Evil Genius Games bleeding personnel?

[TheOldDragoonRDG]

I am a fan of Everyday Heroes as well, and I'm planning on putting out an adventure/setting for it through the licensing program. I am sorry to hear about the issues Evil Genius is having, and I share the concerns of others here about the accusations, albeit vague, that have been posted. I'm looking forward to hearing more as things unfold.

 

[Evil Genius Games]

Kudos for rejecting AI in your products

Listen, it was a hard decision. We have a project called The Armory that showcases over 700 weapons. It was enticing to use AI to draw some of them because we could save both time and cost. But in the end, we didn't want to harm any of our artists and wanted to protect that part of our business. So we are commissioning original art for every single weapon. It may take us 700 years or 70 artists to do all that work, but the entire team felt it was the right thing to do.

I am a fan of Everyday Heroes as well, and I'm planning on putting out an adventure/setting for it through the licensing program. I am sorry to hear about the issues Evil Genius is having, and I share the concerns of others here about the accusations, albeit vague, that have been posted. I'm looking forward to hearing more as things unfold.

Hey Old Dragoon, Thanks for being a supporter of Evil Genius since the beginning, I'm here to answer any questions that you all have about the events that have recently occurred. As always, I am an open book.

 

[JLowder]

In regards to the accusations of ethics. We've had some open and transparent conversations about the use of a few controversial technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. At the end of the day, we decided to create a Technical Code of Conduct where we condemn both technologies and commit not to use them.

This implies the people quit because of the AI and Blockchain policies. Is this what you are trying to say?

Jim Lowder

 

[Evil Genius Games]

This implies the people quit because of the AI and Blockchain policies. Is this what you are trying to say?

Jim Lowder

Hi Jim, that was the case for at least one of the people mentioned above. Or at least that was what was explicitly communicated in their letter of resignation.

 

[JLowder]

Hi Jim, that was the case for at least one of the people mentioned above. Or at least that was what was explicitly communicated in their letter of resignation.

If you are citing the reasons people quit, is it fair for them to post the specific reasons they quit? You're citing what I assume are confidential employee communications. Can they post the resignation letters if they choose, without legal repercussions?

 

[Evil Genius Games]

If you are citing the reasons people quit, is it fair for them to post the specific reasons they quit? You're citing what I assume are confidential employee communications. Can they post the resignation letters if they choose, without legal repercussions?

I don't recommend it because 1) it's just one side of the story and 2) it's a slippery slope that could lead to revealing more confidential information. Whether I agree with their perspective or not, the three former employees (two resigned, and one was laid off) shared their thoughts over social media. I don't believe in airing dirty laundry in public and I don't want to tarnish anyone's reputation. What I want to leave you with is this: "I appreciate their hard work and wish them the best." I'm happy to leave it there.

 

[Ari_Marmell]

Hi Jim, that was the case for at least one of the people mentioned above. Or at least that was what was explicitly communicated in their letter of resignation.

This needs clarification. Are you truly suggesting that someone quit your company because they were in favor of AI/Blockchain? Because given the people in question, that seems highly unlikely, yet that appears to be what you're saying.

If, instead, what you mean is that they left in protest of AI/Blockchain, and it was only after they left that you elected to make a policy against such things, you really need to make that explicit.

(Note for those following along: I used to post here under the name "Mouseferatu," but I appear to have lost my log-in info, and the system isn't sending me the reset link.)

 

[JLowder]

I don't recommend it because 1) it's just one side of the story and 2) it's a slippery slope that could lead to revealing more confidential information. Whether I agree with their perspective or not, the three former employees (two resigned, and one was laid off) shared their thoughts over social media. I don't believe in airing dirty laundry in public and I don't want to tarnish anyone's reputation. What I want to leave you with is this: "I appreciate their hard work and wish them the best." I'm happy to leave it there.

You are posting one side of the story here--yours. Moreover, you are citing their confidential letters and implying things about their positions they can't address specifically without airing "dirty laundry," which could have serious legal implications for them. That's neither fair nor transparent.

 

[Evil Genius Games]

You are posting one side of the story here--yours. Moreover, you are citing their confidential letters and implying things about their positions they can't address specifically without airing "dirty laundry," which could have serious legal implications for them. That's neither fair nor transparent.

Hi Jim, my side of the story is that it was a pleasure to work with all of them. Each of them added value to the company. I'm sorry I had to lay off some and others chose to go. I'm sorry it didn't work out and I wish them the best in their endeavors. We had a long hard road over the past several months. I'm tired. I'm sure they're tired. So let's move on. I'm super excited to put that behind us and continue to work on putting out some great games.

 

[JLowder]

Hi Jim, my side of the story is that it was a pleasure to work with all of them. Each of them added value to the company. I'm sorry I had to lay off some and others chose to go. I'm sorry it didn't work out and I wish them the best in their endeavors. We had a long hard road over the past several months. I'm tired. I'm sure they're tired. So let's move on. I'm super excited to put that behind us and continue to work on putting out some great games.

But you choose to go other places with your comments before getting to this. The implications about positions on ethics and the one-sided, selective references to employee documents are not fine. I'm not going to belabor the point, but you should not be surprised to get pushback on those.