Of gaming and crunch time

M3tal Daz3 · Aug 23, 2019

In a way or another, through various media we all have heard of crunch in the gaming industry. This phenomenon that tends to hang like the Damocles' sword over the heads of those employed under game developers seems to become more obvious as raising demands
from the game publishers keep multiplying to meet deadlines or profit margins.

This crunch comes in many different forms—sometimes it’s long and drawn-out; other times it’s just a few weeks at the end of a project—but for people who work in video games, it’s always there. And because most game developers work on salaries, it’s
almost always unpaid. In the past there have been class-action lawsuits settled out of court yet is becoming obvious that things haven't changed. Still many developers have to suffer through crunch cycles to satisfy
publishers' demands.

How does that make you feel as gamer and consumer of AAA games? What measures can be taken to avoid such working conditions?

:)

Saeleth

While I despise the concept, its a part of the industry, nothing can be done about it sadly.

The Cow Ruler

As a consumer it is sometimes disappointing to hear one of the games I really wanted has been delayed but I know people have to work hard on these things and their blood, sweat, and tears go in to it. I have never once been that upset about a delay because
i know about the awful conditions during crunch times. How to completely get rid of those times though is a whole different problem and is more sensitive. The longer you delay the game more people could become uninterested in the title and pick something else
up instead. I think having more delays or more flexible release dates is a better way to keep the crunch times away...or lessen them at least, but it could easily cost them a lot of sales in return.

annix

I think the conversation around this is really important - 2K recently came out and talked about how BL3 wasn't made under crunch, and I think more places need to use this as a selling feature. Also, just the fact that we're becoming more aware of how
our hobby effects workers and workers rights is always amazing.

BarrelBurrito01

Get rid of the deadlines. Some people can get really stressed out when they are under very tight timelines. Also rushing to meet deadlines means alot of ideas for games aren't added. Portions of the games aren't properly checked for bugs, control and
camera problems. If a game is buggy and isn't fun to play then the sales are effected. If you take time to work on one or two games at a time instead of two every month or so then quality could be better and profits could be higher. I would rather a company
release one good game instead of a dozen duds that the physical copies sit on the shelves at gamestop for a couple of years.

Zero420override

Short of more realistic release dates, or perhaps the majority of gamers being more forgiving and not complaining when there is a delay in the release of a game. I also think that everyone deserves fair pay and reasonable working conditions. (Getting off
my high horse now) lol

Of gaming and crunch time