Age of Ensemble, Part 1: A Titan Passes
12/16/2008 7:00 PM | 1 Comments | Page 3 of 3
Naval warfare was more than an afterthought, though wood could be in short supply.
Board games, therefore, became an important part of the corporate culture. "I wanted people to understand games at a level where computers didn't control them," says Goodman. "If you and I are playing a game without a computer, all the fun is on top of the table. It's transparent." Computers, he argues, introduce "magic" into a game such that you may not be entirely sure why you enjoy it. Board games leave the rules exposed for analysis and understanding. "Anyone can analyze why that game is fun."
They also proved to be valuable tools for job interviews. Candidates were encouraged to play board games with their prospective colleagues, and this could be a deal-breaker. Programmer and designer Dave Pottinger remembers RoboRally being a particularly valuable litmus test. "We had one person interview for a position and say nothing the entire time. Another one got so mad he threw his pieces."
In an industry that is fueled by turnover, start-ups and mergers, the stability of Ensemble's staff appears remarkable. Rick Goodman left to form Stainless Steel Studios shortly after the release of
Age of Empires, and made three games that tried to advance the
Age formula. But many of the central personalities at Ensemble have worked there for a decade. Shelley and Tony Goodman credit the cohesion to a system that tried, for a long time, to keep the team size manageable. Though common in smaller companies, Ensemble allowed all employees to have a say in interviews and hiring decisions for many years, even after Microsoft tried to discourage the practice.
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"I've never seen a company like it," says Sandy Petersen, a veteran of Microprose and id Software. "The people here all got along really well. It used to be that everyone knew everyone and [all the employees] were friends. The most recent expansion [during development of
Age of Empires III] changed that." Petersen gives great credit to the management at Ensemble. He draws a comparison to Microprose, a celebrated studio that, in his opinion, "never understood what they had" and undervalued their talent.
Shelley gives a lot of the credit to Goodman, whom he says is very invested in the success and camaraderie of the Ensemble staff. "Tony is a unique kind of guy. As far as bosses go, there is a lot of lip service to employee satisfaction. But everyone at Ensemble sees him as a personal friend. He takes it very personally when things go wrong, and celebrates every success. Every time we've won an award, he gets a copy of it made so he can have it at home."
Read on for Part 2 of this feature.
