One Mortal Kombat 11 Developer Had To See A Therapist After Violent Dreams

Oh my goodness! Those employees....

I take anything from Kotaku with a massive grain of salt, but wow, if what they are saying is true then that would kinda mess up anyone. Who watches hanging videos?

I feel sorry for the devs.
I will not be purchasing this game. I've got better things to do with my time.

The truth keeps on coming out, hm?

Well this has to be taken with a HUGE GRAIN OF SALT... If it is true, why is the person anonym? Why would he fear to get another job in the industry when he is good in his job.... just not wjth the violence? Sorry but I can not trust anonym sources in the big anonym intetnet eorld of rumours.

BREAKING NEWS: One Kirby developer had to see a therapist after dreams of pink balloons floating in the air!

I wouldn’t doubt this one bit.... if I play a game daily for hours a day I tend to think about it before sleep, and even dream about it. I could only imagine what it would be like if you spent 8-12 hours or more a day on DEVELOPING a game....

And this is why Nintendo didn’t show a lot of mortal Kombat gameplay. Because of the huge amounts of violence

Good god. I'd always regarded Mortal Kombat's violence as essentially cartoon violence with more blood and gore...but no one should be subjected to watching such hideous violence in real life, especially in a work environment as toxic as the games industry. My heart goes out to this individual.

@Dm9982 I'm the same!

That's...really sad to hear. Nobody should let video games literally destroy their ability to sleep and rest peacefully.

I saw this article on kotaku and it made me roll my eyes there too. Everyone is a victim these days, never mind the fact that an animator like him could get a job wherever he wants, plus the fact that he’s making good money to do his job as well. No one forced him to work on this game, no one but himself. But no now it’s all NRS fault and now he has PTSD.... gimme a freakin break

If this was true you wouldn't be leaking to a rag like Kotaku, you would be going through the process of seeking workers compensation and preparing a case in preparation for if they fight you and you have to take them to court.

Time to apply for a job at Nintendo or TT Games.

Would you look at that... @anti-matter was right the whole time. Lay off the violence in video games kiddos

Honestly, the trailer turned me off a lot. It's just too violent for me. I know some people like it, and I'm completely ok with that. I'm completely ok with the game being created and getting the mature rating. I'm not for censorship....but man...those poor developers. That's when you need to take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if it's worth it. I have a son now and I don't really buy the Wolfenstein type games anymore because of the violence. Don't want to expose him to that.

I am glad a couple over people have already said it so I don't have to. These guys seem to be a bunch of babies.

When your job requires you to watch a guy getting hanged for research, then that’s messed up. It’s not worth it for a game that is essentially a big budget B movie. Mortal Kombat 11 is a game nobody will remember in a couple of years anyway.

@zocker-hias Do you really have to ask? Obviously this person fears a possible repercussion coming from the studio like you know, losing their job for speaking about these details. Not every company likes having employees spilling the beans, much less if it could give them bad rep

I think people are closing their eyes as usual to the ills of their vices, as we all have a tendency for our outsourced products and name brands.

Let someone else sweat over the details we are only interested in the final product. As it should be but not without a creeping cost.

Make my fighting game smash Bros. The attacks are arguably more violent than what's in MK but the animations are done in a way more satisfying way. Plus it'll make way now money than MK anyway.

I hope they get some help. At least I know my purchase went to supporting their work.

I always thought these games were really over the top, tacky and edgy just for the sake of it, which is obviously part of the appeal, for the "kool kids" but after watching the same animations for fatalities over and over it's plain tedious. No game ever will be worth enough to force the development team to basically become desensitized and traumatized to any kind of violence.

And to everyone claiming this isn't true because of Kotaku, their reporting on awful work environment inside Riot Games turned out to be 100% true and the employees even organized a march. This very comment section is the reason why all these people hesitate to speak about their labor conditions, the huge lack of empathy that has become so pervasive in current internet culture

Well, he did accept a job to develop Mortal Kombat 11. What was he expecting? Maybe he should have applied to develop Yoshi’s Crafted World instead. A lot of people work under stressful conditions.....it’s a damn job, deadlines have to be met! Like a poster above said, I can think of thousands worse jobs than sitting in a chair in front of a computer programming; especially if that’s your thing. These generations don’t seem to understand that things take effort, and dedication.

