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Square Enix in Montreal

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megalmn2000 polycounter lvl 13
Welcome aboard to a new big studio in Montreal : Square Enix! :)

New logo : http://instagr.am/p/VJva5/
Announcement picture : http://yfrog.com/nyfx0pj

150 jobs will be created. Plus, 100 more for Eidos Montreal! :D

http://www.vg247.com/2011/11/21/eidos-montreal-to-create-100-new-jobs/

First title to announced : Hitman

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  • LMP
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    LMP polycounter lvl 13
    Nice to hear Montreal's game industry is growing. I may need to consider staying longer than my work permit.
  • megalmn2000
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    megalmn2000 polycounter lvl 13
    They already have a new website! So fast! :-o
    http://square-enix-montreal.com/

    By the way, where do you work?
  • brandoom
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    brandoom polycounter lvl 13
    Just heard about this. Great news. Montreal's already huge game industry continues to grow.

    150 jobs or so. Woot!
  • d1ver
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    d1ver polycounter lvl 14
  • PixelMasher
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    PixelMasher veteran polycounter
    thats sweet, and a hitman project?! cool. might just be the thing that pushes me out east haha.
  • Envart
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    Envart polycounter lvl 6
    Great news! You make amazing games, very talented group of people. I'd love to work in Canada too, but I've heard you need 5+ years of industry experience before they'll grant a visa from the UK. :(
  • JasonLavoie
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    JasonLavoie polycounter lvl 18
    Very cool to read :)


    Seems like Square is on the up and up... i think.
  • Boyso
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    Boyso polycounter lvl 7
  • JacqueChoi
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    JacqueChoi polycounter
    Cool.

    Hopefully it's ramped up properly, and well run.

    :)
  • nick2730
    excellent gotta finish my new portfolio stuff and send resume in
  • z3phon
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    z3phon polycounter lvl 12
  • papagersi
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    papagersi polycounter lvl 16
    nice to hear!!! I'll try to send resume as well when my portfolio is done!!
  • Nizza_waaarg
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    Nizza_waaarg polycounter lvl 15
    So many fuggin studio's in Montreal alone, can't wait to get there ^_^

    also hope it's run well, any polycounters in there yet?
  • Mezz
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    Mezz polycounter lvl 8
    Ahhh drats, was hoping they'd choose to set up shop in Toronto instead!

    Nonetheless, awesome to hear another great studio opening in Canada. Good luck to everyone applying!!
  • dempolys
    Ahh cool news.

    I'd be interested if it wasn't for the fact that I found Montreal so prejudice to non-french speaking people like me...

    Man they treated me like crap -____-
  • Nizza_waaarg
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    Nizza_waaarg polycounter lvl 15
    dempolys wrote: »
    I'd be interested if it wasn't for the fact that I found Montreal so prejudice to non-french speaking people like me...

    Man they treated me like crap -____-

    Lol really? I've kinda picked up that a decent number of people speak only french there, but isn't there a massive amount of english speaking people there as well? Like maybe... 50% or more?

    Bad news if not :( (starts learning french)
  • LMP
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    LMP polycounter lvl 13
    Walrus wrote: »
    Great news! You make amazing games, very talented group of people. I'd love to work in Canada too, but I've heard you need 5+ years of industry experience before they'll grant a visa from the UK. :(

    5+ years of experience to work in Canada from the UK?

    I just started my first industry job, in Montreal. I'm from the US and I just got a BFA in May .
  • Will Faucher
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    Will Faucher polycounter lvl 12
    dempolys wrote: »
    Ahh cool news.

    I'd be interested if it wasn't for the fact that I found Montreal so prejudice to non-french speaking people like me...

    Man they treated me like crap -____-

    Compared to English and other languages, French is actually a minority in Montreal (albeit a large minority, something like 48-49%). I agree, some of the French-speaking folk are incredibly rude towards non-french speakers, and I cannot tolerate that one bit. I'm French myself, but because I speak fluent english, I've had many french-speaking people go berserk on me for not speaking french, only to answer back to them in their own tongue.

    It's not that bad, honestly. That's just an example of a one or two-time thing that happened a while back. Most people are just fine with english speakers. :)
  • JacqueChoi
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    JacqueChoi polycounter
    Well, I can't speak for other teams, but Funcom's ramped up very nicely here in Montreal.

