And then I wondered: why was I even trying to compromise? Zynga has an Austin studio, where several good friends of mine work. Yet I had never applied to Zynga. Why? Because the company’s values are completely opposed to my own values, professionally and creatively. Because I believe that developers are at the front lines of game development and deserve to be treated well, and I didn’t trust Zynga to do so. All this was still true – except that their complete unwillingness to negotiate with me only confirmed my concerns. Why on earth was I even considering joining?

It’s not easy to pass up a lucrative salary and solid benefits, of course. But I realized that ultimately I was letting myself be guided by simple inertia. I was part of a herd, and that herd was all going in one direction (and doing so with great urgency). I would really only be doing it for the sake of going with the flow, and responding to pressure to either conform to corporate expectations, or be left behind.

These are not good reasons to join a company whose values are the opposite of your own, or to compromise your ideals, or to give up control of something you rightfully own.

—

Game designer and programmer Shay Pierce turned down a job from Zynga when they acquired Draw Something maker Omgpop.

I really admire that kind of courage, to do what you really feel is the right thing.

You might consider spending a buck on his game, Connectrode. It looks awesome.