STAFF PROFILE: BJORN, GAMES PROGRAMMER (cont.)
What is it like to work at Rare?
The people:
Most people here are in their twenties or thirties. You wouldn’t be able to pick them out on the street, and they all come from very different backgrounds. It’s a very international environment, so my weird mix of Scandinavian and Hollywood doesn’t make me stand out too much. There’s a very active social life in the company: people go for Friday drinks, or catch a movie in the evening, or participate in the both terrifying and terrific Donkey Konga tournaments… it’s all there. Despite the size of the company, it feels quite homely. You greet people when you meet them in the parking lot in the morning, and through company sponsored parties, you end up knowing people from all over the company, not just your own team.
The environment:
Well, if "multi-million pound, custom-built centre of operations" doesn’t cut it for you, let me make it a bit more personal: outside my window, there’s a small pond where rare birds nest in hollows overlooking serene goldfish idling about. The leaves have turned autumn gold in the occasional English countryside shower, only disturbed by the MASSIVE, MONSTROUS KILLING RABBITS that prowl the lawns in search of prey. OK, the part about the massive, monstrous killing rabbits is in fact a lie, but everything else is true enough. Repeat after me: "There are no massive, monstrous killing rabbits. There are no massive monstrous killing rabbits."
"Ooooh, look at that massive, monstrous killing rabbit there…." |
