Naughty Dog Reviews

Pros

- You will work with some of the best talent in the industry - The workflow at Naughty Dog is very empowering, you are trusted to get the job done without any constraints, no one is going to be looking over your shoulder. - You are almost guaranteed to work on a cool project - Everyone has a voice, the hierarchy is very flat and everyone is open to new ideas that can make the game better.

Cons

- I have been through many crunches. Naughty Dog was by far the worst. They say they are going to change every time but they never do. If you are going to join, you have to be ok with doing 60 to 80 hours a week for 1-2 years for every project. - The pay is amongst the worst in the Los Angeles area. Some people with lots of experience barely get paid well to live on their own, let alone sustaining a family. - HR is inexistent. There is not a hint of interest for the person that does the job, they only care about getting talent and squeezing it. This is why after every project there is an stampede.

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

The greatest creative freedom and technology in the gaming industry . A lot of astonishingly talented people. Ample funds to make ambitious games. You can be involved in GOTY materials.

Cons

Perfectionism and laissez-faire policy in the studio culture are not for everyone.

Pros

the people are awesome here, had a great time

Cons

all the stuff about dogs, it really makes it hard to work.

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.