IGDA Split Over "Crunch Time" Development

LingNoi writes "Arguments between members of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) have been red hot over recent controversy because of a 'Studio Heads on the Hotseat' panel video (skip to 21:00). The fighting started when IGDA board members (that also happen to be studio executives) which were taking part in the discussions made clear their favor for 'crunch time,' a method of doing overtime on a game to make very tight deadlines. It has been seen as hypocritical that an organization whose goal is to create a better quality of life for developers is led by studio executives who are happy to overwork employees. The IGDA released a response which didn't take sides on the issue."

Comments

Crunch time rush

[phantomfive]

I used to love crunch time, it was like a rush. In school I always put off my assignments to the last minute, and when I was working, I always had deadlines that were too short, and it motivated me to work as hard as I could. But of course, there was always a period of being burned out afterwards.

Then one day I snapped. It seemed so stupid to be in a constant state of panic: it's not like the work actually got done faster. So one day I came up with the bright idea, "why not plan enough time from the beginning to get the job done? Then I won't need to panic at the end!"

It was hard at first, I had trouble figuring out how long things would take, but after a while I got really good, even when it involved figuring out how some mystery hardware works (ie, it's going to take a LOT longer than you expect). I still get things done just as fast, if not faster, and I am happier and more efficient. In addition I know how long things are going to take, so I can promise things to customers and deliver on the promises. And I have more energy to put towards productive things, not towards stress.

Re:Crunch time rush

[phantomfive]

That's unreasonable. If you are salaried, you should be doing about 40 hours of work a week. That doesn't include time surfing the internet and wasting time in other ways.

Don't let your boss push you around. He will try to get you to work as many hours as possible, many of them will manipulate you in miserable ways. Don't commit to do more work than you can reasonably do: push back and say, "sorry, if you want me to do that, it's going to take X more days." When the goals change be honest, say, "sorry, if we want to make that change it's going to take this much longer." Then let your boss decide if it's worth it or not. If he gives you a deadline that can't be done in a certain amount of time, tell him, "Sorry, I can't do that." Be honest. If you are working too hard like that, it's your own fault. You need to make changes.

Re:From a developer's perspective

[Skreems]

And, for the most part, we do it becomes we love games, and want to be part of that process.

Yep, and that lasts a couple of years until you realize that making games isn't anything like playing them, and that working behind the scenes on a product you used to enjoy has killed your enjoyment of them (not that you have time to play games anymore anyway). Seriously, the whole "games are so much more challenging/fun" thing is nonsense made up by people who want to justify being taken advantage of. Data is data, and moving it around efficiently is an interesting puzzle to solve whether it's polygons or account information.

Obviously there are some situations where that doesn't apply. If you work in a small shop where you get a voice in the story and gameplay as well, then there's some truth to it. But the large studios have entire teams for that, while the coders get to do the same thing they'd be doing at any other job, only for less pay and with a couple more anime action figures on their desk while they do it.

As any industrial psychologist or human engineer

[Jane Q. Public]

will tell you, "crunch time" is like last-minute cramming for exams: it is a terrible way to get things done. Error rates go up dramatically, morale goes down dramatically, it has latent health effects, and leads to shoddy product.

The reason management likes it, is that they get to put all the burden on the lowly workers, and then blame them if the outcome is less than ideal. In fact, the workers were probably already blamed for making "crunch time" necessary in the first place. If you are an employee in such a place, this should send up a huge red flag that says: your company suffers from very bad management.

Re:From a developer's perspective

[cliffski]

Crunch does not work. It just adds bugs at 2am that take 2 days to find.
I love games too, which is why I left mainstream dev and started up on my own. I work hard, and put a lot of effort in, but I don't 'crunch' any more, because I understand that coding at 2am is a disaster.
Its tragic than mainstream development has not realised this.

Bravado

[Anonymous Coward]

The thing that strikes me about the quality of life issues in the game industry is that there is always a struggle against it by people in the industry. While half of the industry is says things like "we need time to see our families" the other side seems to be from the point of "if you really had a passion for this you wouldn't have a family."

Mike Capps in this panel was a perfect example of this overwhelming bravado that causes so many good people to go outside of the industry for work. He stated pretty clearly that his employees have to prioritize work over family. He even went as far to say that one of the bonuses of having official crunch policies is that it allows his developers to have an excuse to give to their families as to why they never see each other. (Shortly after having divorce as an example of problems that can bring performance down. gee I wonder what happened at home)

There is a very large percentage of people in the industry who have a problem with seeing overtime and crunch as something to be proud of. Really it is the game industry equivalent of out of shape men at the gym crowding around each other lifting way too much weight and giving themselves hernias.

I know it is that way because I used to be one of them. I used to be proud of the fact that I was dedicated enough to work 80 hour weeks for months at a time, get swapped onto another team and start the 80 hr weeks again a few months later. Now that I am a little older, haven't been in the game industry for a while, and have a family I realize that it really is not worth it and how stupid I was for putting up with a work environment like that for so long. The fact that those environments still exist in such a large percentage, and even are encouraged to exist, is one of the big reasons why I haven't gone back to the industry.