    We brought over most of its management from the Norwegian office, and have carefully ramped up people that fit in with their development culture (very pragmatic, and largely multicultural).


    In all fairness to the development culture here in Montreal, I honestly believe it has less to do with the "French Culture", and more to do with the Elephant in the room (Ubisoft). I know EA in Burnaby had a very similar effect to the game development culture in the greater Vancouver area.


    I really hope Squeenix does it right. Gets the right management in place, and makes it an awesome place for everyone to work.
  • slipsius
  • megalmn2000
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    megalmn2000 polycounter lvl 13
    Good luck for everyone!
    For English-speaking people, I guess MOST of us ((game developer) in Montreal all know how to speak in English fluently. And yeah, I don't agree French people to hate other peoples because of their language (and yeah, I speak French 95% of my time). When I came to the Ubisoft studio, my teacher told us that they take people from all around the world, including people who can only speak their respective language, if they do the job well. And yeah, we have some Polycounters from Montreal too, but never made any meeting yet? :)
  • Bigjohn
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    Bigjohn polycounter lvl 11
    Funny, to me the French-speaking part of it adds to the excitement. Seems like an opportunity to learn more stuff. Why not just learn French if you find yourself in a foreign place like that? I know I would...
  • slipsius
    Bigjohn, its not that you cant speak french. even if you learn, a lot (not all) of people still see you as an outsider english speaker, instead of looking at you like hey, he's making an effort. At least, ive heard that a lot. all the english speaking people i know have said something like that, while all the french speakers, or native quebecers deny it.
  • Will Faucher
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    Will Faucher polycounter lvl 12
    slipsius wrote: »
    Bigjohn, its not that you cant speak french. even if you learn, a lot (not all) of people still see you as an outsider english speaker, instead of looking at you like hey, he's making an effort. At least, ive heard that a lot. all the english speaking people i know have said something like that, while all the french speakers, or native quebecers deny it.

    This isn't false. Many of my english friends are mocked and laughed at for their effort. It's not all as bad as some make it sound, though. Not everyone is like that! :)
  • Ace-Angel
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    Ace-Angel polycounter lvl 12
    dempolys wrote: »
    Ahh cool news.

    I'd be interested if it wasn't for the fact that I found Montreal so prejudice to non-french speaking people like me...

    Man they treated me like crap -____-

    WHAT?!

    Do you realize that is the exact polar opposite of what happens most of the time? Unless you're speaking about Quebec, and the other-regions from Montreal, in which case, it's understandably so. Them town folks live in towns for a reason.

    The only instance people will give your grief for you lack of French is if you've been living here for a decade, and can only speak Engrish with a few words here and there in French, which again, is understandable. I mean you're living a country all this time without even picking up "Qu'elle belle fesse" is really odd, wouldn't you say.
  • slipsius
    ace, are you a montreal native? or moved there in the last 10 years for a job?
  • Boyso
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    Boyso polycounter lvl 7
    Bigjohn wrote: »
    Funny, to me the French-speaking part of it adds to the excitement. Seems like an opportunity to learn more stuff. Why not just learn French if you find yourself in a foreign place like that? I know I would...
    THANK YOU

    I'm a Montrealer, and a french one.

    I don't mind english people in my city. Not at all. I speak both english and french.

    What most of us have a problem with is people that lives in Montreal for years, without trying to learn words in french.

    If I lived in the states, I'd "learn"/ Speak english.

    Don't block yourself from working here because of language.
    It's fun to learn new languages anyway.
  • dempolys
    Bigjohn wrote: »
    Funny, to me the French-speaking part of it adds to the excitement. Seems like an opportunity to learn more stuff. Why not just learn French if you find yourself in a foreign place like that? I know I would...

    your definitely missing the point i was trying to make.

    As a visitor; I felt like I was victimized by being an outsider. People seemed to have more of an issue that I wasn't FROM there, rather than me being non fluent.

    I'm not trying to derail this thread or attack anyone. Just saying my experience. I think someone else said Quebec is known for this type of behavior so maybe I just came across some very 'Quebecian' people
  • slipsius
    Boyso wrote: »
    THANK YOU

    I'm a Montrealer, and a french one.

    I don't mind english people in my city. Not at all. I speak both english and french.

    What most of us have a problem with is people that lives in Montreal for years, without trying to learn words in french.

    If I lived in the states, I'd "learn"/ Speak english.

