crouton days

Geoff has posted his take on labor practices in the games industry in response to a Gamasutra article from last month. Geoff is a vet from two company’s mentioned in the article, so it might be worth a look. An exceprt:

employee of the week

Obtaining accurate values for how much work remains and how long it takes do not spawn from “tribal experience” or “years in the industry.” They are generated by spending a considerable amount of time and effort evaluating the skills and work styles of your employees, looking at process, identifying bottlenecks, and reigning in and anticipating “customer fastidiousness.”
 
I feel that a big reason that progress towards elimination of crunch is spotty at best has to do with the fact that many mistake it for hard work. If I put in my time down in the trenches I can wear it like a badge of courage then expect the same later in my career from those that I manage.

Links:

Not Everyone Feels the Crunch [Gamasutra Article]

Gamers Crunch Because They are Scared, the Zone is a Lie! [Geoff's response]