Those long hours spent in the studio, well after the work day is done? They make video games worse. The idea of sinking hours that could be spent at home, eating dinner with the family into a game that needs to be shipped in a few months’ time is a controversial one, and Stardock's Derek Paxton believes there’s no real benefit to this style of development. He sees “Crunching” as a problem that continues to burn out some of the most talented developers.
“Companies crunch to push through on a specific game, but the long-term effect is that talented developers, artists, producers and designers burn out and leave the industry,” Paxton said in a recent interview with Gameranx. “The studio may have gotten Kung Fu Chicken done on time, but what about the next game? What about all the games that would have benefited from the talent and experience of the professionals that end up leaving the industry rather than live at their desk?
“This becomes even more of a concern with developers that aren’t in their early 20s. People with families and children are less willing to work 80 or more hours a week. Those extremely valuable voices end up leaving the industry, and we lose their experience and more mature worldviews.”
Smart studios should be able to structure development so that the last few months of work aren't the most painful. Unfortunately, what “should” be done and the way it actually work in practice are two very different things.
