Sydney-based game development studio, Team Bondi, is no stranger to bumpy roads. Having switched publishers, spent seven years developing a game, and then being accused of providing poor working conditions, the bumpy road is about to come to an end… because the company has gone into administration.
Dave Heironymus is the Lead Gameplay Programmer at Team Bondi and has written a blog over at Gamasutra addressing the concerns raised by IGN’s story on mistreatment of workers at the Aussie studio. According to Heironymus “recent coverage on working conditions has been very one-sided” and he wants to clear some things up.
IGN’s extensive, in-depth feature on Team Bondi’s extreme work practices, in which 11 ex-Team Bondi employees spoke out about incredibly punishing crunch times and 100-hour work weeks, has resulted in the International Game Developer’s Association looking into precisely what happened during development of the game, reports Develop-Online.
I can’t quite grasp how to explain this – but L.A. Noire is easily the most frustrating video game that I have continued to play. On some level I think I play in a bizarre attempt to find its redeeming feature – a reason to love it. My plan was to finish the game, then write something that covers my experience – but after reading Tom Bissell’s extensive piece about L.A. Noire, which addresses practically every concern and issue I have with the game, I don’t think I need to. Thanks for that Tom!
