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IGN exposes terrible Team Bondi working conditions, McNamara: "Yep, it happened."


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noire2.jpg

 

IGN Australia have an article based on interviews with eleven anonymous former Team Bondi members and Team Bondi studio head Brendan McNamara.

 

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/117/1179020p1.html

 

Development staff were allegedly made to work up to 12 hours each day, and through weekends, with little encouragement or support from management.

 

Although long hours and weekend work are common during crunch time, the source said he’d suffered these conditions for over a year before quitting – before L.A. Noire shipped, meaning the crunch likely extended well beyond 12 months.

 

More - http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/blockbuster-la-noire-faces-credits-crisis-20110620-1gaw3.html

 

 

 

Read Both Article.

 

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IGDA To Investigate L.A. Noire Dev Team Bondi Over Allegations of Poor Working Conditions

 

 

http://exophase.com/23641/igda-to-investigate-l-a-noire-dev-team-bondi-over-allegations-of-poor-working-conditions/

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a common problem in any IT related industry

 

Client: we need it by x days

Delivery head: sure

Manager: we will do it in x - y days and then we will brag how well we managed the project

developer has to scrap through days and nights

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Correction ...

 

Development team - This needs X days

CLient .. naaa ji naa .. We need it in 0.6X

Manager - you have 0.4X days

Development team - &^$^%$%$#$@@$@$#%$

At the end client says - you did it in 0.6X days after all. Why were you quoting such unnecessary high figures earlier?

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Rockstar's "disdain" for LA Noire dev

 

 

Two former Bondi staffers, speaking to Eurogamer sister site Gamesindustry.biz under condition of anonymity, claim Rockstar's relationship with Team Bondi reached such a low point during the course of the creation of 1940s crime adventure L.A. Noire that it now has "disdain" for the Australian developer.

 

As a result, Rockstar will not publish Team Bondi's next game, the former staff members claimed.

 

The explosive comments follow last month's allegations over brutal working conditions at the Australian developer, and in particular L.A. Noire writer and director Brendan McNamara's controversial management style.

 

"I've heard a lot about Rockstar's disdain for Team Bondi, and it has been made quite clear that they will not publish Team Bondi's next game," a source said.

 

"Team Bondi are trying to find another publisher for their next title, but the relationship with Rockstar has been badly damaged - Brendan treats L.A. Noire like a success due to his vision but I think Rockstar are the ones who saved the project. They continued to sink money into L.A. Noire, and their marketing was fantastic. Without their continued support, Team Bondi would have gone under several years ago."

 

The International Game Developers Association is investigating Team Bondi following last month's revelations.

 

Developers were reportedly asked to work 110-hour weeks during crunch periods, often without overtime pay. Studio boss Brendan McNamara was accused of being abusive to staff, while 130 developers have complained of being left off the game's credits.

 

Continued GI's sources: "Rockstar also made a huge contribution to the development; their producers were increasingly influential over the last two years of the game's development, and overruled many of the insane decisions made by Team Bondi management.

 

"At a lower level, Rockstar also pitched in with programmers, animators, artists, QA, etc. Part of the conflict between Team Bondi and Rockstar was due to Rockstar's frustration with Team Bondi's direction, and eventually Team Bondi's management in turn resented Rockstar for taking lots of creative control.

 

"It's also worth pointing out that Rockstar used to be very keen on making Team Bondi something like 'Rockstar Sydney' - the more they worked with Team Bondi management, the more they came to understand that this was a terrible idea."

 

Emails sent by McNamara and other Team Bondi managers to the development team, revealed today, expose the true nature of the troubled relationship between the two companies.

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Weren't Rockstar slave driving their own guys in RDR for well over a year? I can understand them not getting on board with McNamara and all that but they really have no high moral ground when it comes to sh*t like this.

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