Here’s something I didn’t know until 10 minutes ago: Andy Weir, the author of The Martian, used to work for Blizzard. He actually worked on Warcraft II.
And he did not have a good time.
In an AMA on Reddit today Andy Weir was asked about his time at the studio.
I had a terrible time at Blizzard. The mid-1990s was a rough time to be a game programmer. The work hours were insane. I you were awake[sic], you were at work. I burned out.
Andy Weir worked at Blizzard long before it became the juggernaut it is today, but it is interesting that he had a difficult time at the studio. Speaking to people in the studio today, everyone seems so passionate and committed to their work. Blizzard has a ‘ready when it’s ready’ mentality these days, so it is somewhat surprising to hear he had such a difficult time.
It is worth noting his comment though: “the mid-1990s was a rough time to be a game programmer”. I’d like to hope times have changed a little. But developers still tend to talk about ‘the crunch’ with alarming regularity.
At least Andy Weir fell on his feet. The Martian just got the movie treatment and, from all accounts, it’s pretty damn good!
Comments
7 responses to “The Author Of The Martian Used To Work At Blizzard. He Hated It.”
Because the insane demands of the game industry weed out anyone who isn’t ‘passionate’ and ‘committed,’ or as sane people call them delusional and star struck. =P
Or if they say anything bad then they may lose their jobs (aka Konami)
^ This. Take anything anyone from any company says with a grain of salt until they stop collecting a pay check from that company.
And even then, a company might not want to hire you if you’ve a history of
telling it like it is‘dissing’ themExactly – Blizzard wouldn’t tolerate its employees saying how shit of a place it is to work at, or saying how they don’t really want to work on a particular title.
You can’t possibly expect everyone at Blizzard to love their job
I enjoyed the book for it’s science fiction and plot, but the tone of the characters is a real turn off. It’s like all the dialog was run through a meme generator, sort of Joss Whedon-esque, I hope the movie doesn’t have that stuff.
Hahahaha, I guess you didn’t play through Warlords of Draenor :p
OT: I know it may have been a few years ago now but stories like this are always depressing as someone slowly getting into the industry.
I’ve always liked the idea of being part of a big team working on a huge game/project but it constantly seems more like indie is the only way to go.