Jump to content

Klei: Swimming Against the Videogame's Industry Tide


Recommended Posts

I watched a similar video where they did a studio tour from 3 years ago and it's exciting to see that they continue to stand by this message!

Klei is an absolutely incredible company and they are truly pioneers in a high-pressure industry. So many companies don't care about work-home balance and it's a breath of fresh air to see a company, especially in gaming, that says, "No, we are not going to live like this," and tops it off by creating fun, high quality games! 

There is one unfortunate trend that I see in these videos and I am probably going to be one of the most unpopular people for saying this but... Where are the women? As a woman in tech, I find it inspiring when I see companies embracing diversity across all departments in the company. I don't know Klei's male-to-female ratio, especially for their programmers, but these videos don't paint a pretty picture. Perhaps there are plenty of women at Klei and these videos don't do the company justice? It's hard to say, but I would love to hear their stories too...or at least see them working in the background...Or maybe have one of the female software engineers join a Twitch stream? 

With that said, I still celebrate Klei for all that they have done so far and am excited to see what they will do in the future! When shaking up an industry, it's impossible to fix everything at once and I applaud them for standing by their beliefs!

Attached are two snippets. One from this video and the other from the studio tour posted 3 years ago on YouTube.

5ce44d35609b7_ScreenShot2019-05-21at11_48_53AM.thumb.png.946d1a1db07aeed132ded77443ca86c2.png

 

5ce44d6ac8aa9_ScreenShot2019-05-21at12_00_58PM.thumb.png.a26fb49401291f713e4a34cb2d5501b0.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

omg im shaking and crying rn klei just cussed they would never do this smh my head /s

 

On a serious note, this video just strengthens the fact that Klei is the best game company, inside and out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yo, world, if anything, romanticise this work environment instead of the "me an' mah bros have been subsiding exclusively on energy drinks and protein bars and no sleep for three weeks because we luuuuuv games". This thought process seems to still be prevalent, especially considering what's been going down in the relatively local Bioware.

Indeed, if Klei could be an example for existing and startup companies, that would be great thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, minespatch said:

This video is from 2013 buddy.:wilson_ecstatic:

As for twitch streams, @KrisRF and @AnimatedErica would like a word with you.:wilson_sneaky:

"""Software Engineers"""

Louder for those in the back: SOFTWARE ENGINEERS. People who do specifically that full time.

Recently I delved into RWP highlights on Twitch, and though I have only watched a few, as far as I know Liz is the only woman designer who had been featured--which in itself isn't exactly programming. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/6817071?filter=highlights&sort=time Even then, Matt seems to take the spotlight in this stream--understandable, since he seems to have a more social/vibrant/Twitch-friendly personality, and when you have a sound designer present, you may as well talk about sound design.

Now, I ain't sayin' Klei is sexist, because I don't believe that to be true, but that Shroom's complaint is not wholly unfounded. Example: the only woman who speaks in the video is Irene, who's role is that of "Cheng's wife", and she says like one sentence. Disclaimer: this is a Polygon video, edited by them in an effort to keep things in line with their thesis and as compact as possible. Who they chose to interview and who they chose to keep in the video probably had little input from Klei.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really guys. Are you turning this 2013 video into a "not enough women" issue? 

That video was about anti crunch resistance culture that allows people to have time for their families. Don't politicize this. 

That's why we can't have nice things 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, FreyaMaluk said:

Really guys. Are you turning this 2013 video into a "not enough women" issue? 

I'm sorry @FreyaMaluk. I wasn't trying to hijack the thread or dismiss your point. I was trying to find a way to ask a sensitive question without being disruptive to the entire community (like starting a new thread might have done). Again, I'm sorry and you are right. I will find other venues for my questions in the future. 

47 minutes ago, FreyaMaluk said:

That's why we can't have nice things 

  I'll restate what I said earlier: 

3 hours ago, shroom416 said:

Klei is an absolutely incredible company and they are truly pioneers in a high-pressure industry. So many companies don't care about work-home balance and it's a breath of fresh air to see a company, especially in gaming, that says, "No, we are not going to live like this," and tops it off by creating fun, high quality games! 

Klei is a company worth celebrating and no one can take away their tremendous achievements :love_heart:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Developer

Thanks folks! A bit more than 1/4 of our studio are women right now. Most are in art, though we do have a couple female programmers.

We can always do better, and we're still working hard everyday to make things good for everyone.

(BTW, since that video we've had another kid and they are now 6 and 2. Time flies!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Bigfoot said:

Thanks folks! A bit more than 1/4 of our studio are women right now. Most are in art, though we do have a couple female programmers.

We can always do better, and we're still working hard everyday to make things good for everyone.

(BTW, since that video we've had another kid and they are now 6 and 2. Time flies!)

Congratulations to everyone at the company for being able to balance successful lives along side of a successful business, not many people can make that claim. I hope the industry can learn from what use have accomplished.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Please be aware that the content of this thread may be outdated and no longer applicable.

×
  • Create New...