Wow, very disappointing. Its incredible how fucking hard it is for some people not to have the absolute bare minimum of decency towards others.
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"I left Insomniac Games because of how they treat women" Ex-Employee speaks out
- Thread starter XaviConcept
- Start date
The unfortunate truth is that such a response could be construed as conceding wrongdoing and therefore liability. That's the society we live in.
Very disappointed in Insomniac, you lot better clean your shit up for the sake of those who suffered and for the future of the company.
So many good people have been driven away from the industry thanks to this toxic bullshit that has permeated throughout the industry, and for what? So some big boys can feel good about themselves? There's enough challenges and stress in the games industry without having to literally fear what your co-workers and people who you are meant to trust might do to you.
So many good people have been driven away from the industry thanks to this toxic bullshit that has permeated throughout the industry, and for what? So some big boys can feel good about themselves? There's enough challenges and stress in the games industry without having to literally fear what your co-workers and people who you are meant to trust might do to you.
This is really sad to hear. I always assumed Insomniac was a great place to work due to awards on such, etc...
I guess not and I feel sorry for those that suffered there due to actions of some terrible people.
Insomniac please address this and clean house, this shouldn't be acceptable.
I guess not and I feel sorry for those that suffered there due to actions of some terrible people.
Insomniac please address this and clean house, this shouldn't be acceptable.
Well these are just the first tweets. But you honestly won't get them stating that they fired someone publicly. That would open them up to lawsuits.
I remember that there was a private twitter thread last year talking about all of this, but it got quickly deleted. Basically because he or she was fearing backlash. Quickly deleted the account too. Which sucks, because the feed was a treasure trove of game development information (mostly about working at other triple AAA studios). The QA insight was brutal.
Always wondered what happened to that person and if she or he is doing fine.
Always wondered what happened to that person and if she or he is doing fine.
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It always funny when investigations are created about something so common like daily harassment only when the company is outed.
It breaks my heart that a company like this can get an award for being the "best" place to work at.
...That's not the response I would have posted on Twitter Insomniac.
I hope any other victims keep telling their stories, it's important for everyone to hear them. Especially since there is likely many more voiceless stories that won't be told as well.
I hope any other victims keep telling their stories, it's important for everyone to hear them. Especially since there is likely many more voiceless stories that won't be told as well.
User banned (3 days): hostility
Get over yourself. I'm not going to apologize for having the basest level of perspective that obviously realizes a boiler plate, by-the-numbers statement like this, from a fucking corporation, means practically nothing even IF they did put an apology in there. Don't ever judge someone else for how they use their "words" when all the wrath in your response was about the statement and not the actual crimes committed.
Weak response, they had an opportunity to take swift action and apologize. Looks like this industry still has a lot of work to do. Turning a blind eye to sexual abuse and harassment is so low.
You quit. As seen.
Don't stay at an unsafe work environment that's unwilling to change due to some weird self serving sense of corporate nepotism.
I hope this sparks more victims to speak up. Terrible what some women have to go through at their workplace.
I think time will show that women behave much the same. Maybe there will be less sexual assault claims but bullying is just as prevalent. I will try to stay away from anecdotal evidence as that doesn't lead to meaningful discussion. I think the process by which people get to rise to such positions of power promotes the sort of underlying habits that lead to negative results.
The society we live in is a result of the words and actions of the people of the society. It isn't some plant that arises out of the earth of its own accord. And they ARE liable. There WAS wrongdoing.
For example, if Harvey Weinstein is accused of being a predator, of course he'll defend himself. Because he's a piece of shit. But why should WE be giving excuses for his response to the accusations?
The words of Insomniac here show the kind of company it is, and the kind of people who run it. I want nothing to do with them. Why's that a problem for anyone else in this thread? I didn't tell YOU what to do. I just said what I was gonna do. You are free to make your own decisions and judgments about the company.
This happens in all companies the problem is that not all Industries have the same level of atention from public that the entertainment industry has.
4 years I has been living in the USA I really love this place but to be honest every single place that I have worked has this kind or problem against Women or against non white people.
Fuuuucckk I did not expect this as Insomniac gets the reward for the best workplace quite often.
Insomniac Again Named One of Best Workplaces | Insomniac Games
insomniac.games
Clearly such things don't mean much.
The thing about these kinds of awards is that you have to pay/apply to be evaluated. It may be an independent assessment, but it is not all encompassing or even remotely able to sniff out issues like these.
Completely. The types of people who are doing this should be scared and I really hope they are. They deserve to lose everything. I hope every person who has done something like this in this industry is ridden with angst about whether or not they will be outed at an moment.
Hopefully everything coming to light brings forth some meaningful change.
I'm glad people are finding the courage to speak out.
I'm glad people are finding the courage to speak out.
Man, i disagree with "time will show that women behave much the same as men"
so far time has definitely not shown that.
Its really horrible but it's pretty much in every industry. You don't even want to know how bad it is in real estate and loans
They should have stopped at tweet 1/2. I can understand they can't discuss specifics about a sensitive case on a public platform. But at least it's being escalated.
But 2/2 is utterly irrelevant to the issue at hand here. Basically, 'Oh, while you're reading this, let us remind you how great we are at these other issues'.
Agreed, they just dug a deeper hole for themselves. Maybe Insomniac should postpone their active development until things can be investigated and real diversity protocols can be implemented or possibly even restructured so things like this have a lesser chance of happening again.
I definitely would've stopped at the first tweet and taken some time to reflect and show empathy to Sol and anyone else who work(s or ed) at Insomniac.
Also, Human Resources should be changed to Company Resources. HR is not for the employees at ALL. HR is LITERALLY for the company, to ensure that they can continue to make money without issues from any employees. If they can sweep it under the rug, you best believe they've already done it. HR is NOT your protector. They will do anything to avoid losing the company money. ANYTHING. That piece of shit working for HR is disgusting.
