The flagship studio Naughty Dog regularly delivers games of outstanding quality. This has a high price for the developers involved. You are no longer exposed to long periods of showy workload with countless overtime hours.
In addition to size such as “e.g. Treyarch, CD Projekt and Epic Games, another large studio that stands out due to these so-called crunch phases, illuminates an extensive report by Kotaku. The now increasingly frowned upon practice is part of the corporate culture at Naughty Dog and exceeds what is common in the industry, the site writes.
Perfectionism produces overtime
Games of outstanding quality, full of meticulously designed details, are created because a “culture of perfectionism” is cultivated: Games should be great at all costs, says Kotaku. Crunch results indirectly from this. As the report outlines, the studio makes no secret of seeking perfectionists. People are hired who tend to work longer to deliver the best possible result – and who would sometimes do so at all costs. Naughty Dog therefore does not explicitly demand overtime, but does expect it, although calls for breaks and free meals are taken care of for developers.
This excessive overtime affected the development of Uncharted 4 and its spin-off Lost Legacy. In the second part of The Last Of Us, attempts were made to minimize overtime by planning ahead, but feedback on the E3 demo in 2018 had led to serious changes and “scope creep”, slowly increasing project scope.
Already at the end of 2018, almost all departments of the studio had worked in crunch mode, which was aggravated by suboptimal work processes and the lack of sufficient, structuring management positions. Kotaku writes, referring to former employees, that while it is possible to bring in your own ideas, it is also possible that employees only discover after the end of their current work that what they have produced is no longer needed. It is also difficult to simply go home because colleagues may depend on their own work or would need feedback on their work. “It is an impressively creative work environmentThe site quotes a developer,but you can’t go home“.
Wear as a result
The recent postponement of The Last of Us 2 hasn’t changed that either. For the employees, it simply means an extended crunch phase. Not all employees reject it, reports Kotaku, but it is viewed increasingly critically and reaches its limits with the associated culture. After Uncharted, Naughty Dog had to accept numerous departures from long-time employees.
Experienced developers were compensated for by high demand and the lack of alternatives with service providers and beginners. The demands on the work are still high, it is said, which exacerbates the burden if a result only meets the standards in the second or third attempt. What is emerging is a downward spiral.
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