I've worked in the game industry for 5 years. 

My first job was at a medium sized developer for THQ. Fairly stable and large. It's great working for large companies because you get to meet a lot of cool people, they pay you on time, and offer you benefits and pleasant working environment. 

Then when that studio went under and was closed, I was unemployed for several months. It was bleak. I didn't think I'd manage to get another job like the one with THQ. 

Thankfully, I did. A year ago, I began working for a small studio. A start-up Indie developer who managed to land their first, major, publishing deal with a TV network. 

People talk about how Indie developers are heart and soul, and how they'd rather work "for fun" and not for money. That's such an ignorant and dangerous philosophy. You can have fun anywhere you work. It doesn't matter if the company is huge and successful. 

Anyway, I began working for this smaller Indie developer on their first console title. It was hell. 

Crappy working conditions. Missed pay-checks. LONG, uncompensated overtime hours. No meals, no parking, no benefits. But hey, it's Indie right? It's all heart and soul, right?

Eventually, the game went under and the studio folded. Everyone lost their jobs. No one got a severence package or even 2 weeks notice. Just ... kaput... your job is gone. Bye. No more money. Thanks for all the free work you did. 

Now, I'm working on my own iPhone games. I've made enough money over the past 5 years to rent an office and hire a junior programmer. Our first game comes out at the end of the year. Our team is small, and so is the game, but so are our overhead and development costs as well. 

We'll see whats to be had in the future. 

As embroiled in controversy that is Infinity Ward... I can only imagine how much of a better alternative it must be. Paid vacation, paid overtime, royalties and profit sharing, matching benefits, the best salaries in the industry, and being able to work on the biggest games out there. To many inexperienced, idealistic wanna be hacks, they say that working for Infinity Ward is selling your soul, a sell out, and the last thing they'd ever do. Good luck keeping that attitude when you go to small developer to small developer... getting ripped off, being forced to work 70 hours a week with no comp. Nothing. 

I'd work for Infinity Ward in a second, and be extremely grateful for the opportunity.
