Goodbye Rustic, you will be missed

I consider the gaming business a tuff and hardcore one.
Job security low and high demand off flexibility.

There are now 40+ jobs connected to the success of this game.

At the end even if it feels like you pledged for a house with your money. It is in reality money for food, electricity and school stuff and more for the employees.




Lets keep in mind that as the backers we are one important source of job security until the game generates money through
sales of the game.

Sounds strange. But the hardcore truth.

 

I agree with most of what you're saying, but I don't think we can loose sight of the fact that when you run a business like this one it's probably key that everyone can contribute at a very high level in multiple ways. I don't know how good Rustic is at web development or other forms of programming (he might be awesome). But I know he's a world class showman and host. So the reality may be that he's not good enough in other things that the company needs more of at this stage of development, and they have other people on staff that are "ok" at what he's best at. I'm using this as a purely hypothetical example.

I know at my job I'm not really a master of anything, in fact I'm probably not much better at any one thing than anyone else. But I'm serviceable at a variety of tasks that are useful year round. The company can plug me into multiple situations and expect a baseline of success that they're comfortable with.

When it comes to backing the game, that's all baked into the cake. There are probably only a few people on the development team that are irreplaceable. Of course RG, and then Starr and Chris, the list becomes blurred after that. My opinion is not based on contribution so much as it is on the fact that these people are the face of the game. RG in many ways IS the game. Starr is the future. Chris represents the technical integrity and viability. Outside of that, the wheel keeps turning and the sausage keeps being made by people that are amazingly talented but whom the end product doesn't hinge on (reputationally speaking).

I don't think Portalarium would make a decision like this without a good reason. It may be a decision they learn to regret, or it might just be one of the many hard (but correct) choices they have to make throughout the development process. I don't have to like it, but it's not an example of something that will make me spend more or less money on the game.

 

When your effort relies on crowdfunding, though, community relations become high value investments. Community relations are critically important to securing future funding, and bad decisions with regard to community relations can have lasting effects for any business. Were you around to see how the decisions to axe the Counselor and Seer programs in UO affected the game going forward? And UO was a game that didn't even present itself as really valuing customer relations.

Portalarium has hung its hat on the idea that it loves it playerbase and that community relations are all important. It's not hard to see why they played this card. It's what many MMO players have wanted for years. For Portalarium and Shroud of the Avatar, community relations are more than important. They are crucial, and specialization in this regard should be valued.

Also, if you've ever taken an economy class, you might understand why (generally speaking) specialization is preferable to generalization in an economic sense. That's a whole other discussion, but generalization creates a lot of overhead, and that affects productivity, even when your generalists are among the best of the best at all the things they do (which is not at all likely). If Port is really counting on its employees to do two or more completely unrelated things (like community relations plus web design), that is a mistake, and most any educated manager in any business environment or industry should be able to recognize it as one.

 

I guess every campaign needs a good person to fall on one's sword.

I agree strongly with others that Joseph added something very positive to the community. Best of luck in your future endeavors, Rustic.

 

@Lord Trenyc

I did say above that I didn't like it. I just have the capacity to understand it. What's unfortunate is that this is a very public and emotional topic that can be debated well on both sides simply because we're never going to know all the details of the decision. I think short of getting into those details, which are none of our business, the best thing we can do is wish Rustic and Portalarium well and focus on things that we can make informed decisions about (like game mechanics).

 

Well Joseph, since you are not really leaving, we can't really say good bye, just good luck.

For all the people saying how amazing his showmanship is or what kind of personal touch he brings to things, then it should be zero problem to find another team or job.

We do not know the circumstances around his departure and he did ask, more or less, to accept it and move onwards.

If you wish to honor him, do as he asked.

 

Very sorry to hear about the departure of Rustic, you will be missed!

 

Joseph, thanks four your always friendly and capable support... for every of the several times I maked use of it. I wish you all the best on your future ways. You will be missed.

