Paid and unpaid writing tests
This came out yesterday, but Larian's CEO has claimed that people there are at peace with the AI use they're being actively required to perform (which I doubt). The idea that an exec is requiring craftspeople to maximize AI use when it doesn't even improve a single thing about their workflow should make anyone second-guess their ambition to work there. However, a bigger reason to avoid applying is their terrible application process.
Larian requires a truly insane number of interviews - someone has reported 12 before they were turned down for their resume - and massive, unpaid writing tests, for which the writer is required to turn in something playable. Applying to Larian is like having a second job. It's a job where the manager is uncommunicative, withholding, and mean to you. I've heard multiple stories about people being ghosted entirely.
Apparently, they have stated to applicants that their writing style cannot be taught. Anyone who's been a narrative manager in games before, like me, knows that this is preposterous.
I have never applied to Larian because I've been hearing these stories for years. I would not willingly apply to work there unless I saw some public announcement from the team that the hiring experience had changed and that they regretted the old one. I do think that Larian should consider these process improvements high-priority - it's been destroying their reputation among the best of the best for years, to the point where many skilled writers and narrative designers I know would never apply there. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely to change.
I've completed both paid and unpaid writing tests. If you're going to assign an unpaid writing assignment, it's good practice to keep the assignment short enough that a busy person - an adult with kids or other major after-work and weekend responsibilities - could fit it in around their life without negative impact to the people who rely on them. This means limiting it to a several-hour task (including revision time). I believe my unpaid editorial test for Riot took around three hours. Much longer unpaid tests - the kind of thing that takes several days, or even a week - are undeniably extremely exploitative.
I've applied to only a couple places which paid me for my work on writing tests. I was paid by Brace Yourself Games, by whom I was eventually hired to write the early access content for Industries of Titan. Paying for a writing test allows the studio to use the material applicants write in the game itself, if they want. Pursuing this strategy also allows them to treat the person like a contractor, send out an NDA, and actually test the writer's ability to learn and use a project's real IP.
It's as good for them as it is for me, because it reduces the negative impact of long hiring processes on the studio by allowing them to harvest useful material from failed applications. (This isn't possible for every type of game, but you can often find at least one "harvestable" asset type to assign in a test somewhere.)
Unfortunately, paying for tests also requires a studio to be judicious about how many tests they assign per open role. Rather than using it as a giant filter sent out to many, many people, they'd need to budget for it and limit the number of payouts they're doing. So it requires a studio to be good at assessing resumes, good at seeking references, and good at interviewing. A lot of studios are very, very bad at interviewing.
The reason more people don't write about this is because there are so few writing jobs out there generally. It is risky to criticize the hiring department of a studio that does the exact kind of writing many games writers dream of doing - massive, story-led projects full of strong personalities and branching dialogue. It is kind of crazy for me to be posting this at all now that I don't have a job! But it's worth talking about. I've had a couple encounters with other game devs who have been surprised to hear me say things like "Oh my god, no, I would never apply to Larian as long as they still do that writing test." For some reason, the story just hasn't penetrated the industry very far beyond the writing and narrative design professions.
But it's penetrated the narrative side of the industry completely. Almost everyone I know who works in this space has heard these stories from multiple friends and acquaintances. It's the worst of the worst as application experiences go, and everyone knows it.