@Casco I work with a lot of individuals in game dev and animation. Jobs are hard to come by, and if you want to advance you simply do not have the option of saying 'I don't like X IP' - you have to take what's available when it's available, especially if you're not a fan of constant relocation. I've worked with individuals who have had to move cities, countries, and even continents on a yearly basis in order to remain employed in the industry. They take whatever is on offer because if you don't, and you fall out of the industry, you simply won't ever get back in. Pay is also nowhere near as good as people in this comments section are assuming - you're looking at sub-40k-50k USD with no overtime for 12+ hour days for the average animator with 2-5+ years experience.

@2legit2quit No offense, but you have no idea what you're talking about. Salaries for 3D animators come nowhere close to the figure you're suggesting - in most of North America it's closer to 40k-50k for 12+ hour days, on short to medium term contracts requiring frequent relocation. Most of these people don't and can't have lives because their vocation requires them to pack up and move every time a contract is done, with permanent positions being unattainable except through excellent community contacts.

I just thought the next MK sequel, MK 12, imagine the graphics will be like on the next generation console and what it can do to the game. I believe more employees will have "nightmares" then.
MK is indeed extremely violent and when the game goes up, there is no sign of the "complexity of violence" in the game will ever slow down. It will be more and more violent.

It's not very common that graphic artists work for years on highly polished, extremely detailed, animated high-end 3D gore.

But these guys can't quit now. They need to continue the slaughter watching and close up fleshcutting for all the DLC fighters we want. Simple advice: Don't work on a Mortal Kombat game if you don't like the look of bones cracking and bodies splattering.

MK is now so brutal that even the devs need a doctor. Sick marketing for a sick game.

It's unfortunate that a large amount of people commenting feel the need to claim they know exactly what's going on. Who knows, but developing a gory game/filming a gory movie is vastly different from watching actual live gore, on film or otherwise. I'm unsure why people are conflating the two as necessary to one another. I'd be willing to work on appalling material, but I don't need to watch any live executions to do so. I'm not going to accuse a bunch of people of being lyers, that seems a little strange. People are just talking about their experiences. They didn't say they regretted working on the game, just that they needed to seek therapy afterwards. People jumping to conclusions are worse than the journalism (adding fire where there are no flames), which isn't bad by any means in this instance.

@Indominus_B My sister is an emergency room nurse, and nurses often face higher risks of workplace violence than law enforcement officers. She still gives a **** about workplace protections for everybody. Thousands of the men and women who have served your country go to therapy because of what they've dealt with. You're misguided.

First world problems of the modern world,in the old days this would have caused someone minor issues at best,now it causes bad dreams and trauma,with a visit to a shrink thrown in for good measure,of course I am not buying into any of this rubbish,it's a lame attempt at marketing for what amounts to nothing more than over the top gore to sell a basic fighting game...the violence in it is laughable at best.

I call BS on this at some point. I mean, it's not like the vacancy for MK Developer said "come join us create rainbows and unicorns".
It's bloody Mortal Kombat (no pun intended). MK is known for its gore, fatalities, graphical details, blood, ripping off body parts... do I need to go on?

What did the guy expected when starting the job?

If you think about it, they’re actually using the victims of real life murder to make an entertainment product. It’s one thing to imagine getting their head chopped off, but it’s another to actually transfer real life atrocities into a game. Real people with real lives and families.

I may be getting old, but that’s pretty messed up.

@johnvboy After the first preview showings of Universal's Frankenstein, the theater owner got numerous angry calls in the middle of the night from audience members who had nightmares due to the film.

@Galarian_Lassie,

Nothing to do with the Theater owner,they only show the movie,if anything they should have called up the studio..i bet whoever took their calls was laughing their heads off...not in an over the top gory way,i might add.

