Company Culture

Ætheric Worlds was founded in part on the premise that a gaming company doesn't necessarily have to follow the gaming industry's lead. We looked at the rate of job turnover in the industry, the standard rate of pay, the expectations of "crunch time" hours, and decided that we didn't like that — it isn't fair to either the gaming community or to the people who make the games. So, as with anything else in life, if you don't like the rules, then change them — make your own and find a way to make those stick. Our way of changing the rules is making our own company, and showing how it can work.

We want to have a company that is built on the idea that our employees are people, not just resources. We believe in community, and if we want to foster a community within our customer base, it has to start within the company — cross-training and professional development are just some of the things we offer our personnel. We'll do our best to support our people outside of the company too — if the employees are having issues in their lives, they shouldn't have to worry about their job suddenly making things worse.

We're also formed on the philosophy that the job is done when it's done right. The people we want on our team are the ones who strive to be proud of their work. We want to release products that we can point to with a smile and say "I did that. That was mine." We want to interact with our community and be able to maintain a friendly relationship with our customers and players — something that can only truly be accomplished when the games we produce are high in quality and easily accessible.

Even with all that seriousness, we still find time to laugh. We make sure that we play the games we put out — and a lot of others, too (it's important to play all kinds of games if you want to work here — board games, card games, video games, and RPGS, there's something for everyone). The humor ranges from the very low (such as puns!) to the very high (such as... puns?!), and everyone gets in on it eventually. And, of course, we all love our Chickenfish! The flock so far includes Ærick (the official mascot of Ætheric), Abel, Charles, and Willy — and those are just the ones who have gotten named.

Right now, we're starting out with small, multi-platform, casual games and will be building bigger. We know where we're going — we have it all planned out. We're looking for long-term, steady growth, so that we can be the games that you can play with your friends, your spouse, your kids — and eventually maybe even your grand-kids. We want to work with our friends, our spouses, and even our kids — and maybe our grand-kids too. It's all a grand design — part of making a community inside the company, and with our customers.

We are Ætheric Worlds. We're making our own rules, as we set off on a wonderful Journey Through Imagination — won't you come along with us?