Naughty Dog Reviews

Pros

-People are friendly. -The ability to insert your creative choices and views through out the projects makes for a better feeling of ownership and wanting to invest in the work. -Great projects. -Pay is ok ... needs to be better.

Cons

Bad Estimation of workloads and bad organization leads to too many work hours. Not great for overall health and family on the long run if you are not careful about setting limits.

Pros

- good benefits and pay - the bonuses are really nice - you are almost guaranteed to work on a best selling, well reviewed game - people are super talented and motivated - full-time employees don't have to worry about being laid off after a project ends (though they do tend to leave in droves between projects because the crunch burns everyone out) - the worst of crunch usually occurs once every 2-3 years and lasts anywhere from 8 months to 14 months. When we're doing reasonable hours and not crunching, this is a great place to work

Cons

- management doesn't communicate with each other and no one seems to take deadlines seriously, often leading to confusing, conflicting and often contradicting direction/feedback at the last minute. - the crunch hours are awful. This has been the worst/longest crunch I've ever been part of. Despite management's efforts to mitigate crunch with careful planning and strict deadlines, the game ballooned, level designs changed (after design lock - see note *no one takes deadlines seriously) and thousands of hours of work were thrown away or redone. - if you have a child or a loved one waiting for you at home, chances are you won't see their waking faces for days at a time. They either need to be really understanding or this is not the job for you.

Pros

Everyone is a team player. Experienced team. We worked hard but we also were able to enjoy our work and the department.

Cons

There were times where there would be a break in communications due to management style but the person responsible was eventually let go.

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

Good pay and great bonuses if you work here full time for more than a year! You get to work with the most amazing talent in the industry. I feel very comfortable working here, people are nice and welcoming, even when you get constructive criticism you can tell its all for the good of the game and not personal. Not that much backstabbing drama and fear as other places. Lots of PTO days and Sony discounts are cool too.

Cons

The only downside is the crunch is brutal most of the time, although they realize it and they are trying harder to fix it, which is nice. Lots of late hours and there's some pressure to stay late even though they can't exactly order you to stay late or come in on the weekend because that would be... maybe illegal for salaried employees and not only that it would be super lame and people would say eff that. Its all about getting your work done though, if you work super hard and you do all your stuff you can just leave whatever time you want as long as you're sure your work is getting done. Some people chat all day and night and stay late so it might look like they are working hard because they stay super late but it's their work that really shows whats going on and I think people can see that. But overall I think some crunch is okay considering they make it pretty easy on you the other times.