I must admit I had nightmares after seeing how bad the movie was.

@Dm9982 Totally agree with the spirit of your comment. But if you think game developers spend only 8-12 hours a day developing a game...well that's an underestimation by a wide margin. Most often, these poor guys and gals get worked (or work themselves) to the bone to make these games for greedy (but occasionally grateful) players like us.

@raxado,

Their choice fella,I sell cars and work 70 hours a week,I can't complain though as it was my career choice.

It’s not about Mortal Kombat, but rather his own childhood. He should definitely be seeing a therapist, he’s apparently got some work to do on his subconscious.

@johnvboy Cool story bro

@raxado,

Well you have to keep the masses entertained fella,just like you did with your overworked developers story...we will be both up for prizes I think.

@Kalmaro If its anything from Kotaku then a TRUCKLOAD of salt is more like it

@PlayedNSlayed,

Without a doubt.

Psychologist: So tell me how you developed PTSD?

Patient 1: I served two tours in Iraq and had several fellow soldiers die in my arms.

Patient 2: I was a police officer for 25 years and saw many dead children up close and was involved in many other murder investigations.

Patient 3: I made a vidya game.

People are actually defending NetherRealm here? I do not take kindly to people invalidating anybody, especially PTSD victims. PTSD does not instantly equal "Vietnam veterans". the developer of the cancelled Sonic X-Treme was so stressed he almost died (source: https://uk.ign.com/articles/2008/05/29/sonic-x-treme-revisited?page=2 ) so this isn't anything new at all unfortunately.

as time goes on, we begin to understand human nature better - we know a lot more than we did 5 or 10 years ago and there's still a lot we've yet to learn.

So not everyone is up for stuff like this.... When I started playing Mortal Kombat it was back on the SNES and Genesis. I always got the chills at beginning when I saw fatalities. But after awhile it didn't do anything much for me anymore. Your mind grow stronger and it's easier to watch stuff like this, but if you are also new to this stuff it might give you indeed some nightmares. These people are not up for a game like this unless their mind is stronger than their fear. At the end it's still just a game. If you can take it apart then it will be easy and fun to enjoy games like this

@Noid I don’t think it’s that people are ‘defending NRS’, but more like people not really being super sympathetic to the ‘sufferer’ since it is a rather difficult reason to sympathise with given stereotypical reason people suffer with PTSD, the obvious content of the work they chose to carry out and then bleating about it to a journalist (if it is taken as a true report) as though it is a shocking revelation that he had to do this kind of work.

The reason that people are using examples of public service sector workers and military is because they know and understand the work they are carrying out (as this person should have done) but you rarely see or hear them complaining about it like this person. Also, their reasons for suffering are a lot more understandable. Another reason is the lack of mental health support available (at least in the UK) which causes another reason to feel less sympathetic since it delays the service to others who people might view as more worthy (see @KennyBania comment above).

It’s not to say he doesn’t deserve support or help, just that you can’t expect people to feel sorry for you when, in the grand scheme of things the cause was ‘YouTube’ videos (I’m being reductive, but you get my point).

Plus, all these stories are starting to dilute themselves. ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’. Just bloody unionise and get organised.

Sounds like normal reference research to me. It you're gonna have to animate a whole bunch of people ripping each other apart in creative ways, you should definitely be looking into what the gore, splatters and such look like.

That's obviously not going to be for everybody (case in point), but people here crack me up, acting like the devs were doing something insane.

Why not just, you know quit your job and do something less violent? And why bother sharing a story like that, how about some self reflection and then just not you know, tell everyone how sad you are?

I'm really getting old, really really old.

That sounds like my dream job, I love gore real or not.

Everyone who commented "what did you expect?":
Would you expect to be watching real life deaths and dead people to develop a game? Also, isn't the whole point still that the PTSD this person suffered was UNexpected? Do you ever really expect to experience any stress and illnesses? Finally, do you expect that you can just go and choose any job in the world? I'm sorry to tell you, but you can't usually get to the dream work place before you have a lot of experience elsewhere, so you have to accept what you can, that's how real life works. Dreams are not the reality, although in this case, I'm afraid they are...

