Big Changes Part 5

I have some sad news, and some happy news.

First the sad:

Sad Pan!

I have decided to leave Ubisoft. In fact, Friday, April 24th was my last day. My time at Ubisoft has been amazing. I’ll try not to gush for too long, but I must say that I worked with a fantastic team of people: dynamic, creative, and mature. The level of professionalism there is quite high. I got to work with a team of powerfully talented writers assembled from around the world (including from Montreal!) that made me a better creative and a better manager. I’m grateful I got the opportunity to work with each of them.

Finally, a word about Ubisoft itself. It is a deeply principled company. From the leadership through the directors and managers, there is a powerful sense of  ethics at the studio. Ubisoft does not see employees as a resource to be thrown away when no longer needed. It sees them as a long term investment, and hopes that the employee sees the studio the same way. 

In the end, the only serious criticism I could muster of Ubisoft (which is tied to my reason for leaving) is that it does not have a studio in Southern California. Seriously, Ubi – it feels like you have studios in 70 million different cities, scattered across 10 planets, but none in Southern California? Some of you may have heard rumors that several projects at Ubisoft Montreal were delayed, and possibly that some were canceled as well. I can’t confirm any of that, but I will say that the time I planned to stay in Montreal was suddenly extended by a few years. Montreal is a wonderful city, but in the end, my home is in Long Beach – with my ridiculously talented wife, our mysterious cats, and that beautiful house. Pan (our dog) has been here with me, and of course he’ll be coming back to Long Beach as well. The family will be reunited.

I’d already realized awhile ago it was time to come home. Then a global health crisis hit, and it became even more apparent. (Yes, travel is dangerous in these times, but getting home to family easily qualifies as “essential” travel. This is not trivial.)  The prospect of spending more years apart as the world grew more dangerous was too great.

That’s when I knew I had to look at options outside of Ubisoft. But as always, I didn’t want to go just anywhere. The work that I do, what kind of work it is, and who I do it for, are all a core part of who I am; so the search was hard. But I found something I am very excited about, which is the good news! Before I get to that though, I also want to say a word about the city that has been my home for two years.

I love Montreal. It is always difficult living in a city where you don’t speak the primary language. But my experience was always that Montrealers, hearing my awkward attempt at the very few French words I knew, would effortlessly drop into English with no sense of recrimination. On the few occasions when I did meet someone who was bad at English, they would apologize to me, as if it was their fault that they spoke English awkwardly while I didn’t speak French at all. At work I’d often watch two francophones try to argue with each other in English for my benefit. When it seemed like they could resolve their problem a lot faster in French, I’d suggest they switch. 

In many ways, the city reminds me of Boston where I grew up, and that may have made my transition here easier. Montreal’s art scene, public festivals, baked goods, meats, cheeses, and wine are among the finest. My only gripes about the city (such as coffee shops that sell lattes and espressos but not, y’know, coffee,) stem more from the fact that I live in a predominantly hipster area. Considering what a hipster heaven Long Beach is, I can’t complain.

Tomorrow I’ll post the good news!

-BK