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Noble Steed Games Policies

Our studio policies help to make sure our studio is aligned with our cultural values and vision in a tangible and actionable manner. These extend to both how we work and why we work, as the core pillars of our studio’s culture! Have a look : )

Anti-Crunch Policy

Last updated: 19 Jan, 2022

As a Studio, we recognise the wealth of evidence that demonstrates that crunch is not a sustainable, profitable or ethical way to run a business. So, as a Studio, we are dedicated to minimising crunch as much as possible, through a mix of cultural recognition and tangible business practices.

Cultural Recognition

As a studio, we aim to drive our work with passion and care. This can be a potentially dangerous thing to do – the desire to work additional hours is easier when working on projects that you care about, and when you have a high level of attention to detail.

So – let’s set out in no uncertain terms the following statement:

If you need to work additional hours to complete a project, work while sick or unwell, or in any other circumstances where you normally shouldn’t, this is a failure of planning.

We all care about the projects that we deliver, but this does not mean that we should be working overtime, working while we are unwell, or doing any other unsustainable business practices. We can implement processes to solve this, but processes are only as effective as the team which sticks to them. So, please adhere to the processes outlined below. In addition, you can support our efforts as a Studio to be anti-crunch by doing the following:

  • Do not work any additional hours, or work while you are unwell
  • If you see a team member working outside of traditional hours, or while they are unwell, please check in with them, or notify their manager
  • If your manager expects additional hours out of you, or puts you in a position where you feel you are working unsustainably, reach out to your Director

Anti-Crunch Processes

We agree to the following:

  • As a studio, we will never expect more time out of you than your contracted hours in a given week
  • As a studio, we will never contract you for more than 8 hours per day, 5 days per week (or less for a part-time employee or contractor)
  • As a studio, all overtime outside of contracted hours must be approved by Reuben as the director

Allocation Policy

Last updated: 18 Mar, 2022

If you are allocated, or scheduled to be allocated, on a project that you are unhappy with, we will take you off of it. Let Reuben know that you are unhappy with the project that you are on (or scheduled to be on), and we will endeavour to take you off of it within 2 weeks.

If somebody has worked on projects for longer than 5 weeks without a scheduled break (of at least 3 consecutive business days), they won’t be scheduled straight onto another project without a scheduled week of buffer time in between. This time can be used for various things, such as:

  • Preparing for upcoming projects
  • Wrapping up any outstanding work from previous projects
  • Working on other miscellaneous tasks, such as marketing or internal project development
  • Or just simply an easy opportunity to take leave!

Organisational DEI Policy

Last updated: 08 Feb, 2022

We are committed to being a diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation. The best projects come from diverse teams with a variety of interests, backgrounds. The best processes come from diverse teams with a variety of different ways of working and thinking. So, in our mission to be the best we can be, we commit to also being as equitable and inclusive as we can be.

Steps that we are committed to in order to maintain a diverse organisation:

  • Bi-annual DEI survey to measure diversity, equity and inclusiveness across the organisation, as well as solicit feedback and goals from team members. This directly feeds into a bi-annual report presented to the entire organisation.
  • All job postings go through Gender Decoder, to ensure our job postings are free of bias

If you have any thoughts and suggestions, feel free to reach out to us via Twitter or email us! If you think we’re cool and want to join our team, check out our open roles!

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