These Mortal Kombat articles sure do bring out the best in NL commenters, huh?

@Noid,

So why should I or anybody care if you "do not take kindly" to something?,it's only someone's opinion at the end of the day,and I feel it's very easy these days for people to claim trauma,when in fact they are just having a bad day.

@Indominus_B dude where did that come from lol. whats so hard to believe about workers biting off more than they could chew with MK "research" footage, surely its bound to take a toll on some of them

To those taking “What did he expect?” or “He could have just quit his job” lines while also trivialising his need for therapy because “it’s not exactly like he’s in the army seeing his friends get blown up”... can’t we also extend the same lack of empathy to those serving the army?

“I saw my friend get blown up at war”

“What did you expect, you’re in the army. If you don’t want to see your friends get blown up why did you join he army?”

It’s a self-evidently perverse and cruel line of reasoning to take. To deny someone’s position legitimacy or sympathy because at some point they made some choice which brought them closer to it.

He’s also being being critcised for remaining anonymous, whilst at the same time being accused of lying to make people sorry for him. Despite the fact we don’t even know who he is.

As details are thin on the ground, I won’t say anything too declarative, but if there’s one thing I have some confidence in it’s that denying people things because they’re not the ‘most’ worthy results in lower standards for everyone.

If Jim gets labelled greedy for wanting 5 days of holiday because Sally only takes 2, then neither is likely to have their position drastically improved. Yelling at people because they don’t have it ‘hard enough’ has rarely done much for anyone.

Sorry, but this is Netherrealm Studios. What game series are they most well known for? Oh yeah, Mortal Kombat. And, you are working on Mortal Kombat? What do you think you are going to be making. If he couldn't handle it, he should have asked to be transferred to a different team or quit his job.

@Maxz @Maxz,

I think Jim is being greedy as he has taken far more holidays than Sally.

@Maxz

There's a big difference between saying you got PTSD from having a friend die in front of your eyes in person, to claiming you got PTSD because you walked past someone's computer monitor and they were watching a YouTube video of a cow getting killed in a slaughter house.

Either way, some people just aren't cut out for certain lines of work, either mentally or physically.

@Kr96
Ok but if you don't like the circumstances and preasure in tge company you work, talk anonymously and stay in the " [removed] company" something is wrong with you..
Why does he not quit and get another job? Complaining but not acting is wreid... if I am not happy in my relation but don't change anything I am to blame to.

I do not say the studio is right or the best company or anything.... but anonymous sources are hard to trust. You want to change something? Then have balls... speak out loud and let the people know so things can change... the rest are rumours without proven substance...

_{Please mind your language - Octane}

I’ll be sticking with Street Fighter thanks very much.

The basis behind the entire argument - Is this story true?

Secondly, were people given explicit instructions by superiors to watch snuff, or was it a voluntary action?

I was a fan of the first three Mortal Kombat titles as a kid. When it went 3D, I simply lost interest. I ended up getting Mortal Kombat 9 on the Vita as the idea behind the story was excellent. Revisiting the original titles in one overarching story with a modern shine was a great idea.

I got X on the PS4 but because we only have one TV, I've barely played it as I have little ones about. Mortal Kombat 11 on Switch was the perfect fit for me as being able to play the game portably suited my situation perfectly.

In my line of work, I have come across many instances of persons in various states of - 're-arrangment' for lack of the better term and I must honestly say the Fatal Blows, Brutalities and Fatalities of MK 11 are entirely ludicrous and do not resemble what I've seen IRL whatsoever.

The blood resembles jelly, any attempts at innards are on the cartoony side, and the physics are intentionally made to be completely unrealistic. I have a feeling this is done on purpose so you aren't visibly disturbed by seeing a game resemble someone getting actually mutilated. Boon and co aren't stupid or deprived in this sense. What has improved is the gameplay. The actual fight engine is brilliant and the tutorial is one of the most indepth I've ever seen in a fighting game. Female characters are presented with more respect which is about time.

