KI employee Reviews, KI on the decline?

[rascal]

Getting a membership there seems to be a process as the only option I saw was a 10-day trial (Which probably doesn't let people leave reviews). Also from seeing a lot of the reviews had things in common both negative and positive only strengthens my belief that these are legit.

Nope. I've left a review on my company and didn't have to pay anything, just sign up with a username, password, and email.

[Xcaliber2]

Ok seriously... 3 posts in one day? Look I'm not happy with what KI has been doing lately and I agree there's a lot of bad stuff going on behind those doors but good grief people, calm down. Give it a break already. KI is in no form or way perfect, they never have been and they never will be. Going to multiple sources finding dirt to put on KI is kind of pathetic if you ask me. People always quit their jobs for several reasons, whether you couldn't bare your employers, co-workers, there's always a different reason. That doesn't mean the company they worked for is terrible. As I said, I'm not happy with KI but you don't see me going around starting several threads complaining about their modern problems. It's not going to do anything, let KI work out their own problems. Give it a break already. Keep in mind too its very common for employees at game companies to leave, probably because they want to go to different projects they feel they are more suited for. It's also common for someone to be switched to a different project at moment's notice. All that is important is that Wiz is not dying anytime soon. I see wiz being around for many years. Lets not lose hope just yet folks. Just because they have ideas for future mobile games doesn't mean they have given up on their first born.

[rascal]

Every company has it's ups and downs. If every job was perfect there wouldn't be a such thing as an unhappy employee. However, reading the reviews do give you an unsettling look at what goes on behind the curtain. From the looks of it KI has a serious CEO problem with the heads pushing down those who actually have real gaming experience. I also noticed several reviews stating that people are leaving, this is also troubling since people don't up and quit a job for no reason, especially when people are leaving every week as one of the reviews stated.

This could explain the problem with Polaris and how quickly it jumped from test realm to live (with so many bugs included as well). But there's always two sides of the coin so we can't really say entirely what's going on at KI.

Your first statement is true. However, we don't know what happens behind the curtain, so anyone just looking at (and for) the negative reviews is playing the role of Chicken Little. I'm pretty sure the sky is not falling (except in Azteca).

There are a bunch of reviews on Glassdoor for the company I've worked at for 10 years. I laugh at the negative ones. One, the reviewers appear so whiney, unconstructive, and unprofessional. Two, some of the accusations are ridiculous and laughable and so exaggerated I just shake my head. Yes, every company has problems but what I've found is that people who are focused only on the negative generally were most likely not the best employees to begin with. A balanced review is a much better indicator of what is REALLY happening with a company. Some of the reviews in the OP were quite balanced, I'm not saying they weren't. But based on the unfortunately high numbers of Chicken Littles amongst the Central population, it is just fodder for drama and gives the 'littles' a reason to speculate and squawk.

- - - Updated - - -

Put your pitchforks down people.

Lets all take a step back as players. Yes, we all want to see the game be the best that it can be. But lets stop jumping to the conclusion that KI is "on the decline", "failing", "dying", etc. There are issues in the game for sure, as there is with any game with such a colossal playerbase. You can't please everyone.

But what we can do as players is voice our frustration calmly and respectfully. We know from past experiences that KI does not tolerate being lectured or yelled at, and from these reviews I would hate to be the one yelling "GIVE ME A REFUND FOR THIS HORRIBLE GAME" at someone who is already clearly disgruntled by their job.

There's 2 sides to every story. Personally I think some people are just going really overboard and utilizing their slippery slope ideologies to rally people who don't fully understand the issue.

THANK YOU! With Polaris being my favorite world to date, I don't believe KI is going downhill. Yes there were bugs that should have been handled differently. But do you really think KI is going to upgrade their worlds with such high level graphics such as in Polaris and Khrysalis if they were going downhill? If they were going downhill, every world would look like Wizard City or worse. 'Slippery slope ideologies - mind if I steal that phrase? Your last sentence deserves a gold star but I can't find one in the emoticon list so here's a clover instead.

[Angel Eyes]

Nearly all game companies are like this. Move code monkeys around, dump new projects on them using a different OS and different programming languages and tools, let 'em sink or swim as they scramble to bone up on Android or IOS game platforming at home after hours. Pay them peanuts because well, they're goofing off training themselves this new programming language when they could be churning out finished, polished games and apps. Or the quality of the stuff they are churning out is subpar, get good nub or get fired. CEO is busy brokering deals to get apps in stores before they're even working. Marketing is out to lunch, because there's nothing to demo and the flagship MMOs aren't dead yet, people keep hitting the renew button and shelling out for packs, we have them already why bother.

Everything is half-baked. It's like an assignment for an undergrad section in object-oriented programming. Those awful java browser games that stutter and stumble and finally reward your performance with a still shot from a youtube poop or a meme image. KI aren't the only ones. EA is infamous for profit myopia and device parasitism. Bioware, Sony, Zynga, Valve, all of them have serious problems with quality, professionalism, service, privacy/security, and market awareness. These reviews have the same tone and same major themes you'll find in reviews of any other major content company

[Legendary Rose]

I noticed this was posted about 18 hours after my letter was.

