Quantic Dream management issues

Andy

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Sep 11, 2013
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David Cage and Quantic Dream "shocked" by allegations of unhealthy studio culture

"Three separate French reports published this afternoon level serious allegations of unhealthy studio culture at Quantic Dream, developer of Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls and the upcoming PlayStation 4 game Detroit: Become Human.

Quantic Dream leaders David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière are accused of inappropriate behaviour, overworking staff and colluding in - or at least turning a blind eye to - a schoolboy culture involving sexist and racist jokes.

For their part, Cage and de Fondaumière fiercely deny all allegations, saying they are "very surprised" and "shocked" by the "rantings" of former employees, according to Le Monde's report.

One particular area of contention is a cache of some 600 controversial photoshopped images dating back to 2013. Canard PC's report has a header image with some of the photoshopped pictures in. Mediapart's is the third report.

"The most shocking [images] present Quantic Dream's collaborators in sexual positions, adorned with homophobic or sexist slurs, or even made up to look like Nazis," said Le Monde's report, translated by Eurogamer.

[....]
Cage, particularly, is painted as a figure hard to work with. He is apparently ironically nicknamed "Papa", "God" and "Sun King" for his autocratic approach to working, for demanding long hours and for not listening to others.

Cage is also accused of a lack of consideration for female colleagues, and of making insistent dirty jokes, smutty remarks in the presence of his wife, and inappropriate remarks about actresses in his games.

"David Cage has a very particular viewpoint on how he runs his studio, which in his own words he sees as a private, or a semi-private, space," said one former employee. "He feels he has the right to say whatever he wants, it's his place."

Quantic co-founder Guillaume de Fondaumière is also targeted by former employees for sleazy behaviour, such as allegedly hitting on staff at parties and pushing kisses on them. "I will be extremely clear: it's absolutely false," responded de Fondaumière. "None of any of this happened at any evening event."

For their part, Cage and de Fondaumière fiercely deny all allegations, saying they are "very surprised" and "shocked" by the "rantings" of former employees."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ed-by-allegations-of-unhealthy-studio-culture

Bonus quote:

"In the meeting room where Le Monde met with David Cage two times, he assures that "Quantic is not a rugby cloakroom". Just behind him, on a board, a dick with testicules farting was drawn."
 
I'm not surprised. Cage always came off as a pretentious auteur type, over-estimating his own abilities, seeing himself as some kind of ground-breaking visionary. If he has most of the power, I can see him being an ass.

All the awkward shower scenes are making more sense now...
 
Yeah not surprised at all while reading this. Too much weird and unnecessary s*** gets put in their games.
 
One of the French journalists who broke the story says Sony has "blacklisted" him. Not sure what that means, exactly. I guess it means they weren't happy with how he wrote the story, and now he's not to be trusted.

Sony's (lawyers') statement:

"As an independent development studio, Quantic Dream is responsible for their social and wage policies. More generally, we expect our suppliers and partners to comply with the laws and practices in force in their country. We have no other comment."

Keeping their distance.
 
Yeah not surprised at all while reading this. Lots of unique and awesome s*** gets put in their games.

That's how i read your post. Not seeing the issue here. Heaven forbid a developer bring something different to the table. It's a video game after all. #MeTooVictimCard

Shifty x2 commence.
 
Cage is a weirdo, no doubt, but at this point, it's hearsay. The current environment makes it entirely too easy to tarnish a reputation without any kind of proof.
 
https://gametransfers.com/sony-blacklisted-le-mondes-journalist/amp/#click=https://t.co/bId9nB1qnB

Sony Blacklisted Le Monde’s Journalist Who Reported on Quantic Dream’s Scandal
Quantic-Dream.jpg

Only a few hours have passed since the Quantic Dream case broke out, but the first repercussions were not long in coming.

According to William Audureau, a journalist at Le Monde, Sony would have included him in its blacklist, thus preventing him from receiving communications on its titles as well as game codes and copies for any future reviews. You can see his complaint published in the tweet at the bottom of our news. Obviously, this would include the upcoming Detroit: Become Human.

During the last hours, a case of Quantic Dream was brought forward: the software house led by David Cage was accused by some former (anonymous) members of reserving a toxic and harmful workplace for his employees.

The answer of Quantic Dream was not long in coming: the French software house vigorously rejected the accusations mentioned above, announcing that they wanted to face a legal battle.

So, now comes a further twist: the journalist of Le Mond, William Audureau, who first put the news in the spotlight, is apparently blacklisted by Sony. Audureau can not henceforth receive more information or review codes for the Quantic Dream games, and consequently will not be able to roll out the Detroit: Become Human review. The decision of Sony is witnessed by the same journalist, who briefly reported the incident on his Twitter profile.

According to reports, this is not the first case of blacklist at Sony for a Quantic Dream title: the portal GameKult was blacklisted in a similar fashion at the times of Heavy Rain, for giving the game a 6/10 review.
 
We know, Rollins... We know. Posted above. See, I'm trying to beat Rollins to the punch with the negative Sony news, and he still posts. lol
 
Guillaume de Fondaumière looks a bit rapey when he talks. His teeth look serated.

Will we get to see the Photoshopped pictures? I love that s***.
 
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...am-employee-wins-court-case-against-developer

The courts have dealt a blow to developer Quantic Dream, ruling in favour of a former employee who left the company due to a toxic workplace culture.

Earlier this year, damning articles exposing alleged homophobia, racism and sexism at Quantic Dream appeared in three different French publications.

Included in the Canard PC, Mediapart and Le Monde articles were copies of photoshopped images (NSFW) which circulated around the studio of different staff members superimposed into sexual scenes or dressed as Nazis. It was these images which prompted the employee to leave the company.

Studio head David Cage fervently denied the allegations, decrying the reports as a "smear campaign" and even filing a lawsuit against two of the three publications.

As reported by Eurogamer, the case revolves around a piece of French employment law prise d'acte which allows an employee who terminates their own contract to petition for unfair dismissal; the caveat, however, is that until the case is tried and a ruling is made, the employee receives none of their employment rights or salary.


More in link
 
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...am-employee-wins-court-case-against-developer

The courts have dealt a blow to developer Quantic Dream, ruling in favour of a former employee who left the company due to a toxic workplace culture.

Earlier this year, damning articles exposing alleged homophobia, racism and sexism at Quantic Dream appeared in three different French publications.

Included in the Canard PC, Mediapart and Le Monde articles were copies of photoshopped images (NSFW) which circulated around the studio of different staff members superimposed into sexual scenes or dressed as Nazis. It was these images which prompted the employee to leave the company.

Studio head David Cage fervently denied the allegations, decrying the reports as a "smear campaign" and even filing a lawsuit against two of the three publications.

As reported by Eurogamer, the case revolves around a piece of French employment law prise d'acte which allows an employee who terminates their own contract to petition for unfair dismissal; the caveat, however, is that until the case is tried and a ruling is made, the employee receives none of their employment rights or salary.


More in link

Eww. None of that sounds good. Paints a picture of a very hostile work environment.