I see a game that has matured with the times and is embracing fighting mechanics as it's core mainstay. The over the top, unrealistic violence is just that.

Don't get me wrong - if some people do find the stuff in the games distressing, they are by no means wrong or their beliefs invalid. Everyone is different and there's no issue there. I just find it a long stretch that devs would watch real world stuff to inspire the sort of content presented in game that looks (and moves) so unlike it.

@Jawessome

That's what I found odd too...

"Lemme just watch some old grainy historical hanging videoes on YouTube to get me inspired to create a fatality that involves an insect woman tearing a man limb from limb."

@Fandabidozi ,

Yes,they only have to make these games,where we have to play them and get subjected to countless hours of trauma.

In this thread: people who have no experience of work-place stress and mental health issues who also think jobs in the technical industry can be picked up like the morning's coffee.

@2legit2quit the truth right there. He’s not forced to work on it. If it’s that bad for him move along, he obviously has the skill set. Jesus everybody needs a box of tissues these days. Never mind the people who have suffered actual trauma regarding their ptsd this dudes working on a video game.

@Draxa Wow... Are you really so dim that you seriously think looking at gory story all day every day on end for weeks wouldn't mess you up?

War and death aren't the only ways PTSD occurs. How about doing a little research and taking your heads out of the sand?

@WiredFire These people are fools who are all Dunning-Kreuger up here to the max.

@Draxa Sounds like you've never had experience of a truly toxic workplace. I sincerely hope you never do.

@PlayedNSlayed Too right you are.

@WiredFire or i could simply kno how to handle my s**t? We aren’t talking about harassment in this article or the crazy hours the other claims are saying. This article is about a dude claiming ptsd because of violent images and videos. First off the dudes working on Mortal Kombat whose claim to fame is a visual representation of shredding virtual people to shreds. Maybe he should’ve made better life choices. My wife suffers from ptsd from real life trauma. This guy has nightmares from watching violent videos that his coworkers are watching and then gets diagnosed with ptsd. So sorry if it offends you that I call this out as bs. It just is. This is like me watching a damn horror movie, having a nightmare, then saying I have ptsd. It’s absurd and if you can’t see that I don’t kno what to tell you. Keep living in your safe place bud.

@Draxa I feel your reply only further makes my point. I'm sorry to hear of your wife's struggles, but do know that "real life trauma" can come from many places and the impact will vary greatly from person to person. Have some compassion, have some understanding if you have a loved one suffering PTSD. This guy's problem in no way lessens your wife's. Everyone has their struggles and their problems. Be kind, be open to awareness of others troubles, and where possible positive. People's life choices are often not always fully their own. You say this guy should have made better life choices, but you know nothing of them. I'm sure if someone were to say the same of your wife (which I am not) you'd be furious, and rightly so.

@MegaVel91 Or you could realize that this dude should’ve known what he was working on. Gtfo dude. Unlike an accident etc this guy could’ve made the choice to leave at anytime and decided to stay. Sorry you’re to dim to understand that.

@zocker-hias It doesn't matter how truthful or "right" they are, if an employer is choosing between "capable dev I've never heard of" and "capable dev that whistle blew on an abusive work culture" the first always gets picked. That's why they're anonymous.

I loved the whole fatalities and violent concept of this franchise when I was 12 - gore for the sake of it, but then I grew up and now don't see the attraction, I wont be going near this game but I can see why younger players like it

To those saying "They knew what they were getting into, no sympathy", I don't think the animators expected that they'd be watching real life violence every day as research for the game. The violence in the game probably isn't what is causing the PTSD, it's the research into making it.

It's no different than people who sign up as Facebook or Twitter content monitors and become severely depressed/suicidal because in the process of removing graphic content from the servers, they're subjected to some of the most vile material over and over.

I haven't played MK 11 yet (bought but haven't gotten around to it) but hearing this story kinda sours me a bit.

