...since I wrote in my blog. That's because I just crawled out of the long, deep, dark black-hole called crunch.
Unfortunately, crunch is still a reality in the game industry. While many people decry crunch as a moral outrage, the truth is this:
Crunch Happens.
I'm not kidding when I say that I have spent the last 90 days working 12 to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. Well, I did take a long weekend at the beginning of September. Anyway, I have been working A LOT and I'm proud to say the my first game as a lead programmer was launched on time and will be ready for you in store shelves before Christmas.
Whether you are in the game industry or just hear about the game industry, you hear a lot about the C word (no, not Christmas!)
Some romanticize it: late nights with pizza and other food items littering the desks. Sleeping in the couch. Days between showers. You get the idea. Loss of vision. Partial insanity.
Others scorn crunch. They decry the lack of overtime paid, the way it takes them away from their family. The pizza.
I don't complain about crunch (nor do I complain about people who complain about crunch). The truth is, I'm a natural cruncher. Before I came to the game industry, I worked 12 hour days all the time running my own business. The difference now is that I get to do something really fun and I'm relatively sure I'm actually going to get paid for it.
It is also true that my wife still lives in Colorado (she hasn't been able to move to Dallas, yet) and so I have no family here and nothing better to do.
I'm also a newbie to the game industry, so I think I would have been disappointed if my first game went out with no crunch time. I guess that makes me a romantic.
I applaud the efforts of those who work hard to try to raise the quality of life in the game industry. I understand that it is harder on those who do have spouses and children they'd like to see occasionally. But I don't think crunch will ever go away. Because crunch is everywhere. Whether you are in the game industry, an application programmer, or a student trying to finish school--at some point you just have to do whatever it takes to get the job done so you can succeed.
That's not just crunch.
That's life.
Robert
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4 comments:
hey man! i'm just been offered a job at a game company in the philippines and about to go training next week. i'm so excited. anyways, thanks for the blog man...it gives me hands-on ideas on the work
Fantastic. Tell me more. What is the name of the company? Drop me a line when you get there and let me know how things are going.
R
As I consider the possibility of joining the ranks of video game programmers, I would have to say that the idea of crunch time is what I fear most. It is important for me to be present for my family.
Do many of your co-workers have a wife and children? How do they continue to take care of their families when their work requires overtime? Would you say that your job is conducive to being available for your family in the case of an emergency?
The answers to your question mostly depend on the company you work for. For example, the company I work for constantly has a philosophy of constantly trying to avoid crunch. For example, we are implementing process changes right now as a direct result of the crunch of our last project that are intended to stop it from occuring in the next project.
I know at the company I am working for now, crunch was not mandatory until the final 30 days. Even then, people had outside obligations that meant they couldn't be here sometimes, and the company was fine with that. Before the final 30 day crunch, people worked extra as they could. I remember several times when people with families declined to work on the weekend exactly for that reason. On the other hand, the higher you get in the organization, the more such overtime is expected. So a couple of the managers related how their spouses where getting tired of them working so much!
Most people with families worked less overtime than those who had families. I am married, but my wife has not moved to Dallas yet. So, I was completely free and willing to spend as much time as necessary.
Finally, an emergency is an emergency. Although I've read and heard lot's of crunch horror stories, I've never heard of a company that wouldn't let an employee take care of something that was really urgent, even during crunch. The bottom line is, while your family may see less of you during crunch, a good company will still give you time off if necessary to take care of your family's needs.
At our company, you won't be able to take time off during the final months of a project. This means no vacation time, no out of town conferences, etc. On the other hand, a good company will also be very liberal on time off once the project is completed and outside of crunch time. For example, I just got back from 3 weeks of vacation. The company gladly gave me the time off, not because I had earned that much vacation, but because they realized that I had more than made up for it in the time I spent on the project.
Your questions are good quesitons to ask when you are offered a job. Ask how the company views crunch time. Be sure to understand if and when any overtime is paid (remember, most salaried employess won't get overtime). Ask if there is any comp time offered to help compensate for crunches.
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