Guy Somberg Retracts…er… Clarifies Hellgate: London Issues
By Stephany on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 12:28 PM PST In Computer, Game Companies, Game Platforms, Gamer Life, Games
Poor Guy Somberg. After venting in a most depressing way on his blog and then having it picked up all over the internet, today he has felt compelled to clarify his ramblings. I am sure it was at the request of his boss at Flagship Studios, who also felt the need to comment on Guy’s recent blog entry as well.
Guy has since told Destructoid that his blog post was more for his family and friends’ benefit and it was not an accurate description of what was happening within the company.
This is what Guy had to say in his email to Destructiod:
“Things here at Flagship are running business as usual. We’ve just put a build of Chronicle 2 onto our test center, which has represented a lot of hard work from everybody at the company, myself included.
When I wrote that blog post I was frustrated and just a little bit overwhelmed, but it was nothing that a mug of hot chocolate, a few hours of gaming, and a good night’s sleep didn’t cure. I was surprised and disappointed at the community’s response to my words, which were more directed at my family and friends to describe my state of mind at the time, than to give any sort of insight into the company. Personally, I think that the ‘Towers of Hanoi’ series of posts on my blog is far more interesting and worthy of commentary and analysis.
I’m sorry to have caused such a ruckus over such a small thing.”
In response, Ivan Sulic, Flagships’s marketing communications manager has this say regarding Guy’s post”
“I’m Ivan Sulic, Flagship’s Marketing Communications Manager, Web Manager, and Writer. I attached Guy on this because I’d like to believe I’m not some soulless automaton that cranks out fluff replies and maybe he can help me prove it.
I’m not going to speak for him, but I’ll bet Guy feels like anyone who spent a lot of time and effort on something that wasn’t received as well as hoped… And then a few of our friends and coworkers left. It’s a bummer. I wouldn’t know what he’s feeling, but there are a couple things he wrote that I can address.
First off, our directors are all doing the same thing they’ve been doing, save for Peter. Peter Hu is a systems programmer and one of our technology directors. Since Hellgate was put out, he’s been able to work on other things. Everything else is pretty much business as usual.
The second thing Guy mentioned was departures. We’ve actually had very few people leave. Flagship is still fully staffed and working on both Hellgate and Mythos (with the same Seattle / San Francisco distinction we’ve always had). I think we have about 100 employees now. I know a couple people left because they were moving up on their career path. A close friend of mine is also leaving because he needs a change of pace and scenery. He was even thinking of switching continents just to get away from SF’s cold and windy summers. No biggie, though. People finish a game, want to work on something else, and then leave to do just that. It’s pretty typical in this industry. I don’t know the exact number, but we couldn’t have had more than five or six departures. Still, if those five or six dudes are people you work with everyday, it can’t feel great.”
Guy may want to look into a password protected site for family and friends to view next time he wants to vent his feelings about his employer. It would save him a world of trouble. Seriously though, who hasn’t vented about work at one point or another – be it in your blog or via instant messaging?
Thanks: Videogaming247
“After venting in a most depressing way on his blog yesterday and then having it picked up all over the internet”
Actually Guy made that vent post on his blog well over a month ago (on May 9th). Why it just now got all of this coverage is bizarre and seems more of a case of typical Internet media sensationalism to manufacture a controversy to drive pageviews and ad revenue. The fact that the large 2.0 update to Hellgate was also released at about the same time as this supposed news story seems to be no coincidence. All people have bad days on the job, and people vent their feelings about work on their personal blogs. Game developers are no different. Just because a game developer says something derogatory about his employer or work after a bad day on his personal blog doesn’t mean it should be headline news.
If it were not for media sensationalism we would not have had the pleasure of your comment Phil, so thank the gods for that.
On another note, I think I specifically stated that every developer has made a shoddy title or two (in yesterday’s post) and I mentioned that everyone has complained about their employer on occasion in this post. I also stated that everyone should cut the guy some slack, did I not?
However, when someone who works within a gaming company in a position such as his states that employees are “leaving in droves” and that things are not going well for the game he is working on – what else does that constitute? It is not like he got on there and complained of a headache, or that he was sick his job or that his boss was being a royal prick. That is mundane everyday life for human beings in general. Instead, he made it sound as though Hellgate: London was in dire straits. Therefore, that DOES constitute as news.
If you are so worried about sensationalism – make the world a better place for all of us Phil by ceasing to surfing the net, reading the paper, watching the news or listening to the radio.
“If it were not for media sensationalism we would not have had the pleasure of your comment Phil, so thank the gods for that.”
I would rather have saved the few minutes it took me to write that comment especially since it was to say something which shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place.
“On another note, I think I specifically stated that every developer has made a shoddy title or two (in yesterday’s post) and I mentioned that everyone has complained about their employer on occasion in this post. I also stated that everyone should cut the guy some slack, did I not?”
I don’t dispute that and my comments as such weren’t specifically directed at YOU but rather to all who ran this story as news.
“However, when someone who works within a gaming company in a position such as his states that employees are “leaving in droves” and that things are not going well for the game he is working on – what else does that constitute?”
First, Guy is just a programmer NOT one of the principals of the company. So his word is certainly not gospel when it comes to the state of his employer. Second, this blog post as such doesn’t constitute news. It constitutes just one employee’s personal opinion, and an unchecked opinion at that. None of the blogs which ran this story including yours got comment from Guy or Flagship or did any other fact checking before rushing to post it as news. The fact that both Flagship and Guy have disputed the original claims made and the fact that Gameindustry.biz has pulled the original story you linked to clearly demonstrates that.
“Instead, he made it sound as though Hellgate: London was in dire straits. Therefore, that DOES constitute as news.”
No, it simply constitutes further investigation to see IF it is really true and not just exaggeration. It’s not news unless the claims are actually true.
“If you are so worried about sensationalism – make the world a better place for all of us Phil by ceasing to surfing the net, reading the paper, watching the news or listening to the radio.”
No, a much better way to reduce such sensationalism is to do what I did here which is to call you and other contributors to such sensationalism when I see it. Ignoring it will certainly not make the problem go away.
…… and unfortunately when we ignore you, you do not go away either.
Good Lord! I had the misfortune of working near this character Guy Somberg. The dude would never shut up & was a hugely disruptive presence. Very arrogant and inconsiderate. Many companies I’ve worked for would never tolerate his incessant yapping about pop culture & his negativity.