@Draxa " This is like me watching a damn horror movie, having a nightmare, then saying I have ptsd."
No it's not. It's like your job is to watch real horror for over 10 hours a day (this was during a crunch) and after a number of months of doing this every day you get ptsd. The pressure of work and needing employment make a massive difference to how much stress a person feels.

@Kalmaro people watch them... I am not condoning it and im not one of them, but i know people watch them...

This is why I don't play MK. I'm soft like this guy.

My boyfriend did two tours and while most of his time was mundane things it was the few times he saw real horrific things that led to him developing PTSD. I don't doubt for a second exposing yourself to the kind of violence portrayed in these games on a daily 8-12hr basis could do this to a person. I can play a game several hours prior to sleeping and end up dreaming about it.

@YozenFroghurt,

You are such a voice for the people,please put me on ignore too.

I think if you see people on comments sections as "In your life" you need to get a grip fella.

@Flowerlark,

Once again a sweeping statement from somebody who does not know the background of anybody on here,I therefore must assume you are a middle aged snowflake who would believe anything without evidence...see not only you can do it.

@WiredFire to each their own bud but my opinion on this dude isn’t going to change. He’s not military or an emergency responder. He’s making a damn video game. A game that is known for its extreme violence. Of course they are going to be doing their research on how s**t looks in real life to somewhat correctly transfer it to the game as best they can. My point is that he applied for the job knowing what the product was, stayed at the job even though he obviously couldn’t handle whatever his position was, when he could of just simply said what the hell am I doing and started looking elsewhere went out the door when he got a chance to. There was nothing keeping this guy there, as far as we know he wasn’t contractually obligated to stay, other then his own decision to. I’m pretty sure if he was diagnosed with ptsd while working on the project his doctor would have told him to leave. Would I agree with his ptsd diagnosis, not at all, but that’s my opinion you kno. We all get to have em

@Draxa we can all have opinions, I just prefer mine to be informed rather than speculative.

I was once in a job that was causing me great mental health issues. I didn't feel I could leave because, ya know, bills and people that depended on my income. In the end I did, in fact, leave without another job to go to. Fortunately for me it worked out. However, my life circumstances have now changed. If I found myself in that position again I could absolutely not leave that job without another one, we'd lose our family home and have nowhere to go. So I'd get searching for jobs. But there's a funny thing that happens when you're stressed, anxious, depressed etc.. your mind becomes your enemy. Things that seem obvious solutions and paths to take to others seem impossible to you. It no longer becomes as simple as "lol get another job", as that may feel and seem impossible.

You don't know that this person applied for the job knowing they'd be working on MK.

You don't know what his contractual situation with the company is.

You don't know that they weren't desperately looking for a way to exit but felt the couldn't (see my above points).

I get that you think it's ridiculous, but everyone's struggles are different. This person's do not lessen yours, or your wife's. Have a little compassion, especially when it has zero impact on you.

@Draxa
Patient: “So you’re saying I have PTSD? Gosh, doc, what should I do?”
Dr. Draxa: “Well, I think what would really help, y’know, with the stress, is if you quit your job and struggled with unemployment for a while. Good luck continuing to pay the bill for these sessions without your health insurance, btw, I know that’s gonna be pretty rough.”

@Flowerlark,

Why would being a teenager make one more ignorant,you sound pretty ignorant and you must be much older,by the way I never called you a snowflake,It was a sweeping statement in response to your initial comment,where you seemed to be suggesting you somehow knew the backgrounds and ages of the posters on here.

I would have told the guy "get a new job, if you're not comfortable with it". This is stupid, they obviously need to get reference from somewhere, they can't just make up new organs and bones. To be honest, fatalities are way more cartoonish than before. It's always suppose to be over the top in order to not be believable. How do you think we have all those anatomy books? How do we know how our organs look, and how they work? IT'S JUST A GAME.

This is why I don't play M-rated games. I know they are all rated M for different reasons, but I can't handle the how of violent, scary, and disturbing they are. There have been times that I wished I hadn't seen the trailer for an M-rated game, I can't imagine actually trying to play it.