I can see why Coleman left the company now, and I understand two other things: This isn't a perfect world, and not everyone might agree. What does correlate in the reviews you showed us (plus, digging around on the site a little... Google Search is good when you don't have the ability to access the rest of the site) does show that there's internal decline, and (less relevant but worth it to note) it shows how Wizard101 is getting worse and worse little by little creatively, leading to less and less satisfied players.

That doesn't mean I'm gonna stop. At any rate, the way people have been complaining isn't a good way to go about everything.

I could name off two very clear ways players are leaving feedback that are in such a way that the company won't listen. Half-hearted threats to quit and rage rants aren't the way to make good, productive change. Half the nerfs we got we really didn't need among other things, but things like Second Chance chests are a really good thing to have.

But at the same time, if management and the shareholders at KingsIsle keep their heads up their rears and don't listen to the players or the developers of the actual program, we can't get anything done. That's why there needs to be more than one person behind it all, so that we can pull out their heads and hopefully convince them to listen.

I won't stop until I get a proper response, and I'm hoping others will join me. Maybe it'll send an updraft like back when Coleman was around, and it may make KI a fun place to work again overall.

[rascal]

I noticed this was posted about 18 hours after my letter was.

***TEXT***
I won't stop until I get a proper response, and I'm hoping others will join me. Maybe it'll send an updraft like back when Coleman was around, and it may make KI a fun place to work again overall.

I thought your letter was well-written and I agreed with much of what you said. I don't like mobile games. Mainly because they take up too much space on my phone. But your letter and this thread are very, very different. This is hearsay and unverified information, for the most part. Your letter was heartfelt, seemed very accurate, and had suggestions for positive change. I can respect and admire that. Keep up with your fight!

[GalenIcehammer]

Agreed with Masterofthewild and Lenora. Everything in life in sorted out one way or another(GONNA GITCHA GITCHA GITCHA, I'll love whoever got that reference.) Whether it's good or bad. To be fair though, the only valid reviews from inside of the company can be employees. If someone posts a review, never sat down with the employee, but talks about how poor KI is doing, IMO they're just jumping on the bandwagon. Because it's what every else is doing "Right now". Companies have ups and downs, you learn from mistakes.

TL;DR Things will be fine. As time passes it'll get better, bringing up something that could me a game might die may bring panic. And while we all panic, nothing could actually be wrong.


Did you get all that? Probably not, I'm not good at conversations.

I will get that... one day, maybe next week. :D

[Spellbinder]

Because the internet is so reliable......

[Ojo4646]

Wiz isnt going anywhere. I've already started a much larger thread about this, but the definition of an MMO dying is no major updates for a while, and considering that another world is already in production, the game will be fine there. The game is no longer at it's strong point, but it's not going to be shutting down soon. It's pretty obvious here the CEO is the main problem here. He's the one pushing the employees to go into a market that they realize they don't have a chance in. So it gives me a little peace that the designers and such aren't really the true problem here. Another thing to realize is that these reviews are in the reviewer's perspective, and will obviously be a little warped in their perceptions. Like I doubt that someone leaves EVERY day. But there may also be a point where the CEO may be forced to leave or he'll get his act together. Who knows what the new year brings?

[GalenIcehammer]

Ok seriously... 3 posts in one day? Look I'm not happy with what KI has been doing lately and I agree there's a lot of bad stuff going on behind those doors but good grief people, calm down. Give it a break already. KI is in no form or way perfect, they never have been and they never will be. Going to multiple sources finding dirt to put on KI is kind of pathetic if you ask me. People always quit their jobs for several reasons, whether you couldn't bare your employers, co-workers, there's always a different reason. That doesn't mean the company they worked for is terrible. As I said, I'm not happy with KI but you don't see me going around starting several threads complaining about their modern problems. It's not going to do anything, let KI work out their own problems. Give it a break already. Keep in mind too its very common for employees at game companies to leave, probably because they want to go to different projects they feel they are more suited for. It's also common for someone to be switched to a different project at moment's notice. All that is important is that Wiz is not dying anytime soon. I see wiz being around for many years. Lets not lose hope just yet folks. Just because they have ideas for future mobile games doesn't mean they have given up on their first born.

I've been an IT professional for over 20 years now. Realistically, developers across every segment of the industry tend toward being prima donnas, not just the ones at gaming companies. That in and of itself isn't really anything to worry about. Honestly, the problems they describe are typical of many corporations in America. It doesn't mean they are going to fail anytime soon. Does anyone remember Atari? They were kept afloat for years after their relevance through shrewd management practices and a dedicated fan base. It isn't anything that can't be remedied (at this point) through good recruitment. It really only takes a few instrumental people in the right positions to turn a corporate culture around. As someone else said in one of these threads... they still have plenty of runway left at this point.