|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
Sep 27th, 2020 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
|
Austin, TX
|
|
Good stable place to work at with good people but needs change at the leadership level.
|
|
Stable place to work. No mass layoffs since they have been in business. They genuinely seem to care about keeping everybody working and not laying people off.
Decent benefits and they do seem to care about employees health and doing the best they can to protect their workers. They are accommodating for health events like children and major illnesses.
They do seem to try to make it a nice place to work. The people there for the most part are genuinely nice. It's a good environment most of the time and a fun team to work with.
Very little crunch ever. They do their best to avoid it.
You can potentially work on multiple titles within a year or two to put on your resume.
They seem to be really good about always having deals in the work so that there are always multiple projects to go onto. It's usually the problem of too many options to pick than not enough.
Friday treats where they bring in some sweet or savory snack for the afternoon or breakfast every week and open up the beer fridge.
|
They are cheap. Negotiate your salary whatever offer they start you off with, ask for more. (This is known internally as the CA Discount. You take a lower pay in exchange for stability, with the complete lack of realization that lower pay is a type of instability.) If there's software you need to do your job it may be a real hassle to convince them to get it. There are no cost of living raises, and raises are based only on performance or promotions and even then it seems really random about who gets them when. I’ve heard people going multiple years without raises.
They are great at doing codev and partnering with other companies to make art, animation or levels. They can't make their own games for the life of them, and are really bad at game design and pre-development. A complete lack of whiteboxing and everything has complete art before it's been tested. I would not describe designing gaming systems or UI as a strong point of the studio. But if somebody else has done the hard work to figure the foundation and you want them to art it up, they are great at that.
Complete inability to admit their own failures, particularly upper management I’m not sure if it’s just giant/delicate egos that are being protected or if they just feel it’s better for business to keep employees in the dark about those things. Project updates are given like everything is awesome and amazing with no mention of partner concerns or areas that could use improvement. It’s very odd because perception of other studios' work/games can be hyper critical, but the ability to review internal work the same way just is not even present. When a project goes well, they will over credit their contributions and how much they "saved the project." even when their contribution was very small. When a project goes poorly, there's an inability at very least to admit to anything the company could have done better, and even worse they don't even seem to recognize it. If anything goes wrong it's all the partners fault, despite missing deadlines, iterating way too slow, floundering game design and over spending because of all those things. The people that do recognize this seem to leave between not being able to affect change, or being accused of being difficult, passive aggressive or throwing the team under the bus. It's impossible to make a situation better if there's an unwillingness to even acknowledge it. Or listen to any of the people they hired that know better. On one hand this behavior can protect employees from worrying about bigger business decisions. On the other hand, those that understand the business of it become un-confident in leadership's abilities to handle those situations, or unsure if what they are told about situations are even true or not.
Top talent tends to leave after a year or two because of the things above. Which generally leaves whoever is left to float to the top.
Peer reviews only go sideways and down. You can’t review your leadership to say if they are doing a good job or not. Thus there’s not a ton of consequences for how they do their job, especially if you feel you have poor leadership at any given time.
Teams are split between projects and people often get shifted around when new projects come in. This can make things difficult as you lose some of your best people to whatever just came in. You may even be reporting to somebody who isn’t even on your project and be accountable for things they aren’t experiencing day to day.
Projects you work on may never be announced or Certain Affinity may never get to say they worked on it.
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
APPROVE
|
4.0
|
3.0
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
3.0
|
3.0
|
3.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
Provide annual cost of living increases ON TOP of performance and promotional raises. Pay people what they are worth in this area or you will constantly lose that talent and knowledge from the studio.
Learn to be self critical. This isn’t being mean to the team. It’s reviewing if things could be better and how they could be better. I would say this is the largest fault of the studio. This is actually a way to protect the team and make sure good choices can be made quickly to make the best work possible.
Leadership needs better accountability from the bottom up. It seems like from talking to others that any critical feedback rarely makes its way back to the people who need it the most. Or if it does, there is a complete unwillingness to hear it.
Stick to co-dev for now. It’s what you are great at. Until the above is fixed, being a lead developer or developing your own IP is likely to have the same outcome. The hard work at other studios to set up a foundation before they hand you work is taken deeply for granted.
Don’t lose the fun while doing this. There are some genuinely great things about Certain Affinity. But there’s a lot that could be better too. If it wasn’t for the above, it would be hard to recommend ever leaving.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
4.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|
|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
Jul 4th, 2020 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
Software Developer
|
Austin, TX
|
|
Best game company to work in Austin
|
|
CA has the best employees, best benefits and a great culture that respects every individual.
|
Compared to most other game developers, nothing of note!