@Flowerlark,

Your comments do not upset me,nor do I wish to pick a fight,I just do not agree with people saying people have to show empathy with others,as if it's a crime if people do not.

I do admit that sometimes I can come across as argumentative,but it's was never my intention,have a good day too..I do mean that by the way.

@johnvboy "Why would being a teenager make one more ignorant"

Is that a real or rhetorical question? The definition of ignorant is lacking awareness or knowledge in general. Teenagers are younger and have less experience in general which gives them a higher chance of being ignorant.

Being ignorant isn't necessarily bad. What is bad is when someone ignorant gets information on said subject and refuses to accept it. They then are no longer ignorant, but they are a fool.

@Edu23XWiiU Mortal Kombat may be "just a game", but psychological harm is not.

I would guess that most of the people who didn't leave before they developed PTSD were just like you: they thought that watching people die would be harmless to their psyche because it was "just for a game".

Also consider that they may not have been able to afford leaving that job. The video game industry is full of toxic and abusive culture, because every position has a stack of resumes waiting from starry-eyed fans like you, whose optimism will fuel your Stockholm Syndrome until one day you snap.

@Skid,

Still does not guarantee that an older person would not be just as ignorant,sometimes ones experiences can make one far more jaded.

@johnvboy

Exactly, older people can be ignorant too. Didn't say they couldn't. It is just more likely they are fool than ignorant since they have had more time to experience life.

Yes, they could be jaded. But being jaded isn't an excuse and it only hampers self growth.

@Skid,

But sometimes an older person can be far more closed off,and of course influences from older generations can come into play too.

"I want to work editing a porno but without having to see anuses."

What kind of shidt generation is this.

@zocker-hias If anything the company is the one at fault here, as to why people won't give their real names it could be for a variety of reasons like fearing a possible retaliation coming from Netherealm (it's not entirely imposible) if they know exactly who spoke. Or they think it could cause the studio to just dismiss these declarations, like Rockstar has done several times. Sure it's not perfect but if this encourages more people to talk about it why not?

@Fath 😂 that’s great thanks for that. But what I meant was that he could find other employment while still currently employed. I have done it and I’m sure there’s plenty more who have as well. It’s really not a difficult concept.

@WiredFire all I’m gonna say is that this entire article is speculative. This report was anonymous. There’s no proof this person was even diagnosed with ptsd in the first place. But please continue on with your “informed” opinion.

@Draxa for real dude! This whole article is a slap in the face of people who have actually experienced real trauma irl and struggle each and everyday with PTSD.

@2legit2quit thanks for getting it bro. I just can’t with these responses anymore it’s ridiculous 😂

Yeah, well... try being a firefighter paramedic where you see this kinda stuff often. Shot up or stabbed individuals. Mangled bodies from car accidents. At least with this game, there's an end to seeing this stuff. Sorry if that sounds like I'm being a d**k but you have to have a good mental block for that kind of stuff. If not, maybe a career change is in order🤔

@zocker-hias Anyone who works in any sort of business would know that speaking out against your employer, be they a current or former employer, essentially gives them cause to fire that person and blackball them in the industry should they seek a job elsewhere.

If a future potential employer calls up the old employer and asks them about the applicant's job performance, the old employer can turn around and say that they spoke up against them and thus cannot be trusted to do a good job elsewhere.

It's wrong, it's unfair, but sadly, it's reality. That's why they always warn us here in America to not speak out against our employers on social media, lest those words come back to bite us when we go to apply for other jobs.

@Draxa When he's an animator and his industry is insular, based on industry contracts, and 'Another job' requires relocation, finding another job whilst still employed with the intention of breaking your contract isn't really a possibility. This is simply how the industry works.

It sucks about the bad workplace environment.

Seeing a therapist for work related stress? That's totally understandable. Especially if its a bad place to work.

Seeing one for media related nightmares? Sorry, everyone has them. So unless someone is having them due to actual trauma in their lives, I just don't get the point of wasting money on a headshrink.

