Video Game Developers: What To Do When You Are Laid Off

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GameDevTalk has a handy check list of things you should know and things you should do if you've been laid off from your job in the game industry.

I’ve been working as an animator since 1998, and I’ve been laid off from studios of all sizes. I’ve even done some layoffs of my own. I’m still standing and still making games. There’s life after layoff. What do you do if you’re on receiving end of a layoff? Don’t freak out! It’s a very common thing in the videogame industry, much too common.
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When I was younger I always thought it would be awesome to work in the video game industry. I even got as far as the first round interviews for a game tester in EA Vancouver. But now after observing the industry I won't even touch it. So much restructuring, so many good studios now closed and many positions are hired solely for the duration of the development of the game.

There's nothing too glorious with my current career in IT support for the company I work for, but it's stable, and with all the shit breaking my job will never go away, lol.
 
One guy I knew went from being a Java back office developer to working at EA during the peak of their shitty work practices. He fell off the face of the Earth. He might be dead.
 
they should all ban together and make competing free (but ad supported) games that are far better than the shit their former companies made.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
After getting laid off:

1) Find a new job.

There, now you don't hafta read the article. :)
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Find a new job? Sounds kind of optional in Obama's new country. When I was laid off, I was given $454 a week for a single guy to do absolutely nothing, with extensions that were available for up to two years IIRC. Cost of living in Texas isn't even that high, so if I was lazy and not worried about what a 6-month gap would have looked like on my resume, I could have just had a mini-retirement, lol! Granted its only like $22K or so, but you can do cash stuff on the side and AFAIK its virtually tax free and with such low income you can get other benefits, so average about a $40K income lifestyle. And if you're a single-mom with say 4-5 kids, OMG you can make friggen BANK!
 
Ducman69 said:
Find a new job? Sounds kind of optional in Obama's new country. When I was laid off, I was given $454 a week for a single guy to do absolutely nothing, with extensions that were available for up to two years IIRC. Cost of living in Texas isn't even that high, so if I was lazy and not worried about what a 6-month gap would have looked like on my resume, I could have just had a mini-retirement, lol! Granted its only like $22K or so, but you can do cash stuff on the side and AFAIK its virtually tax free and with such low income you can get other benefits, so average about a $40K income lifestyle. And if you're a single-mom with say 4-5 kids, OMG you can make friggen BANK!
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Politics are silly.
 
Ducman69 said:
Find a new job? Sounds kind of optional in Obama's new country. When I was laid off, I was given $454 a week for a single guy to do absolutely nothing, with extensions that were available for up to two years IIRC. Cost of living in Texas isn't even that high, so if I was lazy and not worried about what a 6-month gap would have looked like on my resume, I could have just had a mini-retirement, lol! Granted its only like $22K or so, but you can do cash stuff on the side and AFAIK its virtually tax free and with such low income you can get other benefits, so average about a $40K income lifestyle. And if you're a single-mom with say 4-5 kids, OMG you can make friggen BANK!
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Curse you Obama for inventing unemployment insurance!
 
One of the worst things about employment in the IT and software industries as a whole is that you tend to be led to believe that the job you're doing is going to last forever, even when your employers know damn well that it's contingent on the project or contract you're on. And when the contract/project you're on is going to end prematurely you won't find out till those last 15 minutes - while your employer has known about it for months.

They're afraid of course that you're going to jump ship as soon as you find out. But if you have any sense of moral decency at all you won't and you'll give them two weeks notice at least. Which is what they would do if they had any of the same such decency. Never mind that the employee is the one shouldering all the risk. If you leave with short notice you're not going to get any recommendations and won't be eligible for rehire - which might cost you a job down the road. If they lay you off with short notice they might have to give you a severance paid for with pennies stolen from your wage/salary - no loss on their end.
 
Ducman69 said:
Find a new job? Sounds kind of optional in Obama's new country. When I was laid off, I was given $454 a week for a single guy to do absolutely nothing, with extensions that were available for up to two years IIRC. Cost of living in Texas isn't even that high, so if I was lazy and not worried about what a 6-month gap would have looked like on my resume, I could have just had a mini-retirement, lol! Granted its only like $22K or so, but you can do cash stuff on the side and AFAIK its virtually tax free and with such low income you can get other benefits, so average about a $40K income lifestyle. And if you're a single-mom with say 4-5 kids, OMG you can make friggen BANK!
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Yeah... Not so much anymore. I was laid off in May, and my unemployment ends after 6 months. To make matters worse, I live in NJ and my benefits barely cover my rent and health insurance.

You can do cash stuff on the side, but 80% of what I make in part time work comes out of my unemployment check. I have a gig tomorrow that pays $50, and I'll net $10! It isn't worth the risk of getting busted for not reporting income; you can go to jail for that.
 
You work on a game in a garage and give it away for free. Then wait for it to become popular and Gabe Newell will personally higher you.
 
It must be rough for these guys studios were closing up like crazy after the 2008 crash even after.
My uncle worked for THQ his studio made the game Deadly Creatures for the Wii probably the best game the studio made he didn't work on it personally.

The problem is Metacrtic and digital copies of games as well as a abundance of games and developers who just AXE people.
 
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