BonusXP's hybrid office arrangement

After my Valve experience I'm now deeply interested in how companies arrange and maintain the actual space their employees work in. The first thing I do when I enter a studio is look beyond the reception area and poke around to see how much importance and thought went into their actual workspace. This can tell you a lot about a company. Ignore the marketing and just observe.

BonusXP (makers of Monster Crew and Cave Mania, a growing indie game developer near Dallas in Allen, TX) used feedback from everyone at the studio to decide how their new office would be arranged. They decided on a hybrid mix of a low-density open plan surrounded by normal offices, with some key desk additions to cut down on visual distractions and give devs a better sense of control over their environment.

They also have a pretty sweet optional work from home on Friday policy.



Key things about this space that I see:

• Tidy: no rats nests, shabby furniture, or giant collections of 2000 nerf guns and action figures.
• Opaque glass dividers on each desk.
• Small offices with windows surrounding the open office area.
• Real desks with actual storage space.
• Low density and lots of space around each mini "pod" of desks. 
• Blue color theme, which triggers a relaxing response.

They are working on a secret project with Stardock. You can read more about BonusXP on their blog.