Oculus: ZeniMax Claims Over Rift Tech Are "False" 72
An anonymous reader writes "Unsurprisingly, Oculus VR has denied claims that John Carmack stole technology when he left Zenimax. From the article: 'Oculus VR just sent across an email outlining in seven points what it views as ZeniMax's specious claims about Doom-creator John Carmack and Oculus' virtual reality technology. Last week, ZeniMax accused Oculus VR Chief Technology Officer (and former id Software Doom mastermind) John Carmack of taking "proprietary technology and know-how" with him when he departed the Rockville, Maryland-based Elder Scrolls and Dishonored publisher for a job with Oculus.'"
Re:Zenimax is salty (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Zenimax is salty (Score:4, Insightful)
Ahm.. that "boring publisher" was paying him to research and prototype VR headsets. This is actually a good example of why older companies are often nervous about researching new technologies, the pattern of paying people to do research and then they leave to do a startup is an old and frustrating issue in tech. Companies start to feel like they are bankrolling the research phase of startups but not getting a return on it.
They also canned the VR project before he left.
Re:Zenimax is salty (Score:5, Insightful)
their fault for not paying him more, I have heard the bullshit line from employers before...
VP of engineering :"We cant afford to lose you"
Me: "Ok, they are offering me XXX you give me XXX*20% and I'll stay"
VP of engineering:" We cant afford that"
Me: "So it seems you CAN afford to lose me, as you refuse to pay me what I am worth."
Re:Proprietary 'know-how' (Score:4, Insightful)
Even if there is no legal backing to stop him, it is still pretty bad form.
Why is this bad form? The days of companies and employees expecting loyalty to each other ended a few decades ago.
Re:Zenimax is salty (Score:5, Insightful)
So why does someone leave and create a startup like that anyway? Oh yeah, to get more money.
Not necessarily. There are a whole ton of nonmonetary reasons why people do things like this. For example, to get creative, technical, or professional control, to escape a terrible employer or working conditions, or (as appears to be the case here) to work on technologies or projects that interest you the most.
Pay is important, but isn't everything.
Re:Proprietary 'know-how' (Score:3, Insightful)
No, no, no. Companies still expect loyalty from employees (and even former employees), they just don't believe in reciprocation in that regard.
Intellectual property (Score:4, Insightful)
I can see this situation playing out in a lot of companies
Employee: Hey, I've got this [great idea]. It's innovative and likely to be popular. Here's how it works.
Corp: Sounds nice, but there's no guarantee it'll make money. Instead we'll just put out a sequel [game] 2 or perhaps introduce [new game] based on [game]'s existing technology. Maybe we'll get to your idea eventually
Employee: OK, we've done that. Now about that idea
Corp: Sorry, we'll need you to work on [game] 3 now. But look, it's got prettier graphics
Employee: I'm outta here. Nobody listens to my suggestions and so I'm going to [NewCorp] who is interested in my ideas
Corp: Hey, NewCorp implemented [great idea] and is making money off of them. We should sue because obviously they stole it from us.