Mliton Mailbag -- Dispatch #41


Raphael van Lierop

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2 hours ago, Traligon said:

 As a consumer I also kind of want to know why you don't build a bigger team to get it done faster.  I know there are probably many reasons for this and I was hoping to hear something more along those lines.

Hinterland is hiring, they have been for a while now. https://twitter.com/HinterlandGames/status/1173370976899411971?s=20 

 But they can't force people to apply or accept job offers, and they can only hire as many as they have the money to pay, sustainably. They don't believe in crunch, and they don't expect people to work for free. I respect that. 

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On 9/16/2019 at 2:05 PM, Traligon said:

I just want to support MueckE because I thought it was a great question.  It was a misunderstood question on the regards of intent, so here's my two cents.  I have always thought Hinterland has created a great community for the consumers and their development team.  I just recently explained to my friend that I have been waiting for years for the next episode, but I am okay with it because of how Raph treats his team and communicates with the players.  As a consumer I also kind of want to know why you don't build a bigger team to get it done faster.  I know there are probably many reasons for this and I was hoping to hear something more along those lines.

Feel free to ask in a future Mailbag and if I think I can offer a useful response, I will. In general though, it relates to what I said in my answer to @MueckE. The short follow-up would be there are many examples of studios that grew too quickly to support the needs of a publishing partner or a hungry community and exploded/imploded along the way. Hinterland is for the long-term so we have to grow carefully, wisely, and those things also usually mean "slowly". We also have a high bar for the people in the studio and a particular work culture, which we are very protective of, so there's really no way to grow quickly. There is also the old project-management adage, "9 women cannot have a baby in 1 month", which is also very relevant here. More people does not necessarily mean faster, or better.

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1 hour ago, Raphael van Lierop said:

 There is also the old project-management adage, "9 women cannot have a baby in 1 month", which is also very relevant here. More people does not necessarily mean faster, or better.

That is a great line, I am totally stealing it for my next workplace argument!

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19 hours ago, TheRealNFK said:

That is a great line, I am totally stealing it for my next workplace argument!

Where I live, it's usually written as "A (project) manager is a person who thinks that nine women will deliver a baby in 1 month." To which someone later added "A senior project manager is smart enough to plan 2 months for it."

(Of course, both of them are wrong.)

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20 hours ago, Raphael van Lierop said:

Feel free to ask in a future Mailbag and if I think I can offer a useful response, I will. In general though, it relates to what I said in my answer to @MueckE. The short follow-up would be there are many examples of studios that grew too quickly to support the needs of a publishing partner or a hungry community and exploded/imploded along the way. Hinterland is for the long-term so we have to grow carefully, wisely, and those things also usually mean "slowly". We also have a high bar for the people in the studio and a particular work culture, which we are very protective of, so there's really no way to grow quickly. There is also the old project-management adage, "9 women cannot have a baby in 1 month", which is also very relevant here. More people does not necessarily mean faster, or better.

Thank you very much for helping me understand.  You and your team have done amazing work and I look forward to seeing more of TLD and other games by Hinterland :)

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Don't know if Raph sees these replies but I hope that he does or someone at Hinterland can hear this.

The Long Dark has been my favorite game of all time. I'm always excited to get a chance to pick it up and feel challenged. 

I'm so grateful to know that it's made with the intention of being responsible to the people that work at the studio. You should be so proud to have produced something so tremendous while still trying to value the people that create it.

I'll actually be able to enjoy the game even more knowing that the people behind it are valued and appreciated.  Thanks Hinterland!

This!:

This means that we work hard, but reasonable hours, and we try not to feel pressured or rushed into releasing things before they are ready. That was a mistake I made in August 2017, when we released the first two episodes of WINTERMUTE. We spent an entire year trying to fix that mistake. We could produce updates faster but it would mean either pushing the team irresponsibly, growing the company irresponsibly, or putting out lower quality content than we are happy with.

I won't do any of those things, no matter what people might think about it. If you believe in supporting sustainable, honourable business practices in an industry that is not well known for them, you should support the way we are making the game.

 

Edited by Dan Lipscomb
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The first time i saw an aurora i went for a big big walk outside my camp. the first thing (and the last) i saw was a glowing wolf running at me.

The next time i did prepared myself a little bit more but i wasnt prepared for an aurora bear i guess cuz that time too it was the last thing i saw. (maybe trying to hunt him wasnt my best move) 

So the third time i decided to just explore what i can do inside when there is an aurora and there is not that much to do i am afraid. the first thing i tried is to turn on that burner plate and i was so disapointed to see that it wasnt working.screen_8d05c8fb-e05a-4837-a4e4-d31163ddb65f_hi.thumb.png.37fd074b12688b548eb8a38a045ab089.png are you planning on adding the possibility to use those electric devices when there is an aurora, to cook on the plate and heat your cold coffee in the microwave ?

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