Besides, this news source came from Kotaku. Not the most reliable.

Sounds like someone soft looking to be a victim. It’s Mortal Kombat, grow a pair

Others have noted but I’m just gonna restate this is fake news. It’s the same as when a horror movie comes out and the headlines are ‘Moviegoers Collapse At Screening of New Horror Movie’. It’s a publicity stunt. I’ll bet they used the same pitch for new Shakespeare plays back in the day.

I was once tasked with killing every NPC in a particular game I worked on. The game featured decapitations, dismemberment, all kinds of viscera. I recall feeling physically ill after the first day. I can only imagine what the artist felt like having to reference IRL photos and videos for countless hours. I know it was bad enough that warning signs were put up on the guy's cubicle for everyone else.

It really sucks the toll that feeding the public’s desensitized need for more violence and cruelty takes on people. I wish this person and those like him well. PTSD isn’t a competition; one person’s reaction to situations isn’t more valid than another’s. The human mind is a complex and brutal machine. Most people have phobias and no trauma associated with them; doesn’t make them less valid. No one truly knows how their brain is going to respond to anything and when you hit that tipping point it’s hard to come back. Peace and good heath to this person and all others.

Extend positive ki,

Ryu

@Phantom_R What the hell are you talking about? If you're not happy in your job, then leave it, because you're never going to put your 100% into it, and specially if it's causing monumental types of stress. PTSD, like they went to war? Jeez, you're the one who's snapping and doesn't know to differentiate games from actual events.

Sounds like a bunch of little b!tches to me. It's Mortal Kombat on modern tech... What the f#ck did These idiots expect?

@Edu23XWiiU Did you not read my comment? Read it again.

They thought, like you, that the imagery couldn't harm them because it was "just a game". By the time they learned the hard way, the harm was already done.

Additionally, many game developers can't "just leave". They would lose their income, and in this highly competitive industry, they might not find new employment for a long time.

@Phantom_R Better be unemployed for a while that working on something you hate and it's wrecking your life, according to that guy. It seems he could start fresh at other company, since it seems they accept everyone to exploit, if we want to believe what the accusers say.

@Kr96 lol the thumb downs are butt hurt people cause u spoke the truth

@Dm9982 you CLEARLY miss the point. It's not about making the game and it's not about playing a violent video game. It's about watching REAL LIFE VIOLENCE & GORE video.

@Yanick666 I didn’t miss the point, was merely saying that a game can have an effect on psyche, and if that’s the case, then real life videos would be 100x worse I’d imagine. On the New Years of 1999-2000 a certain website that specialized in gore and the profane, posted a a legit snuff film of a beheading in Korea. Of course, being a teen at the time, it piqued my curiosity if it was legit, so my friend and I watched it.... neither of us could finish our sandwich and we’re nauseated for a day or so.

So yeah, if the devs for MK had to watch REAL gore it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they had to seek counseling after the fact.

@Indominus_B [removed] What possible motivation could they have for lying? You say they want attention, COMPLETELY IGNORING THE FACT THAT THEY REQUESTED ANONYMITY. Tell me, how do you square those two things? How can someone want attention while also wanting to remain anonymous? Did you even stop to think about that for a second before you dumped all of your envy and bitterness all over the page for everyone to see?

Your "he doesn't know suffering compared to these other people" argument has no actual basis in any real reasoning. PTSD can be caused by ANYTHING the person in question finds traumatic, and there are plenty of people in this world who lack your callousness and find imagery like that to be disturbing as hell. If you actually knew anything about mental disorders, rather than just talking out of your butt like a stereotypical internet armchair expert, you'd know this. Trying to dismiss his suffering because other people in the world have it worse is to miss the whole point. Someone ALWAYS has it worse, just like someone always has it better. Would you like it, if every time you went through something horrible, people just told you, "get over it, you've got it easy compared to <whatever>"? No? Well remember that, because what goes around, comes around.

@thegroundbelowme Please mind your language!

This sounds very, very bad.