You ever think your job was hard? Rough day at the office, boss chewing out your ass, and the constant boredom that eventually drives you to go postal? Well just remember that you're not 4A Studios, the makers behind Metro 2033 and the recently released Metro: Last Light. According to a report by GamesIndustry.biz, the Ukranian developer made the entire game under some hateful conditions.
For starters, one of the developers was forcefully evicted from his apartment, lease be damned, by a group of armed thugs who waited for him to get home. And you get upset if you can't find your key fast enough.
Instead of a big fancy office to develop in, 4A was crammed into a tiny room, sitting elbow to elbow at card tables with folding chairs. Most studios in other parts of the world get the resources they need easily, a new dev kit, another PC to develop on. Not 4A. If they wanted to get new development tools, they'd need to fly to the United States and literally smuggle it back in to avoid thieving customs officials in the Ukraine. They'd fly back to Poland and hide it from officials on the border.
Jason Rubin, a former THQ exec and Naughty Dog developer who gave this account, detailed trying to just get them simple office chairs. There were no shops in Kiev to buy chairs, so they had to go to Poland, and attempt to bribe customs officials to let them cross. However, this effort was dropped, not because of the outrageous price or ridiculous conditions, but because they simply would not fit in their office. The chairs would take up too much room for the developers to sit.
The budget of Last Light is also astounding. Compared to many other AAA games, Last Light had roughly 10% of their budget. However it is still built on a completely proprietary engine and currently holds an 82 Metascore.
The game was also receiving ridiculous demands from THQ over adding competitive multiplayer and co-op, all which set them back almost a year. For the record, the game is currently published by EA after THQ collapsed.
4A also had to deal with consistent power outages, not just for hours, but sometimes days. In order to meet deadlines, the team would have to bring in construction generators to work weekends to finish the game. Not only that, but heating would become an issue. The heat in Kiev is government-run, with a central coal facility running hot water and heat to all the places in Kiev. However, it would break down for a week or so at a time a few times a year. 4A would have to work in parkas, struggling to keep warm at well below freezing temperatures. At least their PCs wouldn't overheat.
I rarely get preachy over news (shocking I know) but these guys have been through some major shit. They're made up of some former STALKER devs (which a great friend of mine absolutely adores) and it's a truly new and interesting effort. Compiled with these horrific conditions, I think if you're interested in the game, it's worth a buy, if only to help support them for future games in perhaps less horrific conditions.
Source
For starters, one of the developers was forcefully evicted from his apartment, lease be damned, by a group of armed thugs who waited for him to get home. And you get upset if you can't find your key fast enough.
Instead of a big fancy office to develop in, 4A was crammed into a tiny room, sitting elbow to elbow at card tables with folding chairs. Most studios in other parts of the world get the resources they need easily, a new dev kit, another PC to develop on. Not 4A. If they wanted to get new development tools, they'd need to fly to the United States and literally smuggle it back in to avoid thieving customs officials in the Ukraine. They'd fly back to Poland and hide it from officials on the border.
Jason Rubin, a former THQ exec and Naughty Dog developer who gave this account, detailed trying to just get them simple office chairs. There were no shops in Kiev to buy chairs, so they had to go to Poland, and attempt to bribe customs officials to let them cross. However, this effort was dropped, not because of the outrageous price or ridiculous conditions, but because they simply would not fit in their office. The chairs would take up too much room for the developers to sit.
The budget of Last Light is also astounding. Compared to many other AAA games, Last Light had roughly 10% of their budget. However it is still built on a completely proprietary engine and currently holds an 82 Metascore.
The game was also receiving ridiculous demands from THQ over adding competitive multiplayer and co-op, all which set them back almost a year. For the record, the game is currently published by EA after THQ collapsed.
4A also had to deal with consistent power outages, not just for hours, but sometimes days. In order to meet deadlines, the team would have to bring in construction generators to work weekends to finish the game. Not only that, but heating would become an issue. The heat in Kiev is government-run, with a central coal facility running hot water and heat to all the places in Kiev. However, it would break down for a week or so at a time a few times a year. 4A would have to work in parkas, struggling to keep warm at well below freezing temperatures. At least their PCs wouldn't overheat.
I rarely get preachy over news (shocking I know) but these guys have been through some major shit. They're made up of some former STALKER devs (which a great friend of mine absolutely adores) and it's a truly new and interesting effort. Compiled with these horrific conditions, I think if you're interested in the game, it's worth a buy, if only to help support them for future games in perhaps less horrific conditions.
Source
Kiev is the capital of Ukraine. I'm aware it's not exactly the wealthiest nation on the planet, but you're not going to tell me that a city of a couple million inhabitants doesn't have a single shop where you can buy freakin' chairs. Either Jason is even worse at facilities than the guy at my job (and I could fill a book on that guy's shortcomings)...or he's just full of shit.
