New piece from Jason
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It's no surprise that The Last of Us II has led to months of crunch at Naughty Dog. But with 70% of the designers who worked on Uncharted 4 now gone, many are asking: How much longer can this culture last? And is the sacrifice really worth it?
As one Naughty Dog developer recently told me: "This game is really good, but at a huge cost to the people."
Many who have worked at Naughty Dog over the years describe it as a duality—as a place that can be simultaneously the best and the worst workplace in the world. Working at Naughty Dog means designing beloved, critically acclaimed games alongside artists and engineers who are considered some of the greatest in their fields. But for many of those same people, it also means working upwards of 12-hour days and even weekends when the studio is in crunch mode, sacrificing their health, relationships, and personal lives at the altar of the game.
"They do try to take care of you, providing food, encouragement to go take breaks," said one former developer. "But for the most part, the implication is: 'Get the job done at all costs.'"
This account of Naughty Dog's culture is based on interviews with 13 current and former developers, all of whom spoke anonymously because they were not given permission to speak to press, as well as reporting I did for my 2017 book, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, which detailed the turbulent production of Uncharted 4. As is often the case, we could not share many of those developers' personal stories of sacrifice without risking their identities, and as usual, we erred on the side of caution in order to keep sources protected.
A representative for Sony and Naughty Dog turned down interview requests with studio management and declined to provide comment.
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As Naughty Dog Crunches On The Last Of Us II, Developers Wonder How Much Longer This Approach Can Last
Some developers at Naughty Dog continue to ask themselves a question that has haunted the studio for years: Is it worth it?
kotaku.com