It’s only been three weeks since Black Easter Monday dawned, but it feels like an age.
So much has changed in such a short time, and the dust is only now beginning to settle. These weeks have been tough for everyone involved, and to be honest, I don’t think “traumatic” really does it justice. Having to say goodbye to so many long term friends and colleagues has been nothing short of harrowing.
The most important thing though, is that many of those who lost their jobs are already gainfully employed with other game companies around Dundee. They’ll now be helping to spread a little Denkiness throughout the rest of our Dundee brethren I’m sure. We’re so fortunate to be working as part of the games community that exists in Dundee, where we have the support of those who might normally be considered “competitors” in more traditional industries.
And support us they have – all the other Dundee companies (and many more besides) have been a huge help to us throughout this period. Whether it’s been offering jobs, providing useful contacts, or simply getting in touch to see how we’re doing and if they can help out; it’s been extremely heart-warming for everyone. And the support we’ve had doesn’t stop with our local community either. We’ve been genuinely touched by the out-pouring of “Denki Love” from all quarters over recent weeks – people emailing us from around the world, leaving comments on our website, writing articles, and generally just telling us to hang in there. We’ve read everything, even if we haven’t had a chance to reply, and it’s been greatly appreciated by us all.
But the support I’ve personally been most surprised and heartened by is the support of those directly effected by the situation. I fully expected to make the announcement to the company on Monday morning and be swinging from a lampost in Bell Street by Monday lunchtime. In my head at least, that seemed the only reasonable course of action open to people who clearly didn’t deserve the hand they were being dealt. So I certainly wouldn’t have been surprised by that reaction. But instead of being confronted by an angry mob seeking justice, I was met by a philosophical and supportive mob that seemed far too concerned for my own welfare and only wanted to know how they could help out.
How very Denki.
That I really wasn’t prepared for. Although thinking now it shouldn’t have been such a surprise, as it simply highlights how special the team we’ve assembled here at Denki has been these last ten years. Regardless, I was truly humbled by how professional and philosophical everyone was when discussing the situation with me. The pragmatism and resolve displayed by everyone in the face of such a bleak situation really overwhelmed me, so I’d like to publicly say a big “thank you” to everyone at Denki for that – it’s not something I take for granted, and it means an awful lot to me.
While many have already moved on from Denki we still have a few hardy souls helping to finish off their projects before leaving us. We offered everyone the option to leave immediately, with full entitlements and without working their notice periods. It seemed only reasonable as we understand they all have other priorities now after all. But still people chose to come in and help us finish off projects instead. And those who have chosen to leave have been bringing in cake to help everyone celebrate their moving on.
Again, how very, very Denki.
So what now for Denki? Well, now we are six. That might not seem much, but it’s one more than made Denki Blocks! for Game Boy Advance all those years ago. And between those six remaining people we have made sure to retain all the essential skills Denki will need to continue its mission of turning scowls in to smiles wherever it finds them.
And that mission continues apace. We’ve been working on it tirelessly in between everything else over the last few weeks, and we’ll be ready to release the results very soon. It’s nothing too big, but it is special – just a little something to help get everyone who’ll be staying at Denki back in the saddle.
We’ve taken all the love we’ve received from everyone this past month and poured it in to this project so we can give it back to the world the only way we know how – as something fun to help brighten your day. We hope everyone will enjoy it.
What is it we’ve made? Well… I’m sure it won’t be too hard to guess. It’s nothing new, but it is something we’ve been asked for repeatedly over the last few years and never got around to. But all this disruption seemed like a perfect opportunity.
Tune in to the Denki blog over this coming week and all will be revealed.
And thanks again to everyone everywhere for all the support over recent weeks – it’s made all the difference to us.
Colin.
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