Like many of you I'm sure, my head is spinning with this turmoil surrounding Extra Credits and the Escapist Magazine. None of us can say exactly what is going on, except that things are pretty ugly.
Am I crazy, or does this situation look exactly like all the news posts on the Escapist that are about some big corporation or developer that treats its employees, suppliers, or creators shamefully?!
I'm not saying the Escapist is doing that to EC--I will wait until both sides tell matching versions--but still, change the names and this would be another "Evil Corporation" news post on the Escapist main page! (Complete with little picture).
It just boggles my mind that instead of names like Sony, EA, Nintendo, ID, etc, I'm frakin' seeing Extra Credits--the calm gaming voice in the harsh wilderness--and the Escapist Magazine--the bastion for gaming culture and its future! We are through the looking-glass, people!
I'm not taking sides--yet--and I've loved the Escapist for four years now. When I wrote an article for them, they paid me on time, and recently, I even tried to join their News Team, but for good or bad, I didn't make the cut.
I will say that I think this debacle is not the fault of Susan, Greg, Russ, or anyone else who seeks out, edits, and produces the gaming culture magazine known as the Escapist. The decisions about pay schedules and amounts come from the people above them. And since many of us have had... interesting bosses, we can understand that sometimes employees are required to say/write/do things in their own name, but the motivation/idea comes from the boss.
I, like Extra Credits, hope that this situation resolves itself quickly, makes the Escapist examine and fix its spreadsheet, and makes both parties come out stronger. Plus, with a more solid Escapist, we can get Lisa Foiles back! And Doloreous & Assoc!
And all the other great artists who couldn't work for free.
So after all the Corporate Gaming News posts we've read, I think we can predict accurately how this would normally go. But, do you think there's a chance that the story could be changed for once? That corporation or employee, greed or wrong-doings, can have a different and better outcome this time?
Am I crazy, or does this situation look exactly like all the news posts on the Escapist that are about some big corporation or developer that treats its employees, suppliers, or creators shamefully?!
I'm not saying the Escapist is doing that to EC--I will wait until both sides tell matching versions--but still, change the names and this would be another "Evil Corporation" news post on the Escapist main page! (Complete with little picture).
It just boggles my mind that instead of names like Sony, EA, Nintendo, ID, etc, I'm frakin' seeing Extra Credits--the calm gaming voice in the harsh wilderness--and the Escapist Magazine--the bastion for gaming culture and its future! We are through the looking-glass, people!
I'm not taking sides--yet--and I've loved the Escapist for four years now. When I wrote an article for them, they paid me on time, and recently, I even tried to join their News Team, but for good or bad, I didn't make the cut.
I will say that I think this debacle is not the fault of Susan, Greg, Russ, or anyone else who seeks out, edits, and produces the gaming culture magazine known as the Escapist. The decisions about pay schedules and amounts come from the people above them. And since many of us have had... interesting bosses, we can understand that sometimes employees are required to say/write/do things in their own name, but the motivation/idea comes from the boss.
I, like Extra Credits, hope that this situation resolves itself quickly, makes the Escapist examine and fix its spreadsheet, and makes both parties come out stronger. Plus, with a more solid Escapist, we can get Lisa Foiles back! And Doloreous & Assoc!
And all the other great artists who couldn't work for free.
So after all the Corporate Gaming News posts we've read, I think we can predict accurately how this would normally go. But, do you think there's a chance that the story could be changed for once? That corporation or employee, greed or wrong-doings, can have a different and better outcome this time?