 

I too don't care for the "goodbye we will miss you" like it is a done deal. Just like on many things we have a voice and goodbye is not a voice it sounds like a dismissal which I don't agree with. I hope Portalarium will work this out. It is not acceptable that one of the best assets they have are leaving. We need him to add so much to the future of this games presentation, without Rustic Dragon so many podcasts/hangouts etc would have been very lame indeed. He adds life to this long process of 'waiting to see the game developed', so I for one will wish very much for a change of heart on this.

 

That's a shame. I really liked that story, where "one of us" became part of the Portalarium team. Especially since Joseph seems to be a very likeable and dedicated person.

I can remember that day when he announced to move across the whole country in order to live and work in Austin. He seemed so happy and excited. I dearly hope that he does not have to move across the whole country AGAIN for a new place to live and work. And I also hope that this new place will be even more exciting and fulfilling for him for both working and living.

 

Let's keep this in perspective. I hope Rustic has a great future. If he wasn't compatible with Portalarium ... well hey that stuff happens.

this article Dragonsmeet 2014-07-03 – Huge announcement from Rustic Dragon ... sort of made it out like Portalarium didn't fully utilize the full resources of Rustic. I don't believe that for one second.

Look some jobs are just not good fits. Some people have personality quirks that don't fit in in certain environments. I honestly believe it wasn't a good fit.

Just keep this in mind. Rustic is human. He isn't to be deified. He will find another job, and we ought to wish him the best. I think this will work out for the best for Portalarium and for Rustic. It's better to be happy doing something you love.

"I'm not saying that Portalarium people all thought Rustic was an annoying creep, that needed to get booted, and was trying to figure out how to get rid of him in a way that doesn't cause community disturbances..." this is probably not be how it really happened. However what I am saying is that some people and work environments don't mesh.

So let's not get worried or upset by this at all. This is strictly business.

 

WHAT!!!!

 

Isaiah, I have really enjoyed reading your posts lately. They are positive and well thought out and I enjoy reading them. I don't happen to agree with this one.

 

Thanks for your help Joseph! Best wishes for a successful move and future.

Se'an Silverfoot

 

I agree. People get let go all the time, especially on creative projects... and especially especially on creative projects with very tight budgets. It's nothing personal, these things happen.

 

Well, sorry to disappoint on this one. I really think this is a business decision for Rustic and Portalarium.

The community would be better off to accept that this is just business. I know personally what it feels like to believe I am underutilized etc. However, running a business isn't easy and it isn't always going to be perfect because us humans are imperfect. Business is a balancing act sometimes.

This is one of those times we just gotta let business be business.

 

It is a business decision, but because of his role in interacting with the community, it's not a decision that only affects Portalarium and Joseph. I've found in most any professional environment that the onus of conflict management falls always on the person with the highest authority who is part of the conflict, and most any such conflict can be resolved. It comes in those cases, of course, to a question of whether the conflict is worth resolving. I can't speak to the conflict(s) that led to this decision, but I can speak to the value of Joseph as a Portalarium employee. This is a big deal, and it affects all of us, regardless of whether you think of Joseph as a friend or only as a Portalarium CS / PR employee.

 

Asking employees to fill multiple roles in a production environment is an extremely common occurrence, especially in small studios with limited resources. It isn't a mistake, its the reality of production.

 

Gutted by this news, you will be missed Rustic but never forgotten! Fair thee well Lickmyster.

 

It can be common and still be a mistake. And asking employees to fill two completely unrelated roles is not common. You might have a broad array of job responsibilities that fall under your position, but I have never, ever encountered a manager at a tech business who would agree that one single person should be doing both web design and PR. You know why? Because even if you can find a person who can do both, the demands of both tasks are high and so different that they effectively can't be managed, at least at the same level of productivity that can be achieved by dividing the roles. One person can do both, but it creates overhead. Overhead reduces overall productivity.

That's why you have QA people do QA, dev people do dev, web people do web, and management people do management. You can deviate from this structure if you want to do, but it's a mistake every single time, even if people sometimes do it anyway.