Jason Schreier: As Naughty Dog Crunches On The Last Of Us II, Developers Wonder How Much Longer This Approach Can Last

[Deleted member 8196]

New piece from Jason

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?

Click to shrink...

As one Naughty Dog developer recently told me: "This game is really good, but at a huge cost to the people."

Click to shrink...

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.'"

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

More here

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

 

[ArmGunar]

Always sad to hear, hope they will find a solution fast

 

[cartoon_soldier]

Unacceptance to have months of crunch.

 

[Kamaros]

seems like a nightmare over and over again.

worrying really and makes me think about that piece from Amy Henning that AAA will not last long in this state.

 

[KoolAid]

Delay it again. With the coronavirus they might as well anyway.

 

[Bundy]

Yikes.

 

[Kalentan]

Always sad to hear, hope they will find a solution fast

Click to shrink...

I would say: "Delay it, give the dev's more time" but that seems to only end in more crunch.

 

[DJwest]

12 hour days. Damn

 

[CurseVox]

I mean just delay the game. I want to play it like the rest of us but I can wait.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

that sucks. goes to show delays don't necessarily happen to reduce crunch.

 

[nikasun :D]

So what do you do then? Vote with your wallet and don't buy the game or buy the game to support the developers?

 

[Servbot24]

I could understand a week up to maybe a month of crunch. But when a game is delayed, that basically means an extra several months of crunch. Unacceptable.

 

[eonden]

How the fuck is a turnover rate that high acceptable IN ANY FUCKING WORK?
Even if we leave all the "health" and "work-life" problems, even from a structural point of view (aka money which is what sadly the corporations care about), that is a ton of learning hours thrown to the trash can and time that will be needed to improve the newer employees.

 

[Deleted member 61469]

But with 70% of the designers who worked on Uncharted 4 now gone,

Click to shrink...

 

[Vylder]

Things will get even worse with more powerful consoles and higher expectations from gamers.

 

[OryxTheBakinKing]

I love Jason's work and the culture at Naughty Dog needed to change yesterday, but something about the way this story was written makes me think Jason has lost his fastball.

Crunch is horrendous and devs should unionize as soon as possible.

 

[Ralemont]

So what do you do then? Vote with your wallet and don't buy the game or buy the game to support the developers?

Click to shrink...

The developers need to unionize. Relying on consumers to be the source of ethical change is probably not going to go well.

 

[Legacy]

12 hour days is nuts, fuck that. Hope a solution can be found to prevent this, maybe less presure to put titles out by a certain time

 

[Naga]

Naughty Dog is well known for being one of the worst offenders in terms of crunch culture. Thankfully it evolved quite a bit those past few years for most other devs, especially outside of the US.

 

[Servbot24]

So what do you do then? Vote with your wallet and don't buy the game or buy the game to support the developers?

Click to shrink...

Us buying the game or not buying the game isn't relevant to the course of action we should take - either way you aren't doing "the right thing". Social media campaigns would be more effective.

 

[pswii60]

I'd rather they delay further than crunch. Would make a nice PS5 launch title anyway. But obviously this isn't about us, it's about Sony's Q1 FY20 financials.

I like how Jason got a plug in there for his book.

 

[hrœrekr]

Just delay it.
Or never do this type of game again. This industry doesn't need to be so perfectionist to be fun.

 

[Lant_War]

I mean just delay the game. I want to play it like the rest of us but I can wait.

Click to shrink...

https://kotaku.com/game-delays-cause-more-crunch-1841065204

 

[Hanbei]

You should know that, in other industries and other countries, crunch is precisely why some people killed themselves. They couldn't stand it anymore.
Does the video game industry have to wait for something similar to happen before someone says STOP?

 

[Deleted member 54292]

would games just never release without crunch or something?

 

[noyram23]

Sony/ND should consider trying to extend their dev time by at least a year, 4 years since UC4 is too fast and too costly (human cost) for the quality of product they produce. Let the "gamers" whine, they'll buy the product anyway, nothing is more important than human lives especially not just for a video game

 

[Mary Celeste]

AAA (damn near AAAA) game development is unsustainable. sooner or later there won't be enough bodies left to throw into the machine.

 

[Dinjooh]

Delay it again. With the coronavirus they might as well anyway.

Click to shrink...

