Hello, my name is korny and some of you know me as a former beta, then sweet elite’s former clothing artist, that also (singlehandedly) drew the animated mini-game with momo and the little coffee and coin icons. I never had a proper introduction which is why probably most of you see me for the first time now.
I didn’t plan on publicly making a statement, but it has been brought to my attention that the se management said rude and nasty things that – most importantly – are just plain bullshit and I cannot let this be said without a proper response.
If you click this link you will find a google doc with various screenshots, showing what exactly has been going on that made me (& cecile) finally leave the team. I made the doc and the screens a few days prior to leaving (April 2019) and already shared it with all the betas and some staff back then, but also some people on tumblr who have come into my dms asking me to clarify what happened. I feel the right time has come to share this link with the public, although it might be a little confusing to understand for some.
Now, what bothers me the most about serenas ugly behaviour from the past few days is the topic of “’lazy’ cecile”. I’d like to clarify that this entire post is MY opinion, and was written because *I* am angry about this, I was not forced to write this whatsoever by Cecile or anyone else. I’ve kept my mouth shut so far bc I could not be bothered, but this is where I draw the line.
“Lazy Cecile” has been something even BEFORE my beta days (which started in January 2018). Serena used (and still does, as you can see in her latest posts) to call Cecile “lazy” a lot jokingly, but saying it that often didn’t make it funny anymore, and it certainly isn’t a nice thing to say to a good friend. She continued to say it even after Cecile approached her not to.
To add, Cecile is - if not THE - most hardworking person that ever participated in the production of the game. While juggling a full-time job, she also drew AND redrew ALL the sprites, for a short time also drew ALL the illustrations WITH customization (2 genders x 3 three different hairstyles), AND new backgrounds because An already left the team. And that’s just the art she did! She also took part in writing large chunks in almost every chapter, even writing an entire big ass chapter 7 ON HER OWN, which she now has posted on her blog @retconomics (which Serena in response tried to make us afraid by telling us how merciful she is by not suing us for copyright. Your case wouldn’t be that strong honey LMAO not without a contract anyway 😉 ). ALL WHILE WORKING A FULL DAY JOB AND GETTING A DOG, WHICH ALSO REQUIRES A LOT OF ATTENTION. Meanwhile, it took Serena several months to almost a YEAR now, guessing from the release date, to write chapter 6 and it wasn’t a rare case for her to magically loose the file or it getting corrupted. So please tell me how the fuck cecile is lazy? In any fucking way?
Her time schedule was very demanding, so of course we had to cheat a little bit, which brings me to my next point: professionalism. Serena claims that Cecile was very unprofessional, “cutting corners” and her art “unpolished” and “not up to par”. In her example of ‘proper’ professionalism, serena used this image:
Illustrating how the new artist does things better and more polished.
This is where I call huge, MAJOR bullshit.
I have worked on the sprites with cecile. Due to the tight deadline Serena has given us, Cecile would give me the rough sprites and I would finish them & look for any spots that were smudges/did not have clear edges or full transparency. Wanna know how these files looked like?
Hm! Absolutely no fucking different! The expressions were all on one layer, unlike in the example above, but as Serena said: she didn’t say anything against that. That was because Serena wanted to pump content out, which, fair enough, and she needed everyone in the team to “set priorities”, as she said. And adding so much customization was NOT a priority at that time and she knows it.
However, if it DID bug her that much, it’s her own fault if she won’t say “hey Cecile, could you put all the brows on one single layer, all the mouths etc”. And if her excuse is that Cecile lacked the time, I could’ve done it just as easily, as I worked on the sprites anyway and did not have the huge workload cecile had at that time. If the manager is unhappy with their product, they should say something, otherwise nothing will happen. So, if Serena was unhappy with the ‘lack’ of expressions (lets be real tho, 5 expressions isn’t lacking at all)? Her fault.
“Not to mention, all of the sprites will be polished and the artstyle will finally be consistent throughout the entire game (something that our old artist really struggled with at times). Also, both Alita and Ariel are awesome at what they do, take growth and sustainability seriously, and constantly look for ways to improve and build onto the world of Sweet Elite.” Taken from here (x).
Ah, yes. You want consistency and yet hired two artists with two very different styles, and even *advertised* it as something good. Also, if somebody improves art wise, they rarely stay the same way. Art is FLUID. Art CHANGES, especially while improving. And if ceciles art was so unprofessional looking and unpolished for you serena, why didn’t you just tell her to stop drawing? Why not “get rid of the garbage” sooner? Would have saved both you and cecile the clownery that has happened and is going on right now.
(taken from here)
Also calling Cecile a weakness while she literally held the weight of the entire game on her shoulders while having to provide so much art and writing while you failed to write even one chapter during all that? You’re pettier than you care to admit.
I literally could go on and on about this, but this is already 1k words, so im gonna wrap this up. But I am so mad about this “boo hoo there is a narrative spun against me ☹” “I was creatively constricted by my cowriters” (also bullshit lmao, but another topic). You’re just a big liar and an awful person overall, and don’t get me started on your boyfriend.
