Surviving the Crunch
Sorry... it’s been a while, hasn't it? We just got over the final crunch to wrap up UFC 2009 Undisputed (which I'm an intern on). I’ve been consistently working up to 60 hours a week for the last month. Considering how bad many developers in the game industry get it during crunches (80+ hours a week, from what I hear), I shouldn’t even be complaining. But something has been bothering me about the way the game industry functions.
You see, the game industry is a business that is driven by production & marketing. Production is interested in finishing the game on schedule and under budget. To the game designer, that means you'll always be making games with limited time and resources. Marketing is interested in selling as many copies of the game as possible. To the game designer, that means you'll probably have to spend time assisting marketing with screenshots, trailers, public relations, etc. I’m finding that there is so much involved in making and selling games that there isn’t much time for personal growth. You just crunch to finish a game, then move on to the next one; work is more of a grind than a flow. Ironically, I think spending all my time making UFC 2009 is actually holding me back as a game designer.
Believe me, I want nothing more than to be good at my job and help make this game great. But in order to do so, I need to keep evolving as a game designer. That means learning new skills, researching topics of interest, and playing lots of games (not to be overlooked). In the game industry, it's difficult to find the time for all of that in between crunches. The more I think about it, the more I believe it’d be a good idea to take a sabbatical periodically. But enough fantasizing! UFC 2010 beckons, it’s time to get back to work…