A delay will only increase the length of the crunch. The problem is cultural.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Self-inflicted wound. It's the studio culture. Amy Henning said so in Troy Bakers and Nolan Norths Uncharted 2 stream.
She essentially said that they did everything they could as long as their could with non-existent pressure from Sony.

However, unionize.

 

[darkside]

The developers need to unionize. Relying on consumers to be the source of ethical change is probably not going to go well.

Click to shrink...

The developers there are voluntarily working crunch though? Like what does a union even solve here? The piece mentions how nobody asks anyone to work nights or weekends... they just do it anyway.

 

[Bigg]

The Naughty Dog philosophy of "People crunch on our games because they want to! Everyone loves working here!" always struck me as incredibly unhealthy and misleading. If everyone loves working there so much, then why is there so much turnover?

I am increasingly aggravated by the idea that not wanting to do crunch means you don't care enough about your work.

 

[Deleted member 1589]

This has always been something I've been worrying about with ND. They've always been open with their insane dedication to develop their titles, and I've always wondered how much burden it can put to the studio to always try to outdo their past works.

I dont think it can last, like Schreier, so I hope they can find a way to not bleed out of devs soon.

 

[Wrapped in Black]

After this game, I really hope Naughty Dog goes back to doing smaller, less ambitious projects. For some time. They've already proved themselves plenty. This relentless chase for perfection has got to stop.

 

[bane833]

Things will get even worse with more powerful consoles and higher expectations from gamers.

Click to shrink...

This has absolutely nothing to do with gamers. It´s pure and unadultered corporate greed combined with a gullible workforce.

 

[ThatMeanScene]

Unacceptable. I feel sorry for all of those people killing themselves to get this project out the door instead of spending time with their families.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

So what do you do then? Vote with your wallet and don't buy the game or buy the game to support the developers?

Click to shrink...

that won't change anything. game developers need to unionize.

 

[Prime2]

People saying delay it more didn't read the article when they did that it just meant more crunch.............

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

So how bout some fucking unions, amirite?

 

[Kerberosorthos]

I am wondering why they don't employ more workers then ? Month of crunch sounds aweful especially if it recurs with each new release window.

 

[Yuntu]

How the fuck is a turnover rate that high acceptable IN ANY FUCKING WORK?
Even if we leave all the "health" and "work-life" problems, even from a structural point of view (aka money which is what sadly the corporations care about), that is a ton of learning hours thrown to the trash can and time that will be needed to improve the newer employees.

Click to shrink...

This is what gets me the most. Almost any work I ever did wanted people that stay at the company for a long ass time so they don't "waste" time in teaching you their inner workings etc.

Like how can an industry see this is kinda be like "this is fine" in instances just as this? I mean they aren't stupid, they must realize that this isn't feasible longterm this way.

 

[Turkoop]

I wish the situations would got better after shipping UC4 and Lost Legacy...

 

[zombiejames]

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.'"

Click to shrink...

This industry really needs to get its priorities straight.

 

[Kamaros]

and it's likely have a HUGE team departure from ND as soon as TLOU2 is complete.

i mean even Bruce Straley in a position of power couldn't take it any longer, imagine for the average dev.

 

[ArmGunar]

I'd rather they delay further than crunch. Would make a nice PS5 launch title anyway. But obviously this isn't about us, it's about Sony's Q1 FY20 financials.

I like how Jason got a plug in there for his book.

Click to shrink...

Sony doesn't care, they already moved the game from Q4 to Q1 and just adjusted down their forecast
They have PSN, they don't need to release a game during this quarter or this quarter at all cost

 

[Gero]

Delay just means more crunch... Thats not how it works.

 

[Rosebud]

And this is after they ditched the multiplayer from the main game...

 

[Deleted member 61469]

I am wondering why they don't employ more workers then ? Month of crunch sounds aweful especially if it recurs with each new release window.

Click to shrink...

You think they are stacking bricks over there? Talent is hard to come by, especially with a studio like that.

 

[bsigg]

I wish the situations would got better after shipping UC4 and Lost Legacy...

Click to shrink...

If the culture at the studio didn't change after those releases, how could it?

 

[Judge]

AAA (damn near AAAA) game development is unsustainable. sooner or later there won't be enough bodies left to throw into the machine.

Click to shrink...

This is also my feelings. It's unacceptable

 

[Heidern]

I can't imagine game development will get any easier with PS5/Series X. Hopefully next-gen will last up to 10 years so that they have time to make games.