While you’re getting “rid of the garbage”, please also remove MY minigame which I was forced to make while I was collecting money for my dog, and pay me 100€. You can have the clothes as I actually *agreed* on doing that for no money. 25€ for all the coffee and coin icons would be appropriate as well.
Now, as a former fan thats been on this journey since 2015, I am very dissapointed in how this game is developing. You’re taking this game into a direction you promised not to - not diverse, full of clichés, mainstream. As a fan, this broke my heart. A lot.
I hope you learn that your actions have consequences and that I will NOT be quiet if you decide to spit some lies again.
Ok but this is some major bullshit. I am so, so sorry for the way you and Cecile and other artists/contributers to this project were and are still being treated. This is absolutely shameful behaviour on Serena’s and her bf’s part, and I’m so incredibly glad that you spoke up about this.
1.Of all, how fucking dare Serena not pay you? You guys were part of the team for years (Cecile) and you, Korny, were a minor at the time- and all the devs did was leave you without a contract, without any security of any kind, and in the end, with no payment? And then they have the GALL to keep information from you and talk badly about you? Is this the kind of “respect” you give to your fellow colleagues and perhaps even more importantly, friends? In other news, how can a business major such as Serena start a business without,,,,having any monetary foundation to build her company on?? You don’t fucking start a business by saying “yeah well,,,,,I can’t pay you, actually. you’ll have to work for free a long while” and then continues to not pay them?? even tho the game has made money?? Why no Kickstarter?? In any case, that’s irresponsible and unfair as fuck to your staff, who depends on you for pay. So a notion to y’all…don’t fucking start a business without 100000% knowing that you’ll be able to pay for your staff from day 1. Like this seems self-explanatory??
2.Cecile, despite having a full-time job, not only did AND REDID the sprites, she also had to do THE BACKGROUNDS (which weren’t even originally in her job description), AND HAD TO WRITE? AND ALL OF THIS FOR NOT A PENNY? 3 YEARS OF HARD WORK, and y’all DARE to not pay her? AND THEN ACCUSE HER OF BEING LAZY AND BEING GARBAGE? DESPITE THE FACT THAT THAT KINDA WORKLOAD IS ABSOLUTELY INHUMANE FOR A SINGLE PERSON TO DO?? HOW FUCKING DARE YOU. Cecile, despite all of this, still went on to be the bigger person, doesn’t hold grudges, gave up on her pay so that An could be paid, and despite all of this, doesn’t trash talk you in public. She is an amazing, hard working human being, and you know what she has, unlike you people? A spine. She put up with all of your bullshit, yet you people never treated her right…You don’t deserve her. Unlike you, she has class.
And then there’s Korny who had to do mini-game related work, despite not being paid a cent, being a minor, and that, too, not having been in her job description.
3.Okay but what in the manipulative, reverse psychology, abusive bullshit is going on?? Not only does Serena’s bf somehow say stuff to the stuff that he?? may or may have not spoken to Serena about, but he pushes the staff around like a tyrant?? I had to stop several moments while reading these screenshots in order to puke. Saying things like “this is not a democracy” and “this is my business, I can do w/e the hell I want” like, fuck you, no, you absolutely can’t. This is a fucking team effort, which means that everyone gets ALL the information and that EVERYONE is treated fairly, and with respect and dignity. And then?? He dares to pull a reverse psychology stunt by lying to them in their face, these hard working people he claimed to be friends with. Well guess what. Friends don’t lie to their friends. They also, y’know. PAY THEM. :))))) And then there’s the fact that?? Serena and her bf don’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation like?? This shit HURTS , especially when it comes from your own so called friends but they?? Never seem to fucking get that no transparency and no pay and no respect are??? SHITTY THINGS TO DO??? ILLEGAL THINGS TO DO?? And yet all they do is spin it around and explain how they are hurt. A laugh. Especially when it comes with such bs excuses like “apparently you didn’t like me as much as I liked you” like sweetheart that’s abusive as shit and entirely made up, if you had any such thoughts why not, idk, talk to people?? If you had problems, why not talk to people you view as friends?? And all the while never once trying to empathize with the other party? Never saying “I’m sorry that we did not pay you, I’m sorry that we disrespected, lied, and exploited you”. No, instead, Serena projects her own failure to deliver/be productive onto Cecile, who was arguably the most productive. The pettiness and envy in all of this is not only cruel, but utterly childish and abusive.
I’m so fucking sorry that y’all had to go through this. You deserve so, so much better and I’m just,,,,so fucking disgusted by all of this. I wish all the former staff the best, and Korny, I’m so proud of you for having spoken up about this. Thank you so, so much, and I wish you guys all the best for the future.
In other news, if I were you, I’d think twice about supporting SE from here on out. God knows how they’re treating the new staff. That working environment is toxic as shit, and I’d wish it onto no one.
