Homefront Devs Worried About Possible Montreal Move

vansau

Mortician of Love
May 25, 2010
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Homefront Devs Worried About Possible Montreal Move



Kaos Studios staffers are pretty worried that THQ might move them to Montreal after Homefront is done, which is a very real possibility.

<a href=http://www.amazon.com/Homefront-Xbox-360/dp/B003Q53VZC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296066084&sr=8-1>Homefront developer Kaos Studios sounds like a stressful place to work right now. Aside from <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107005-Homefront-Studio-Responds-to-Crunch-Time-Complaints>worker claims about being in a prolonged crunch time, now it turns out that some other members of the team are concerned about the New York office's future.

According to Develop, some Kaos staff members are reporting that they're worried about what's going to happen to the studio after Homefront is completed. Apparently, the concern is based on the very real possibility that THQ might uproot the entire team and move it to the publisher's new 400-person-capacity studio in Montreal. There's also a chance that Kaos will wind up with two different offices, one in New York and one in Montreal.

Kaos Studios General Manager David Votypka isn't dismissing this concern, but it sounds like things aren't certain yet: "The goal has always been to find a way to utilize [the Montreal facility] in future Kaos projects ... New York is not the most inexpensive location to develop games."

According to Votypka, the final decision from THQ won't come "for some time yet." Odds are that the decision will be made after Homefront releases in March.

Source: Joystiq


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Floppertje

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Nov 9, 2009
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that would suck, having to move from NY to Montreal... well at least if the entire studio has to move, you've alread got some fellow geeks there ;) also, typo in the title, you missed the T in montreal
 

Soviet Heavy

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Jan 22, 2010
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Monreal? Thats just how the Quebecois pronounce it. Teehee.

Actually, I wouldn't mind. I like Montreal, and I like THQ.
 

Twad

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Nov 19, 2009
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Its all about the fiscal advantages i guess. Maybe a lot of potential employees too. A lot of studios are moving in montreal.
 

epunk35

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Oct 5, 2009
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Well if they want to stay in New York I guess they'll have too...

*puts on sunglasses*

Defend their homefront
 

Kruxs

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Oct 7, 2010
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epunk35 said:
Well if they want to stay in New York I guess they'll have too...

*puts on sunglasses*

Defend their homefront
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-LZWMc-OEY[/video]
 

Kruxs

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Oct 7, 2010
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<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X-LZWMc-OEY" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen>
 

dough

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Dec 17, 2008
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Sasoriuk said:
Montreal's a nice place, I don't see the problem.
If you have a family, you can't just go tell your kids "Ok my job's moved to Canada so get ready to leave. Take only what you need to survive."
 

Sasoriuk

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Nov 16, 2009
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dough said:
Sasoriuk said:
Montreal's a nice place, I don't see the problem.
If you have a family, you can't just go tell your kids "Ok my job's moved to Canada so get ready to leave. Take only what you need to survive."
*Shrug* Why not? I did!
 

Hobonicus

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Feb 12, 2010
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Sasoriuk said:
dough said:
Sasoriuk said:
Montreal's a nice place, I don't see the problem.
If you have a family, you can't just go tell your kids "Ok my job's moved to Canada so get ready to leave. Take only what you need to survive."
*Shrug* Why not? I did!
"Why not"? Because it's callous and insensitive towards the people who care about you.
 

sleeky01

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Jan 27, 2011
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Hobonicus said:
Sasoriuk said:
dough said:
Sasoriuk said:
Montreal's a nice place, I don't see the problem.
If you have a family, you can't just go tell your kids "Ok my job's moved to Canada so get ready to leave. Take only what you need to survive."
*Shrug* Why not? I did!
"Why not"? Because it's callous and insensitive towards the people who care about you.
Every base brat has been through the pack-up-and-move song and dance. Quite afew familys in the business world have done it. Heck, even lower rung wage-slaves have had to pack up the family because the the company transferred the main bread winner.

Why should game developers be exempt? And frankly is the developer is actually going to give it's employees the option of being moved to Montreal then it's a darn sight better thing then what seems to be standard practice to be of just shutting down the doors and starting anew with a hiring blitz.
 

Hobonicus

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Feb 12, 2010
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sleeky01 said:
Hobonicus said:
Sasoriuk said:
dough said:
Sasoriuk said:
Montreal's a nice place, I don't see the problem.
If you have a family, you can't just go tell your kids "Ok my job's moved to Canada so get ready to leave. Take only what you need to survive."
*Shrug* Why not? I did!
"Why not"? Because it's callous and insensitive towards the people who care about you.
Every base brat has been through the pack-up-and-move song and dance. Quite afew familys in the business world have done it. Heck, even lower rung wage-slaves have had to pack up the family because the the company transferred the main bread winner.

Why should game developers be exempt? And frankly is the developer is actually going to give it's employees the option of being moved to Montreal then it's a darn sight better thing then what seems to be standard practice to be of just shutting down the doors and starting anew with a hiring blitz.
Nobody is arguing whether it's morally okay in the grand scheme of things for them to move. You shouldn't justify an individual's feelings based on a logical majority. The point is, the employees are understandably worried that they may have to upset their current lives by moving to a different part of the world. Not whether it's fair for them compared to others, just that it's a difficult situation.

Of course it's probably better for their career, that doesn't make it any easier personally for them and their family. You write like you think they deserve the pain for having been reasonably upset by it.
 

sleeky01

New member
Jan 27, 2011
342
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Hobonicus said:
sleeky01 said:
Hobonicus said:
Sasoriuk said:
dough said:
Sasoriuk said:
Montreal's a nice place, I don't see the problem.
If you have a family, you can't just go tell your kids "Ok my job's moved to Canada so get ready to leave. Take only what you need to survive."
*Shrug* Why not? I did!
"Why not"? Because it's callous and insensitive towards the people who care about you.
Every base brat has been through the pack-up-and-move song and dance. Quite afew familys in the business world have done it. Heck, even lower rung wage-slaves have had to pack up the family because the the company transferred the main bread winner.

Why should game developers be exempt? And frankly is the developer is actually going to give it's employees the option of being moved to Montreal then it's a darn sight better thing then what seems to be standard practice to be of just shutting down the doors and starting anew with a hiring blitz.
Nobody is arguing whether it's morally okay in the grand scheme of things for them to move. You shouldn't justify an individual's feelings based on a logical majority. The point is, the employees are understandably worried that they may have to upset their current lives by moving to a different part of the world. Not whether it's fair for them compared to others, just that it's a difficult situation.

Of course it's probably better for their career, that doesn't make it any easier personally for them and their family. You write like you think they deserve the pain for having been reasonably upset by it.
No. I write on how most of present day work environments operate. I got the impression that you write like the developers management team treated their workforce like numbers on a balance sheet. They did offer to move them to Montreal.

I remind you that I wasn't the one who used the words "callous and insensitive".
 

Zer_

Rocket Scientist
Feb 7, 2008
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Hobonicus said:
Sasoriuk said:
dough said:
Sasoriuk said:
Montreal's a nice place, I don't see the problem.
If you have a family, you can't just go tell your kids "Ok my job's moved to Canada so get ready to leave. Take only what you need to survive."
*Shrug* Why not? I did!
"Why not"? Because it's callous and insensitive towards the people who care about you.
Is it? It's not like you have a choice. Your work place is basically forcing you to.