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
APPROVE
|
2.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
6.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|
|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
Jun 25th, 2020 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
|
Austin, TX
|
|
Secrets & Lies
|
|
Good culture (B+) great co-workers (A) great benefits (A+) nice working space (B+)
|
Remember that time a few years back when one of our team members sexually assaulted another team member at a company party? And the assaulter was basically given a slap on the wrist? And then the woman who was assaulted was forced out of the company? And then upper management basically denied anything ever happened, swept it under the rug, then pretended to have the backs of our female employees by fostering a bunch of lip-service programs and gatherings? And how the assaulter is still employed by the company? Yeah, that was fun. With all the recent news about the sexual misconduct that's ALWAYS been in our industry, it blows my mind how our company still refuses to do anything about this weasel.
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
-1.0
|
DISAPPROVE
|
7.0
|
2.0
|
5.0
|
3.0
|
3.0
|
4.0
|
2.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
Do the right thing and make a change. We all know what happened. We all talk about it. You can't hide the truth. We'd respect you more if you owned up to what happened and took accountability and addressed the issue. Please look in the mirror and practice what you preach.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
6.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|
|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
Jul 16th, 2019 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
N/A
|
United States
|
USA
|
Controlling and does not trust employees
|
|
Good clients
people who are not in leadership are great
location is nice
|
very controlling leadership
cliques
HR has favorites
CEO is good, but his wife works there and everyone is terrified of her and her feedback
people think HR is on their side, but only if they like you
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
0.0
|
NEUTRAL
|
1.0
|
APPROVE
|
11.0
|
3.0
|
2.0
|
3.0
|
2.0
|
2.0
|
1.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
Keep your CEO, get new leadership team
trust the people you hire to make decisions
stop undermining those who work there and creating reasons for people to leave
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
No
|
|
0.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|
|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
Jan 16th, 2019 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
Studio Art Director
|
Austin, TX
|
|
Certain Affinity is awesome.
|
|
Great projects. World class talent. Work life balance. Really good humans. Very low politics. An openness to learning and improving always. It's a fabulous company. The studio is beautiful and state of the art too. No layoffs in their history. Great benefits. Integrity is valued.
|
Making games can be challenvu
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
APPROVE
|
9.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
Please go out on the floor and talk to the people you don't know. It will be appreciated.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
1.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|
|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
May 15th, 2018 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
|
United States
|
USA
|
Genuinely a great place to work
|
|
I have been here for several months, enough to know the honeymoon is over but to also recognize trends. Here's what I have witnessed and experienced:
* Great open forum of communication across all disciplines up to management
* Although not ever idea is implemented, they do listen, they critique, they discuss current impact, future impact and how this or any idea can be utilized/implemented
* Leadership isn't hidden behind doors. They are approachable, they communicate with you and sometimes come up to you and just "check in". Open door policy is literal here.
* Culture is key and its built by the people. The keep egos out. Do they make mistakes, sure but they seem to correct it quickly.
* Collaboration is a valuable here and is welcomed
* We make amazing games
* Lucrative benefits (apparently, they improve every year)
* In an industry where its expected, they've never had a layoff since opening their doors.
* Competitive pay, PTO and pays relo
* Everything changes on a dime. This is good and bad. But great for exposure for people who loathe redundancy. But it can get frustrating.
* We have fun...
|
* There are growing pains. Processes/Procedures and overall dealing with growth is happening. Where/how to budget, hiring, the need for efficiencies is obvious. I will say its recognized. We will see how it continues
* Communication can be a bit broken on projects, again changes on a dime.
* They could really gain value from true onboarding programs in the departments. i.e. training and ramp ups
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
APPROVE
|
10.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
Keep in mind, as you are growing, you need to invest time into programs like onboardings, an intranet or similar for reference, 1:1 programs.
Come up with additional creative ways for team building and fun.
Keep it up!! The focus on culture, your people and work/life balance is huge and much appreciated.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
0.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|
|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
Feb 27th, 2018 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
|
United States
|
USA
|
Family Atmosphere
|
|
This company promotes a family atmosphere. I love working here.
|
As with any family, there are disagreements, but they get worked out.
