> Which seems to be entirely alien in the enterprise world.
There are a few reasons for this.
1) Enterprise is mostly staffed with mediocre programmers. That's not meant to disparage anyone. Even great engineers will produce mediocre work if the incentives are aligned that way.
2) Enterprise problems have more to do with people management than writing the fastest and most cutting edge software. Frameworks can get hundreds or thousands of engineers speaking the same language for writing the boring code (which is the majority of code).
3) Enterprise companies often already have an established business model that works. They often have market dominance in some area and it's okay if their software is a little slower/buggier/etc. Game industry is no different.
4) Enterprise companies often have enormous scope that smaller handmade tools can't always cover. For example your average homegrown UI framework probably won't have accessibility in mind from day one.
5) There is no way to judge the quality of homegrown tools until it's too late. Our industry (like any other) has very loud yet very dumb people who convince others that their way is best. They build up layers of awful tooling/architecture that needs to be rewritten down the road. Frameworks have at least some form of validation.
I used to believe the above was fixable. Now I know better and just stay away from big companies. Work is more fun and fulfilling that way :)
>"Our industry (like any other) has very loud yet very dumb people who convince others that their way is best."
This is so f..g true. Also clearly seen here as well - preaching that this way is bad and that way is the true one.
>"I used to believe the above was fixable. Now I know better and just stay away from big companies. Work is more fun and fulfilling that way"
Exactly what I did. After reaching top still somewhat technical position at the company I got so fed up and burned out that I quit. Went on my own and been this way ever since for some 20+ years.
> Exactly what I did. After reaching top still somewhat technical position at the company I got so fed up and burned out that I quit. Went on my own and been this way ever since for some 20+ years.
I'd love to hear more about your journey. What did going out on your own look like? What type of work do you do? How long did it find you to figure out the kind of work that satisfied you and paid the bills?
Well, by the time I quit I already had my own product in progress. Since I was paid quite well when I was employed I've saved enough to just finish the product very fast and little by little it had started bringing licensing fee. After 10 years the money coming in from that product mostly dried up but I've started another one by then. This one is doing ok even now. Also while I was employed (we were consulting shop) I've acquired a reputation as the guy who can deliver best solutions for a given constraints. So all along the way many companies who knew me because of my previous work kept offering me contracts to design and build products for them. I am very versatile guy who can do firmware for microcontrollers, enterprise grade backends, desktop multimedia / hw accelerated graphics, middleware etc. etc. Also proficient in electronics and mechanical design. This all helps me to be afloat. In my other life I was a scientist back in the former USSR.
So to summarize: I am a product guy. I design and create various products either for my own company or for clients. I did it all my life and I love it and the only thing that had changed over the time is that at some point I've become ISV and am my own boss. I am 60 now but (keeping my fingers crossed) my brain still feels and performs like I am 30 and also in great physical shape as I do not forget physical activities. There must be something in our family as my wife is also work from home / consultant for the last 15 years and so is my daughter for even longer.
There are a few reasons for this.
1) Enterprise is mostly staffed with mediocre programmers. That's not meant to disparage anyone. Even great engineers will produce mediocre work if the incentives are aligned that way.
2) Enterprise problems have more to do with people management than writing the fastest and most cutting edge software. Frameworks can get hundreds or thousands of engineers speaking the same language for writing the boring code (which is the majority of code).
3) Enterprise companies often already have an established business model that works. They often have market dominance in some area and it's okay if their software is a little slower/buggier/etc. Game industry is no different.
4) Enterprise companies often have enormous scope that smaller handmade tools can't always cover. For example your average homegrown UI framework probably won't have accessibility in mind from day one.
5) There is no way to judge the quality of homegrown tools until it's too late. Our industry (like any other) has very loud yet very dumb people who convince others that their way is best. They build up layers of awful tooling/architecture that needs to be rewritten down the road. Frameworks have at least some form of validation.
I used to believe the above was fixable. Now I know better and just stay away from big companies. Work is more fun and fulfilling that way :)