Pros
This is a long review, and I hope it doesn't come across as negative because I had some really good times here, but for the benefit of potential applicants who are considering moving to Paris from another country, you deserve an honest opinion of the reality you will likely experience once the novelty of all the cool perks wears off. These were some of the great things I experienced during my time at PS, but I've since heard that there have been cutbacks, so take this as a rough guide; - It's in Paris, which is a beautiful city, but... (see cons) - Relocation assistance, and help finding an apartment. - Real sense of community, especially amongst people new to France. - Genuinely nice and talented colleagues, most of which will make the effort even if you don't speak their native language. - Profit sharing bonus and additional twice yearly bonuses - Company vacation in the summer - Christmas Party and gifts for staff and their children - Regular parties for other occasions - Staff will help foreigners with any French administration tasks (and there will be A LOT, France is renowned for its ridiculous level of bureaucracy) - French classes for non-French speakers - Lunch vouchers to enjoy the amazing places to eat in the area (the food in the area is so good!) The office is amazing, I still miss it! Available 24/7 and full of great facilities and perks including; - Free snacks/drinks - Gym and organised sports classes including body pump and Thai boxing (yep!) - Laundry room and detergent - Shower/locker room - Barber shop (honestly!) - Games consoles and arcade machines to play - Weekly pastry breakfasts - Monthly free drinks in local bars
Cons
- It's in Paris. The novelty quickly wears off when you realise the romanticised version of Parisian life you expected is only available to the rich. Paris is a stupidly expensive city to live in, and if you want to live within 30 minutes of the office, expect to live in a small apartment without even the space for a washing machine (but hey, there's a laundry room in the office for that!). - Bringing a family with you from abroad? If they don't speak fluent French (or have a nice amount of cash in the bank) I would SERIOUSLY reconsider. I saw at least three non-French families come and go during my short time because they were utterly miserable. Do not underestimate the difficulty of learning French, for children or adults, becoming proficient will seemingly make or break your experience here if you bring family. - On the subject of language, despite the fact the advertised company language is English, there is a definite bias towards French speakers. I guess this is to be expected somewhat considering the company's in France, but when the French members of your team are having frequent meetings amongst themselves - making decisions without your input, sometimes even about your actual work - it's very difficult not to feel like a lower class of employee, a feeling which is reinforced by the fact that every manager/lead/producer/game director is also French. Basically if you're not a fluent French speaker you're a cog in the machine with little to no input, and that's obviously not good for career progression or job satisfaction. - Top down management style. Put simply, the only people who have any actual control over the projects are the founders of the company. Don't get me wrong, they're really nice guys from my interaction with them, and I'm sure they want nothing more than to make an amazing company and culture, but this style of directing just isn't working and leads to frustrated, listless employees and hundreds of hours of wasted work. It's what's hurting the company the most, and leads to the next point... - No solid deadlines. There's a 'Work on it until it's perfect' mentality which might sound like a good thing for work-shy employees, but in reality this means that progress on pre-production projects is unbelievably slow, especially for mobile games. People are clearly bored. - Brutal probation period - Don't assume you're safe once you arrive here. It's very hard to fire someone in France, so if you don't perform (or, more likely, don't get on with your manager), expect to be let go with very little warning if it's within your first 3 to 6 months (the length of which depends on whether your trial period was extended). This is a terrifying prospect if you've relocated from abroad, even more so if you have family with you. - Zero flexibility in working hours or location. For a young tech company this is very strange. Basically be in the office from 10-18:30 or expect to be monitored for lateness. - Lack of employee training. Maybe this is common in French companies, but I only saw one educational session in my entire time here. In summary; I'm not French, so can't vouch for the experience or prospects for a native speaker, but for a foreigner Pretty Simple is the perfect place for a single person, new to the industry, to get a few years of games industry experience in a really interesting city, and then move onto something else which allows you to progress... Based on what I saw, I can't recommend it to non-French speaking families. This seems to be due to life in France rather than the company itself, but Pretty Simple could do a bit more to help retention beyond the initial relocation assistance (see below).