    Don't block yourself from working here because of language.
    It's fun to learn new languages anyway.

    see, Ive always regretted not trying harder in grade/high school to learn french. Ive applied to a bunch of montreal studios, even after hearing the bad stuff. But if i ever got a job there, id definitely take classes to learn it.

    Maybe the native french speakers dont mean to do it, but it just comes across that way to those who are new? New to a city, if people are rude, or not as nice as you hope, it hits you harder than if people in your own town are rude. It might not even be them being rude, as it is just how they come across to an outside?
  • Boyso
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    Boyso polycounter lvl 7
    I think it comes more about "history". I mean, look at Montreal in the 1900. Everything was in english because they were trying to "assimilate" french people by surrounding it by english everywhere. That's why Bill 101 was made to preserve french language.

    That being said, I don't know if it's the reason for many people to behave like that.

    I guess some people feel that they need to protect french by screaming at everything in english.

    But I do believe it's more towards Montrealers that doesn't want to learn french more than tourists and workers from US, UK, etc. Montreal is really multi-ethnical and open.

    But there is stupid people everywhere :P

    Only 1 rule here : Don't say anything bad about our Montreal Canadiens :)
  • LMP
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    LMP polycounter lvl 13
    Boyso wrote: »
    I think it comes more about "history". I mean, look at Montreal in the 1900. Everything was in english because they were trying to "assimilate" french people by surrounding it by english everywhere. That's why Bill 101 was made to preserve french language.

    That being said, I don't know if it's the reason for many people to behave like that.

    I guess some people feel that they need to protect french by screaming at everything in english.

    But I do believe it's more towards Montrealers that doesn't want to learn french more than tourists and workers from US, UK, etc. Montreal is really multi-ethnical and open.

    But there is stupid people everywhere :P

    Only 1 rule here : Don't say anything bad about our Montreal Canadiens :)

    So... is my wife wearing a San Jose Sharks jersey a bad thing? Or is it a non-issue because the likelihood of the 2 teams meeting is fairly slim?
  • Boyso
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    Boyso polycounter lvl 7
    LMP wrote: »
    So... is my wife wearing a San Jose Sharks jersey a bad thing? Or is it a non-issue because the likelihood of the 2 teams meeting is fairly slim?

    Haha, wearing jerseys is fine :poly142:

    Just don't support the Bruins!
  • jocz
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    jocz polygon
    im pretty sure the number 1 language in studios in Montr
  • Boyso
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    Boyso polycounter lvl 7
    It is.

    Even (3d) school is. I'm currently in class and it's all english. Do I get all angry? of course not :)
  • Nizza_waaarg
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    Nizza_waaarg polycounter lvl 15
    Prophecies wrote: »
    This isn't false. Many of my english friends are mocked and laughed at for their effort. It's not all as bad as some make it sound, though. Not everyone is like that! :)

    This is what i was worried about... seems like speaking crappy french might do you worse than just speaking decent english :P

    Still going to learn the language, and still stoked to be moving (30 degrees to 4 degrees, heck yeah ^^)
  • haiddasalami
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    haiddasalami polycounter lvl 14
    French wasn't that hard to pick up, struggled more with trying to sound coherent than a blundering oaf :P . Learned it pretty fast but lost most of it just to not practicing and talking. Any who great news for the Canadian game development scene.

    @Boyso: Guess coming in with a Maple Leafs jersey would be a bad move haha :)
  • Boyso
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    Boyso polycounter lvl 7
    This is what i was worried about... seems like speaking crappy french might do you worse than just speaking decent english :P

    Still going to learn the language, and still stoked to be moving (30 degrees to 4 degrees, heck yeah ^^)

    When I go to the US, I get laughed at for my accent as well. As long as you try to learn, people will help you ;)
  • JobyeK
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    JobyeK polycounter lvl 13
    slipsius wrote: »
    see, Ive always regretted not trying harder in grade/high school to learn french. Ive applied to a bunch of montreal studios, even after hearing the bad stuff. But if i ever got a job there, id definitely take classes to learn it.

    Maybe the native french speakers dont mean to do it, but it just comes across that way to those who are new? New to a city, if people are rude, or not as nice as you hope, it hits you harder than if people in your own town are rude. It might not even be them being rude, as it is just how they come across to an outside?

    If you manage to get in any of the companies, they generally pay for you to have french classes :P.
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