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
APPROVE
|
12.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
|
0.0
|
[]
|
PART_TIME
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
0.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|
|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
Jan 31st, 2018 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
|
United States
|
USA
|
Do Better
|
|
I love it here. The projects are great. My coworkers are like family. Management really works with you to create a work life balance that fits your lifestyle. There is a reason that the reviews on here keep saying that this is an awesome place to work: because it is. I've worked at a lot of studios and none of them compare to CA.
|
What I don't like is that the company doesn't seem to actually care about the safety of it's employees. I was inspired by the times up review on here, but what really made me want to write these words was the company's response. They said that that whenever an incident of misconduct occurs that issues would be addressed appropriately. I'm sorry, but that's just not true. When you promote an individual with a history of misconduct then you are not handling an issue appropriately. Worse still the promotion put this person in charge of many of our female staff. To me this is very inappropriate and does not create a safe and open environment. When an abuser is rewarded then you are putting everyone on dangerous ground. You are basically giving him a pass and telling him that his behavior is acceptable. You are also telling us that his behavior is acceptable too. This scares the hell out of me. It is a liability. What happens the next time someone is assaulted or harassed? How will you deal with the psychic scars that you leave on the victim? You are rolling the dice with us, your most important resource. How can you be willing to take that risk?
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
-1.0
|
DISAPPROVE
|
16.0
|
2.0
|
5.0
|
2.0
|
3.0
|
4.0
|
3.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
You say you have our backs but your actions say otherwise. No matter how much I love this place, I just can't give it a recommendation until I see real change for the better. It kills me to say these things but they must be said.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
0.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|
|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
Jan 28th, 2018 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
|
United States
|
USA
|
That #TimesUp Review is Nonsense
|
|
Friendly, respectful culture focused on excellence of work and ability to communicate with teammates.
I've been here for 5+ years but am not in leadership or at a top level. I just wanted to write a review to say that the #TimesUp review is utter nonsense. Several things are untrue: a) there are not lewd or sexist remarks in meetings. It's true that very occasionally there's a throwaway remark that might be described as 'risqué' at most -- but we're talking about a Nickelodeon-safe level of risqué here. I've worked at previous games companies with actual misbehavior. By comparison, the other review describing CA as 'game development for grownups' is far more accurate. We don't have a bro culture, our development team tends to skew a little older for the industry, and many if not most employees here have families.
The use of the TimesUp hashtag particularly amuses me, as anyone who has met the leadership at CA is aware of just how progressive they actually are. This is not a boys' club and the implication that this company is 'part of the problem' is laughable.
One other certain falsehood from the other review is the claim that management regularly asks us to post positive reviews. I think the total number requests -ever-, and both made in the past year or so as we've recruited in order to get bigger, has been 2 requests. I also don't think that they asked us to post positive reviews. In fact, if you're curious, here's an ACTUAL quote of an email we got from leadership several months back:
"If you're willing to share your views of CA and your experience here on Glassdoor please do - I'm confident that, as a whole, this will improve our image and help boost our appeal to potential recruits. I know we're not perfect, but I hope that our commitment to ensuring that this is a great place to work and making every day here better than the last is self-evident."
That seems perfectly fair to me.
I think that the lies contained in parts of the other review suggest that the poster has a axe to grind in general, and that the claims that they make should not be trusted.
Obviously I have no idea about some other employee's private HR complaints, or their resolutions, but for my part I've seen no behavior to support that part of the review either.
|
The leadership has taken a conservative approach to risk in the past, choosing to protect cashflow from work-for-hire contracts over a riskier investment in things like marketing our original games. Yes, it can be frustrating when you're working on stuff and want to see it go bigger, but at the same time, we all still have jobs because this company is still here because it manages its money frugally and keeps risk low. When you look at how many developers in Austin have folded, it's a real accomplishment to be here at 10+ years. And as we grow bigger, I can promise you'll be hearing more from us soon about our own work.
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
APPROVE
|
17.0
|
4.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
Try to promote from within more. Don't forget that your own employees are proven quantities, and though the grass might seem greener for an external candidate, that's just because you don't know what their actual weaknesses are yet. Keep trusting your people and empower them to take measured, appropriate risks on behalf of the company and its goals. As a benefit you'll maintain your culture and institutional knowledge. Remember the value of that!
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
1.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|
|
private:certainaffinityinc.
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=381750
|
Jan 21st, 2018 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
Certain Affinity
|
|
Austin, TX
|
|
Growing quickly
|
|
I have been at Certain Affinity for over 3 years. I enjoy the work and the people. We have, like many other studios had business go up and down but we always land on top. I have been very impressed with the getting project after project and having consistent work. I have been able to buy a house and feel good about the decision. I also like that I can have side projects they are very flexible with that.
|
I wish we had a bit more time off but I shouldn't complain. I also wish at times we could work at home if we choose to but it hasn't been that big of a deal.
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
APPROVE
|
12.0
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
5.0
|
3.0
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
|
381750
|
Open
|
Thanks for being open at meetings about upcoming work. Keep up the good work.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
4.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Jan 15th, 2021 05:52PM
|
Certain Affinity, Inc.
|
|
|