I really hope that everyone that was mistreated can get the help they need and deserve.
Also, Human Resources should be changed to Company Resources. HR is not for the employees at ALL. HR is LITERALLY for the company, to ensure that they can continue to make money without issues from any employees. If they can sweep it under the rug, you best believe they've already done it. HR is NOT your protector. They will do anything to avoid losing the company money. ANYTHING. That piece of shit working for HR is disgusting.
I really hope that everyone that was mistreated can get the help they need and deserve.
At this point, I am beginning to think that there is not one single well known large gaming company where stuff like this has not happened. Rather it is a matter of time before the rot in each company is revealed and it is now being exposed thick and fast.
I am glad they spoke up and even more relieved that others are backing them up now. Insomniac is one of my most cherished development houses and this is utterly infuriating and saddening.
This is boilerplate stuff meant to CYA. I do hope that there is a better one in the near future with an outline on how or what steps they will take to effect change that directly address the issues being raised by one and corroborated by multiple employees/ex-employees.
I am glad they spoke up and even more relieved that others are backing them up now. Insomniac is one of my most cherished development houses and this is utterly infuriating and saddening.
This is boilerplate stuff meant to CYA. I do hope that there is a better one in the near future with an outline on how or what steps they will take to effect change that directly address the issues being raised by one and corroborated by multiple employees/ex-employees.
Oh no, I'm not judging you. I was judging the corporation for lacking any empathy or sense of remorse. Or promising to do the right thing. You quoted me and engaged me into a discussion, and came in on your high horse about the "poor soul who runs the twitter account of Insomniac." As if this statement could have been posted without the involvement of the highest leadership.
I said that I was going to boycott Insomniac in my original statement. Didn't tell YOU what to do. Why are you so concerned with MY actions?
EDIT: And shame on you for accusing me of whatever the fuck you're accusing me of by "Don't ever judge someone else for how they use their "words" when all the wrath in your response was about the statement and not the actual crimes committed.". I have plenty of wrath for the actual crimes committed. That's the entire reason the response pissed me off. How about you look into your own soul and what you are defending.
Its not even "at other issues." They are saying "we couldnt possible be like that, so shes lying."
I am not going down this rabbit hole. We agree to disagree. My position is that people in positions of power are not immune to terrible behavior because of their sex/gender.
This is the absolute wrong place for people involved to talk about it. This is not an impartial forum that can suppress their biases and maintain civility for a discussion of that magnitude.
Hopefully these are just the first tweets. I don't think I will either, I agree, but that's not what I suggested either.
I'm more interested in what they are going to do moving forward and how they will better respond to these allegations, because I don't want to financially support a company that lets this happen and does nothing meaningful to prevent it in the future. They should have cleaned their act up without there needing to have whistles blown, but now they have to do it with an ugly spotlight instead. Well deserved. Women deserve better.
They wont. This is the corporate equivalent of "I cant be racist because I have POC friends. Shes lying."
I don't know what anyone expected in regards to a tweet. This is a standard response and you'll see more of it from other companies. Any public statement is going to be boilerplate.
Don't hold your hopes in them putting out a statement you'll approve of. Because legally they most likely can't
Don't hold your hopes in them putting out a statement you'll approve of. Because legally they most likely can't
Disgusting. I really hope some major reforms and management shake-ups result from this, but ultimately, we need more laws passed regarding this stuff, and more Unions in every industry.
I've just got a boring, exempt status salary job in a government office, meaning I only get paid for 40 hours regardless of how much I work. Management says you don't have to work over 40 hours if you don't want to, but everyone in the office regularly works 10-12 hour days, and sometimes weekends, and you pretty much have to do that to meet the deadlines. 40 hour work weeks just don't seem to exist anymore unless you get paid an hourly rate. It's fucking awful. It feels like we've been regressing on workers' rights as a society for 40 years now.
As a white guy, I can't speak as much to the harassment/discrimination issues personally, but my girlfriend has some real horror stories from her past jobs. ESPECIALLY the restaurant industry while she was a server. Some of the shit I've heard made me want to burn these restaurants to the ground.
This shit just seems so pervasive in nearly all aspects of society.
It's not just gaming, it's practically every single industry. In my experience, the "crunch culture" is ubiquitous in damn near every "professional"/salary job.
I've just got a boring, exempt status salary job in a government office, meaning I only get paid for 40 hours regardless of how much I work. Management says you don't have to work over 40 hours if you don't want to, but everyone in the office regularly works 10-12 hour days, and sometimes weekends, and you pretty much have to do that to meet the deadlines. 40 hour work weeks just don't seem to exist anymore unless you get paid an hourly rate. It's fucking awful. It feels like we've been regressing on workers' rights as a society for 40 years now.
As a white guy, I can't speak as much to the harassment/discrimination issues personally, but my girlfriend has some real horror stories from her past jobs. ESPECIALLY the restaurant industry while she was a server. Some of the shit I've heard made me want to burn these restaurants to the ground.
This shit just seems so pervasive in nearly all aspects of society.
This sounds bad and the response is bad. Didn't Naughty Dog try to hand wave away some pretty serious allegations a while back too?
You know the worst part? Is that in a week very few will care.
And women will be continued to be treated like trash from this industry.
Is increasing hard for me to enjoy a hobby when you know the people behind it are trash.
And not just the people behind it, the fanbase too. That continue to use my gender as an insult and to discredit us.
And women will be continued to be treated like trash from this industry.
Is increasing hard for me to enjoy a hobby when you know the people behind it are trash.
And not just the people behind it, the fanbase too. That continue to use my gender as an insult and to discredit us.
They are not going to say shit until papa Sony says something.
