and what I’ve heard from the ex EA guys I work with.
For instance. At Koei, you can’t play music. At least not so anyone else can hear it. If anyone hear it through your headphones, you will be kindly asked to turn it the down by some exec. You start your day at precisely 9am and leave at 5pm. Lunch is taken at noon for one hour. No exceptions.
Compare that to the loose environment here at Ksatria, where everyone comes and goes as they please. As long as they do what they’re supposed to, of course. Whenever I get bored I tend to stroll around, maybe doing a little dance or trying to play the guitar that’s lying around.
They also can’t use instant messengers like msn, aim or icq. Instead they can only use some internal software that only works in between other co-workers. E-mail is also blocked.
It all sounds like some kind of communistic control scheme, but EA follows the same strict rules when it comes to contact with the “outside world”. All outside connections are strictly monitored by a small team of administrators. But when you think about it, you can’t help but understand the reasons behind these kind of rules.
One click of a mouse button. One screenshot. That’s all it takes to throw the company’s entire plan for a game into jeopardy. Not to mention the threat of outsiders trying to get in. Remember that Half-life 2 was delayed the better part of a year as a result of someone getting access to Gabe Newell’s email account.
