GDC: Criminally Dishonest Studio Head

SPOnG’s already told you all about Spore developer, Chris Hecker’s, rather harsh words about Wii at GDC’s ‘Burning Mad: Game Publishers Rant’ session, so let’s have a look at what some of the other panellists had their little rant about.

Well, the session has also thrown up a terrifying look at what can happen if management goes mad. Lee Jacobson, VP of business and acquisitions at Midway Games, told a tale of a criminally dishonest studio head not paying his employees after telling them that the publisher had not paid out on the milestone as promised. The unnamed guy then left his team high and dry and skipped off with a cool $300,000 in his pocket.

“In building a relationship with a publisher, this is crap you just can’t pull,” Jacobson said. “This is real world stuff.” As is not naming the studio head in question...

The IGDA's light-hearted session is the space to air grievances and “deliver explosive tirades, heartfelt anger, and revolutionary manifestos”.

The GDC website describes it thus, “At this session, representatives from the game publishing community tell it like it is. And it may not be pretty. Cutting through the clutter of polite industry chit-chat, Burning Mad takes on the issues that matter to developers in a no-holds-barred format. Last year's speakers ranted and raved about topics that included sexism in game marketing, the lameness of game awards, the lack of innovation in gaming, and the impending death of the game industry. So, fasten your seat belts and prepare for more strong opinions from some of the game industry's most distinguished and dissatisfied personalities. The invited panelists, each a veteran from game publishing, say whatever they want about whatever they want. You have been warned.”

It’s not just an opportunity to rant though, it’s also supposedly about “identifying solutions as well as problems.”

Alex St. John, CEO and founder of Wild Tangent, berated Microsoft for its poor practices in handling games on Vista.