Hi everyone. This is Brandon Popovich (from the article) I've been active member in the ResetEra FF14 FC for awhile now and just wanted to let everyone know that after this series of events in the article. That I have been still recovering. Speaking out took alot of effort. Being told I would be blacklisted by people who knew of my past with Ember really got me scared. But I needed to share it to keep my sanity. Every time I see a picture, or the trailer. Is a reminder of the pain and debt Ember Lab put onto me. They promised me so much, and I sacrificed so much. That when they offered me so little, which they knew wasnt enough to afford supporting my family. I was devastated. I had put it all on the line and my family suffered for it. This is something no one should of gone through. And with the support I have had during this time has helped me moving forward.
But yeah... I just wanted to add a bit to this. Just letting everyone know that I am still recovering from this. I'm still moving forward. And have a bunch of exciting things to share in the future :)
They did about 4 animations. But most of the animations for the game was either done by me or my partner. 2 people at Ember Labs spent less then a half day to give it to us (from what I remember). The unpaid work happened months after this however. And was more me spending weeks compared to the hours they spent on animations they provided. I thought I was going to be paid back. They promised all this would be compensated with a big sign on bonus to pay off the debt I accumulated waiting for them. But at this stage I don't care. Just watch out for these people in the future.
After the story was posted. A few people reached out to me.
Making an edit on the first person to protect their identity. But involves keeping someone in a lower position while promising things....
I spoke to a programmer who helped with their previous iOS game. They used him to develop their game with the promise of bigger employment. And then parted ways after they were done with him.
I spoke to a vfx artist they had on Kena. Where they would crunch and be the researcher for new tech with promises of longer term employment. Only to be ghosted for months at a time in between random requests.
Now I won't be saying their names. Because they have mostly moved on from their experiences. But this feels like it's a common thread of this studio.
Legally they don't owe me anything. I worked for free at times because I cared deeply about the project (even when they promised to pay me back). I helped find it funding nearly directly to their sources because I cared about the team(with promises of a share). They promised me a lot and tugged at my deep feelings for the project. But legally, they were never obligated to do anything they promised because they kept me on as a contractor. They made me feel like part of the team. Substantial enough I have in writing on a contract them calling me a Lead Designer.
And right as they were about to sign. They offered me less then a mid level designer (I work as a senior, at least). Told me that my revenue share will be changed. And a few other weird drastic changes. I was like woh what the.... and then they ghosted me lol. I sent a few emails begging them that I may change if things would be reasonable but I knew I had no legal right to any of the content I made or provided. I was left in debt and in danger. And yeah. Never in my life I have had something like this in my career.
I don't have anything I want from them. They know that I have a lot more to lose. Maybe they didn't expect me speaking up? I really am not a public person. But with support of my friends and family it has always felt like something worth warning people.
And lastly, I feel for the developers currently working on it and wish them the best. The game is probably going to be great. And I'm sure Ember Lab will go off to do more great things. But this was a terrible page of my life and the subsequent time. The decisions they made were terrible and very harmful to me as a person. They ghosted me at the first sign of me being upset at realizing what they lied about. And they, by law, can easily get away with it.
I really rather they not even try to explain it. I know how much money for dev cost they got from the multiple sources. Because I helped them get it. Any explanation will just be awful nonsense one of their many skilled PR people will spit out publicly to say they did nothing wrong.
These people never even reached out to me when I was talking to the journalist. They did say a lot of nice things about me privately to him. But in the end they still really fucked me over. I rather just warn of my situation. As well as let it be known those who reached out to me had a similar experience. Albeit not as extremely messed up as mine.
Since no one ever threadmarked these, I've gathered them all in one spot for people just reading this now.