THE SUN HAVEN CONTROVERSY: Former Artists Speak Out Against Pixel Sprout Studios

Описание: In this deep dive, you'll hear firsthand accounts from five former Sun Haven artists who decided to come forward and blow the whistle on Pixel Sprout Studios, exposing a concerning pattern of uncredited work, restrictive NDAs, and possible fraud involving worker misclassification... And that's just part of the shady practices behind the scenes of the cozy farming sim.

If you have anything to share, send an email to [email protected]

ARTISTS:
John: https://kaimatten.bsky.social | https://x.com/kaimatten
Kyle: https://bugbearstew.bsky.social | https://x.com/bugbearstew
Lucas: https://lucaskich.bsky.social | https://x.com/lucaskich
Naomi:   / vinyl_scales_shop  

The Controversies of Sun Haven & Pixel Sprout Studios… It’s Bad.
   • The Controversies of Sun Haven & Pixel Spr...  

The Crunch Culture Conundrum
   • The Crunch Culture Conundrum  

CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:09 When did you start working for Pixel Sprout Studios, and when did you leave?
00:03:05 Do you know who Taylor Ta is?
00:03:28 Why does he go by Bruce at Pixel Sprout?
00:03:55 Introduction (contd.)
00:06:01 Part One: Damage control
00:17:16 Part Two: Uncredited and unpaid work
00:22:14 Part Three: Non-Disclosure Agreement
00:23:11 Did your contract include a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)?
00:24:08 Were you told you couldn’t publicly say you worked on the game?
00:26:29 Part Four: “Independent contractors”
00:32:24 Were you hired as an independent contractor?
00:33:14 How many hours were you expected to work per week?
00:35:36 Part Five: Profit over people
00:36:56 How much were you being paid? Did you earn anything besides your hourly wage?
00:39:20 Did you work on any DLCs? If so, did you earn any royalties from their sales?
00:40:01 Part Five: Profit over people (contd.)
00:43:45 Part Six: Just a small studio
00:50:09 How much has Pixel Sprout actually made from Sun Haven?
00:51:46 Part Seven: Dream job
00:53:46 What was a typical day like for you working at Pixel Sprout?
00:59:58 How would you describe your experience working there? (Both the good and the bad)
01:02:34 Have you experienced unreasonable deadlines, excessive workload, or burnout?
01:05:55 Why did you leave?
01:12:40 Part Eight: Now what?
01:14:04 Is there anything else you'd like to share?

#SunHaven #CozyGaming #FarmingGame #PixelArtGames

MUSIC:
Ian Post – Yule (Instrumental Version)
Raw – Rainbow
Ian Post – Jesse James Style
Ya Soos – Holiday (Instrumental Version)
Phury – Yellow Creek
Loya – Safe Space
Tamuz Dekel – Silent Transmission
Ian Post – Lost at Sea
Oran Loyfer – Too Many Steps
Scootie Wop – Letterz
Tommy H. Brandon – The Last Road Trip
Yehezkel Raz – When the Sunrise (Instrumental Version)
Eldar Kedem – Live in My Head
Alchemorph – You Don't Have to Be like Everybody Else
Tom Meira Armony – How We Fell in Love (No Backing Vocals)
Gal Lev – When I'm Gone
Birraj – Nocturne
Sunny Fruit – Winter Groove
Notize – Transition
The Magnetic Buzz – Shadows in Motion
The Lonely Ramblers – Rowdy (Instrumental Version)
Noa Ozer – Submerge
Ride Free – Hell Yeah (Instrumental Version)
Michael Witt – Smoke (Instrumental Version)

Music courtesy of Artlist.io.