Naughty Dog Employee Reviews about "studio"

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 greatest creative freedom and technology in the gaming industry . A lot of astonishingly talented people. Ample funds to make ambitious games. You can be involved in GOTY materials.

Cons

Perfectionism and laissez-faire policy in the studio culture are not for everyone.

Pros

You'll be working on some of the best games in the industry, surrounded by some of the most talented, passionate people. You'll be sheltered from external pressure of publishers and have an unlimited budget as Sony's golden goose. Working here will open many doors for you.

Cons

Roughly every 5 years, the studio sheds its skin. You'll see developers leaving in droves, then the cycle will repeat as the new hires roll in. For a long time, you'll think this is the best job in games. You'll have likely spent years trying to get here and for the first few years, it delivers. You'll see people leave and go elsewhere and you'll think to yourself 'That's a strange move. Why would they ever leave here?' Then, a few years later, the truth will start to reveal itself. The signs will be subtle at first, but you'll be drinking the Kool-aid. Even though the head of the studio says 'it's not possible to make a game with this quality without crunch', it won't alarm you since you're sure that's what it takes. The money's still good, the people are still good. Whatever, you'll probably have some of the best years of games industry experience in your life here. Then you'll realize the studio has no interest in your personal development or well-being. It only cares about making The Next Big Thing and it'll do it whatever it takes. It might not be any one particular thing that moves you on, but once you make the decision, you won't look back. Work here. Enjoy it. Just don't go in expecting to be here forever. It's not the dream you think it is.

Pros

- Great people. Some of the most inspirational, passionate, and dedicated I've worked with. - Games are second to none in their genre. Contributing to them was a constant source of inspiration and satisfaction. - Benefits and and additional compensation were great.

Cons

- Absolutely no creative scope planning and scheduling which leads to an irresponsible amount of crunch and waste. There seemed to be very little acknowledgement by studio leadership of this issue. - Review and career development processes were clearly informal, and a bit of mystery.

Pros

Great studio full of insightful friendly pros.

Cons

They scheduling mismanagement / feature creep / late reviews led to large amounts of rework and extended crunch.