Naughty Dog Employee Reviews about "naughty dog"

Pros

- You will work with some of the best talent in the industry - The workflow at Naughty Dog is very empowering, you are trusted to get the job done without any constraints, no one is going to be looking over your shoulder. - You are almost guaranteed to work on a cool project - Everyone has a voice, the hierarchy is very flat and everyone is open to new ideas that can make the game better.

Cons

- I have been through many crunches. Naughty Dog was by far the worst. They say they are going to change every time but they never do. If you are going to join, you have to be ok with doing 60 to 80 hours a week for 1-2 years for every project. - The pay is amongst the worst in the Los Angeles area. Some people with lots of experience barely get paid well to live on their own, let alone sustaining a family. - HR is inexistent. There is not a hint of interest for the person that does the job, they only care about getting talent and squeezing it. This is why after every project there is an stampede.

Pros

- Meet lots of great passionate artists that I will be friends with for a long time - Had a lot of individual autonomy to get stuff done in the way you saw fit. - Lots of great and talented employees who were there to help - Good dinners when working late nights

Cons

- Often received unclear and contradictory direction. - On multiple occasions I would do exactly as directed and then be told that is not what I was supposed to do by the same lead. - On multiple occasions I brought up issues that needed to be addressed and was told not to worry about them only to later be asked why I never did anything about said issues. - Not a good work life balance - Overtime is implied but was never once talked about. Instead we were just given impossible deadlines where the only way to make them was to work overtime so the project could reach "Naughty Dog Magic" level of done. - On-boarding to the studio was bad, I was dropped into the office with out any direction. I knew zero people, didn't know what to be working on, or who to ask what to work on, or any clear idea of what my role at the company would be. - No real task management system used. They had an internal system for bugs and feedback but not other system for tasks. Most tasks came to me through verbal conversations only.

Pros

Experience what it's like to work alongside some of the most talented individuals in the AAA industry and help create an amazing gaming experience. Learn what it takes to develop a polished Naughty Dog title.

Cons

The long hours are expected, but the minimum-wage pay sucks. The studio is evolving to appreciate their QA team more and I had a positive experience with that, but the pay and opportunities provided to grow are definitely the worst part of the job.

Pros

The work is extremely full-filling. The people who work at Naughty Dog are some of the best in the industry. You will grow as an artist

Cons

The crunch is terrible. The people can be very type A and arrogant. If you don't mind your soul being destroyed by the crunch, it's a great place to work.

Pros

Everybody knows what they are talking about. There are no real producers so you get assignments from leads who know what they are doing. The atmosphere is very friendly even during crunch. I could work here forever from what I've experienced so far.

Cons

Since there are no producers, there's a lot of back and forth about what's going to happen. But I think that is a part of why naughty dog makes such great products.

Pros

You will work the the best people in the industry. The talent and work ethic is unmatched. There are no managers or assistant managers, or assistants to the managers at Naughty Dog, because everyone knows what they are doing, and more importantly, is passionate about what they are doing. Everyone from the Co-Presidents down is approachable, and honest about what their expectations are for you, and how high a bar that is. I've been in this industry for 12 years, and I learned more about how game development SHOULD be done in my first month at Naughty Dog than I would have thought possible. There have been some past reviews that indicated problems with family/life balance. I can see that perspective, there is a lot of crunch at the conclusion of projects. That's usually what it takes to make great games, since you're trying to improve them as much as you can up to the last second. I can also say I've found Naughty Dog to be extremely supportive to me and my own family - so perhaps they've made changes recently in how that's been handled. I know that I've had broad allowances when I've needed family time.

Cons

You have to bring your "A game" every day. If you are looking for an easy paycheck, or a job where you can rest on your laurels, this isn't the place for you. You'll be hired because you're experienced and talented, but will be challenged on what you are doing, and how you are doing it on a regular basis. You will be expected to learn new tools, and new skills. You will need to adapt to keep pace. If can't do it, you'll be shown the door. High expectations come with a job at Naughty Dog. Be prepared.

Pros

I was a full time employee and picked up a lot of hours during crunch time. QA testers got to have the catered food which doesn't always happen at dev studios. Access to other devs was possible to "advance your career".

Cons

I find most places don't treat their QA testers well and naughty dog was no exception. There was this underlining rule that because you were a QA tester, you were scum/bottom of the barrel. It seemed like administration, programmers, artist and anyone that wasn't apart of QA, treated the QA department very bad. This negated all of the pros mentioned above. While there were plenty of hours, you as a QA tester spent it in a hostile work environment. While you could eat the catered food, you had to wait for "the real employees" to get their food first. Finally while there was access to "the real employees" they usually resented you because your job as a QA tester is to point out their flaws. I had a terrible experience at naughty dog. This was the last video game job I ever worked and no longer will be apart of the industry.

Pros

Fantastically talented people. Good pay, nice location. Make great games. Flat Structure. Naughty Dog isn't hung up on corporate structure. Ideas flow freely. NO PRODUCERS! Work Hard, Play Hard.

Cons

The culture is so perfectionist and has no producers to worry about budget issues that you are expected to stay late and get everything in. It's not required and they won't be mad... just disappointed.

Pros

The people at Naughty Dog are some of the most talented human beings you will ever work with in the game industry. You'll work on some of the best games this industry will ever produce.

Cons

Mgmt thinks 6-9 month crunch, which is normal for ND, is a feature, not a bug in their production process. They don't have producers, so everything upstream gets pushed and pushed downstream until the last possible second. This just wreaks havoc on the employees for the last 6 months of a game. If you have a spouse or family, you'll never see them.