⚙ Co.Labs ⚙ code + community: Crunch time: the last-minute all-nighter, the deadline rush, the sweat and Red Bull and sleeping at your desk. For fledgling companies, it can be a perverse milestone--one which has become largely taboo. But there's one corner of the tech industry where billion-dollar products still live and die shamelessly by crunch time: video gaming.
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It is crazy how the higher ups will just move up publication dates without taking into consideration how much work will need to be done on the project to make it a decent product. I was surprised when the one guy said that they had to cut some features and diminish others just because they didn't have enough time with the new due date. I feel like it is one of those things that the higher ups should have to experience. Everyone knows that they people who pushed the date up probably have never experienced that happen to them, or any crunch time at all. Crunch time is okay for like a week or two, but it shouldn't extend past there.
I know a lot of people here stay up late for a few days before a project is due but that is because they haven't scheduled their time according to the due date and the scope of the project that they are taking on. You can't even pull the "The teachers don't know what we are going through" card because I'm quite sure that they have. I have yet to pull an all-nighter because I get little chunks of the projects done throughout a long time. You shouldn't start a project the night before it is due, especially when you have crew that night.
I'm sure that the problem with the game industry is not a schedule problem. The people in charge just need to realize the time constraints. Sure they might be okay with cutting a few things, but the developers want to put out a product that they will be proud of, not a half-assed game. That is why they stay up and suffer through crunch time after crunch time. Like the one lady said, the developers are there because they like making games, not for the money. The higher ups should be glad that they have such dedicated people working for them.
It is interesting to hear about crunch time cases in areas of entertainment other than theatre. As a theatre student, it is easy to imagine these cases on a large stage due to the amount of complications that we see day to day with scenery, lighting, costumes, and sound. It is really easy to get behind with so many components needing attention all at one time. Maybe it is that I imagine video game development going on in offices that I hadn't really considered how they handle crunch time. However, I can definitely see clearer now how it affects them. I am curious though as to how entertainment companies finally decide to push an opening back. This doesn't happen often but it does happen. So, how severe is the crunch time before an opening is pushed back? Is there a crunch even when it is pushed back?
This article very clearly illustrates the issues that crunch time present in the gaming industry. The fact that all of the whistle-blowers felt the need to remain anonymous, at least at first, shows the coercion and power that the gaming companies have over their employees. I feel that there is certainly crunch time in theatre but that, at least in education and regional theatre, it does not last for more than a few weeks. This surely still can have physiological and social consequences but most likely not to the degree in the gaming industry. Of course, an artist could have multiple crunch times lined up back to back if they are working prolifically and this is where the problem would grow. In this case however, it is more self-inflicted than forced by an employer which would seem to create more problems in a way. It's easier to blame an employer than settle with something you're doing to yourself. It may be easier for a spouse to blame an employer than know that you've "chosen" to not have time to be with them.
Crunch time clearly represents the lives of every person in theatre. The shows we produce typically have a short period of time before an audience sees them. Eight hours in our wold is the bare minimum and can often get to 12 hour days. The article made me think about the gaming industry in a different way. Games these days are getting much more advanced and with realistic qualities and larger file sizes. Video games take a long time to develop, for the process is time consuming and requires many people. i also found it interesting that a long period of crunch time resulted in divorce and broken relationships. Although this is something that no employee wants to experience, if that is their job they must complete that task at hand. Someone has to do it and get it done.
I follow the video game industry pretty closely, and I hear a lot about crunch time. Something that I find really interesting is that you don't just see crunch time in triple A studios, you also see crunch time in indie studios. Even one person teams have crunch time. I deeply believe that crunch time is a problem that we need to solve if the video game industry is to grow in non monetary ways. Perhaps if video game companies set up standards to control the number of hours they can work. Or maybe if company start to pay by the hour past the 9 to 5. I think that if this problem is going to get fixed we are going to need to make a social change as well as a business change.
There are some clear similarities between the video game industry crunch time and the theatre world crunch time. I think that at the root of this is the shared idea that "the show must go on".
Well, these hours sound kind of familiar... At least we're not the only industry with ridiculous hours that can border on exploitation. One line from this article that really resonated with me was “You're not in the game industry because you like money. You're in the game industry because you have this passion to make games. So, a lot of crunch time is tolerated because of this passion.” Replace the words "game industry" with "theatre industry" and that's exactly what we were warned about in our very first PTM class about budgeting. Obviously this kind of culture isn't good for anyone- hours that prevent people from having a family or taking basic care of themselves are never going to create a good working environment, and you're going to burn out your employees. If your schedule is this demanding, it's a problem in basic management and expectations, not a problem with your employee's productivity.
It's interesting to think that video games also a preview (beta) and curtain date (ship).
This line really struck me. "In it's final form, it was lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and then some people were coming in on Sundays.”
Does that sound familiar to anybody? It does to me.
Very similar to what those before me have said, these hours are not unfamiliar to those of us who have chosen to work in the theatre. The hours are intense, the work non-stop, and yet we keep on chugging along. Crunch time is an interesting thing to consider, especially for those huge Goliath-sized gaming companies that keep pumping out successful game after successful game. It is no wonder that these games take quite a long time to come out, I would assume that these release dates are so far into the future to account for some of the inevitable crunch time that is sure to happen.
Well I suppose that at least it's good to hear that other industries besides ours suffer from crunch time. I would argue that any job that has a fixed deadline will fall victim to crunch time at some point or another. I think the take away from this article is that some crunch time is sustainable, but months of crazy long hours is simply burn out material. Like one of the sources noted, he was happy to stay longer hours in some scenarios, but not in others.
If nothing else, planners shouldn't make decisions involving the intentional use of "crunch time." That seems like a cruel and unfair use of your staff!
I know people say this sounds familiar and are referring to theater. But, as far as I know, in most theaters crunch time is just tech week and no one moves a shows opening up. That is one thing that I never like, when management thinks they are making a good decision because it'll make more money and that their employees will be fine. If the video game industry had crunch time just a week or two before manufacturing, then I wouldn't say anything as long as the devs knew what they were getting into. But planning and thinking its ok to do with your employees all them time, just no. That is what causes burn out. People need to rest and relax. They need a life. They are not mindless machines. Like Sarah said, this is about budgeting. Plan time accordingly. That means when the devs tell the execs their timeline, that is their timeline. They aren't just goofing off and taking extra time!
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