@Hierohero: I'm definitely not the one to say whether or not a certain atmosphere existed at LucasArts; I was only there for a few years. There are people who were laid off a couple weeks ago who'd been there for almost 20 years. All I know is that when I started, people were already nostalgic about the good old days at Kerner and/or the ranch.

And the boss you describe has the right idea. Working lots of overtime definitely isn't unique to video games, but there is more tendency to burn out among game developers. I think it's because a lot of devs think they have something to prove (it's not "I get to play games all day!"), or what I describe here, feeling like you're lucky to have a job you like so you'd better show you're working really hard to compensate.

@Peter Silk: I think I spend more time talking about how I was a fan, and the net positives of the company, than accusing anyone else of making a big deal about nothing. The point of this post was to give my personal account of how I was a mega-fan and was hugely impacted by the company, and why I'm not upset about the closure.

The only reaction I'm actively criticizing is the complaint of big corporate monster Disney killing the creative little guys. It's not just trite and simple-minded, I don't think it's accurate.

I'd like to see more games than just the ones on Steam become available again, especially since Monkey 3 is one of the best games I've worked on, and I don't have a computer that can play it. Maybe GOG.com or somebody will be able to make a deal with Disney that they couldn't with LucasArts for whatever reason. I don't think it's likely, but maybe a zero-risk port that's just an additional revenue stream would be more appealing to a company that doesn't care about the old licenses than one that's holding onto them for future remakes/sequels/licensing/whatever.

As for fans being stuck in the past, whether it's a majority or just a vocal minority, there's a downright asinine streak that I'm happy just not to have to deal with. I can and often do go into full-on fanboy nerd about lots of stuff, and I'll be vocal if I don't like it. But anybody saying bullshit like "the real or fake Monkey Island 3 depending on your point of view", a game that was released in 1997, really seriously needs to get over it. That kind of thing hurt my feelings back then, but after 15 years of it non-stop, it's just annoying. It's why when TTG was making their Monkey Island game I said leave me as far out of it as possible. I already did my part; let the self-described fans keep on picking the bones clean and dreaming of a game that will always be perfect because it will never exist. They kind of ruined that part of fandom for me, so they can keep it.