Crunch is a Hell of a Drug
OPINION – We’ve all been there at some point: a deadline is looming and you still have work to do, but you know that you can get it done if you just knuckle under and squeeze some extra work time in. So what if you have to clock in for 12 hours every day for a week? It’ll be worth it!
Or will it?
Crunch is often cited as being a case of poor management, although in the video game industry it’s rarely this straightforward. If you’re a solo indie dev, then you only have your own deadlines to make and keep, but if you’re part of a studio then chances are you’ll have a publisher looming over you with its own deadlines and demands.
Always Looking For The Next Hit
One studio renowned for game development crunch is Blizzard, with former co-founder Mike Morhaime saying, during a panel at Gamelab in 2019: “In our early days we crunched crazy hours to get the games done. I think if you’re a small studio, you’re living or dying by the success of the next project, it takes a lot of superhuman effort – or at least it did for us.”
Blizzard have, of course, had massive success with multiple titles, from World of Warcraft to recent Diablo games. But every studio, whether it’s a AAA company or a small indie, is always hoping its next game will be as successful, if not more so, than the one before.
Morhaime makes a valid point, but something he neglects to mention is the idea of passion. Crunch doesn’t necessarily feel like crunch, or can even feel like a necessary evil, if you’re passionate about what you’re working on.
I Was a (Willing) Victim of Crunch
Back in 2012, one of my best friends and I started our own arts/education business. We registered the business, assembled a committee, held an AGM, the whole nine yards, and we did it in record time because we were offered the chance to organize and run a large-scale culture festival.
We were sharing a house and working at the same place for our day jobs (an art museum) so we were in each other’s pockets all the time, but we were determined and, most of all, passionate. We both ended up taking a week off our day jobs in the run-up to the festival itself and averaged 12 hour days.
We were hepped-up on coffee and enthusiasm, but the week after the festival we both crashed and burned. Luckily, the festival was a huge success and led to further job offers (including another festival) so we considered the crunch totally worth it. But, if it had failed, then it’s highly likely we would have called it a day and closed the business.
And this is where it gets dicey. Crunch is often considered a bad thing, and if it wears you or your workforce down, then of course it is. But if the end result is a huge success, then you have to wonder as to whether it was a success due to the crunch. If it feels that way, you’re more inclined to repeat the pattern.
Crunch is a Way of Life
Although there are game studios, like Bethesda, that promote a healthy work life balance (at least on its website), the likelihood of this being true is unfortunately low. Not because the companies don’t care, to be clear, but because crunch is such an ingrained part of (video game) culture.
How ingrained? Just take a look at the concept of game jams. These are almost all without fail designed to encourage devs to make something within a very strict timeframe – a weekend or a week are typical lengths. Longer ones do exist, but they’re the exception to the rule.
Granted, most don’t expect a highly polished game at the end of it, and many top games have come from game jam entries such as the recent success of Peak, a co-op climbing game. And yet this is part of the reason why they’re seen as acceptable: they can lead to success.
So where does that leave the video game industry? Unfortunately, while games made with a hefty dose of crunch continue to sell well (even if studio heads deny it) it won’t end. Companies are always laying off staff, such as the recent news that Microsoft is getting rid of 9,000 people, because everyone is expendable.
We are all grist for the mill and crunch is simply a by-product of machinery chewing people up and spitting them out. We either knuckle down and get on with it or kiss goodbye to the job. But, it’ll probably be worth it…right?
