4A Studios treated like Animals according to Jason Rubin

majnu · May 15, 2013

What do you all think?

Former THQ president details atrocious working conditions at Metro: Last Light dev 4A Games

Former THQ president Jason Rubin, who joined the struggling company in 2012, has submitted a story to GamesIndustry International detailing adversities faced by Ukrainian developer 4A Games while developing Metro: Last Light, painting the team as underdogs who struggled against dreadful working conditions, a low budget, and unrealistic expectations.

“Let’s be honest: 4A was never playing on a level field,” writes Rubin. “The budget of Last Light is less than some of its competitors spend on cut scenes, a mere 10 percent of the budget of its biggest competitors.” On top of that, Rubin laments the “irrational requirement of THQ’s original producers to fit multiplayer and co-op into the same deadline and budget.”

It gets worse. According to Rubin, the team “sat on folding wedding chairs, literally elbow to elbow at card tables in what looks more like a packed grade school cafeteria than a development studio.” Dev kits and high-end PCs had to be smuggled into Ukraine in backpacks to avoid the sticky hands of “thieving customs officials.” Pile on frequent power outages and broken government-run heating which frequently led to below-freezing working conditions, and Rubin says that 4A’s success is equivalent to that of the Jamaican bobsledding team which finished ahead of the US in the 1994 Olympics.

It’s a harrowing story, and I doubt anyone outside of Ukrainian customs officials would want it to go untold, though Rubin oddly spends a good portion of his text justifying its telling. “If you care about the art of making games then you have to care about more than the final product,” he writes. “The struggle and the journey becomes part of the story. Like sport, you cheer when the underdog comes from behind, and triumphs in the face of incredible odds.”

Who doesn’t love an underdog story—and why are we just hearing about it now, months after THQ dissolved? According to Rubin, 4A’s story hasn’t been told in as much detail until now due to “a combination of a complex and secretive industry, a press that lags the movie and music press in calling attention to the stories behind the games, a dysfunctional and ever-changing sequence of producers causing confusion, the inevitable anonymity that comes from being an Eastern European developer, and a new, last minute publisher that doesn’t see the upside in doing your team’s publicity.”

That new publisher is Koch Media (known better to us as Deep Silver, its game publishing wing), which purchased the publishing rights to the Metro franchise after THQ’s bankruptcy. Deep Silver PR representative Aubrey Norris reacted to Rubin’s criticism, tweeting: “I love when @Jason_Rubin runs his mouth about things at other companies he knows NOTHING about. Solid guy.”

Rubin responded, pointing out 4A’s near invisibility on the official Metro: Last Light website, which Norris says is due to time constraints and the complexity of assuming control of THQ’s assets over the past four months. According to Norris, Deep Silver concentrated on the critical task of “making the game live.”

Rubin’s timing and criticism of Deep Silver and the press suggest larger motives than simply telling 4A’s story, but Twitter bickering aside, we’re glad it was told. Have a read of our Metro: Last Light review for more on the impressive game, and read Rubin’s full editorial at GamesIndustry International.
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Former THQ president details atrocious working conditions at Metro: Last Light dev 4A Games | News | PC Gamer

Komodo Saurian · May 15, 2013

Like animals?

Oh snap.

Looked to me like decent working conditions actually.

Besides, the point of the article is that the 4A made a game with 10% of what people usually get and had the same if not better quality of the final product.

majnu · May 15, 2013

there are many points to the article.

1. 4A created a fantastic game under crap conditions
2. 4A created a fantastic game with a tiny budget
3. Jason Rubin and THQ didn't do anything to improve 4A's conditions
4. For some reason Jason Rubin decided to have a Twitter rant
5. Deep Silver responded telling Jason Rubin to shut up lol
6. There is too much corruption and theft in Ukraine

Komodo Saurian · May 15, 2013

majnu said: ↑

there are many points to the article.

1. 4A created a fantastic game under crap conditions
2. 4A created a fantastic game with a tiny budget
3. Jason Rubin and THQ didn't do anything to improve 4A's conditions
4. For some reason Jason Rubin decided to have a Twitter rant
5. Deep Silver responded telling Jason Rubin to shut up lol
Click to expand...

Yep.

Hoenkoper · May 15, 2013

This is like the opposite to what happened with KAOS while the development of Homefront, really impressive from 4A.

majnu · May 16, 2013

How can we contact 4A? I just want to tell them they created an incredible game under such shitty conditions and that they should be rewarded for their gallant efforts with limited resources whilst having such high passion for their game.

Makes me want to buy another copy of the game just to support them more just because I can't go over to the Ukraine and hand them money myself cutting out the middle man.

dOrOb · May 16, 2013

majnu said: ↑

How can w contact 4A? I just want to tell them they created an incredible game under such shitty conditions and that they should be rewarded for their gallant efforts with limited resources whilst having such high passion for their game.

Makes me want to buy another copy of the game just to support them more just because I can't go over to the Ukraine and hand them money myself cutting out the middle man.
Click to expand...

This is something ive been thinking of to, I want to tell them how great they are,

metro is a original they havent stole ide's from other games. The game design and atmosfere is just amazing. but I dont know where and how I should be able to tell 4A games

maybe professor pew can contact them, cant we start a tread on the forum there we tell 4A how great they are and then Professor Pew will show them the "thank you 4a" tread or what it should be call.

Sorry for the really bad english im in school now and dont have time to check spelling I dont want the teatcher to see me use my phone

Sharkey · May 16, 2013

Here's a follow up article with 4A responding to the original article.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/metro-last-light-dev-responds-to-workplace-conditions-claims-6408472

Classy, dedicated, and humble bunch of guys, 4A! I just want to hug them and thank them in person for the amazing work they do.:tea:

Metro2033 · May 17, 2013

Donation is all they need

Shurfire · May 18, 2013

Buy more copies of Last Light! My God these people should get a raise! I wonder what Deep Silver thought when they showed up at the "studio".

DrDarcy · May 18, 2013

Some of the descriptions of 4A studios may appear to be horrible but what I want to know is, compared to other Ukrainian devs, how do they fare? They'll never get the same equipment as US companies, but I'm just interested.

thuner · May 18, 2013

Perhaps they accepted the condition because they made what they really loved to do?
Im pretty sure that's also why they got such amazing products, it's not like they didnt care what they did obviously.

yet I feel sorry for them to work under such conditions too. They earn better!

4A Studios treated like Animals according to Jason Rubin

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