How ever do you find the time to play ED and post on this forum? Forgive me, but something doesn't add up....
Timely article considering the spate of complaints - Video Games Are Destroying the People Who Make Them
- Thread starter MissMeYet
- Start date
How ever do you find the time to play ED and post on this forum? Forgive me, but something doesn't add up....
All fair points Harry but sooner or later in life you come to the cold fact that you don't want to live to work anymore but rather work to live. I did 32 years from trainee developer to project manager. I've done the crunch, moved on to observe others going through it and seen how it can damage a persons health. Hence I now live by the following priorities:
1. Personal Health
2. Family
3. Pets
4. Work
To many years of Work being the number one item on the above has shown me that I cannot and do not want to spend an entire career in that situation. Now I get to pick and chose the roles I take on without a care for the money (Already made that) but more for the challenge they will present me with and also how fun they would be to get involved with. Currently I'm helping a friend who wants to convert his biodiesel refinery to be fully auto mated. I'm working with systems I've never encountered before with a multitude of machine specific languages all tied together nicely under some code I and two developers are producing. I am getting to use all of my skills and knowledge to help a small business get on it's feet and it feels good.
I'd sooner spend the rest of my working life doing this than go back to the tread mill. And there I was thinking I'd retire early, never say never... Except to the crunch.
1. Personal Health
2. Family
3. Pets
4. Work
To many years of Work being the number one item on the above has shown me that I cannot and do not want to spend an entire career in that situation. Now I get to pick and chose the roles I take on without a care for the money (Already made that) but more for the challenge they will present me with and also how fun they would be to get involved with. Currently I'm helping a friend who wants to convert his biodiesel refinery to be fully auto mated. I'm working with systems I've never encountered before with a multitude of machine specific languages all tied together nicely under some code I and two developers are producing. I am getting to use all of my skills and knowledge to help a small business get on it's feet and it feels good.
I'd sooner spend the rest of my working life doing this than go back to the tread mill. And there I was thinking I'd retire early, never say never... Except to the crunch.
Sorry, I thought its you who've decided that they are "doing serious-jail-time crimes"? Go sue them if you want (btw not like nobody does anyway - some amount of litigation related to accusations of "fudged reports" happens all the time).
All what I was saying that obligatory financial/quarterly statements do not represent whole/true picture - there are plenty of ways to make them look better (and stay completely legal). Gaming the system, being smart, and all of that...
Btw that one of reason crunch so often happens before earnings report
Shareholders have to be made happy, and all...Also you saying staff being "abused" and "exploited" - not like they are proper slaves? They are free to leave and move to other industry. That's what I did. AAA gamedev is just like that - but you don't have to work here if you absolutely against crunch (and not in here for something else like making awesome games that everyone knows).
Btw there is also anothing thing with big "umbrella" companies - they are free (and known to) quite willy-nilly shutdown their individual studios (and let everyone go). Shareholders are happy, earnings still good (umbrella is big). Only people unhappy are who worked in studio they've decided to shutdown and who's years of developing franchise just thrown out with the trash.
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Computers in the prep room, continuous fluid injections (I won't go into details....unless you want me to), downtimes between scenes and calls. Sometimes at particular scenes, I will have to wait until one unit is finish before I can step in. While waiting, I will scan the forum from my tablet, writing comments on my notepad to be copied/pasted later. Obviously, 20 hour days don't happen each of the 7 days (either for me or game developers), but the "crunch" is always there, and life interruptions are continuous. Even the radio show has been interrupted due to business schedules that come up. ED is squeezed in with the help of coffee and prescription medication.
All fair points Harry but sooner or later in life you come to the cold fact that you don't want to live to work anymore but rather work to live. I did 32 years from trainee developer to project manager. I've done the crunch, moved on to observe others going through it and seen how it can damage a persons health. Hence I now live by the following priorities:
1. Personal Health
2. Family
3. Pets
4. Work
To many years of Work being the number one item on the above has shown me that I cannot and do not want to spend an entire career in that situation. Now I get to pick and chose the roles I take on without a care for the money (Already made that) but more for the challenge they will present me with and also how fun they would be to get involved with. Currently I'm helping a friend who wants to convert his biodiesel refinery to be fully auto mated. I'm working with systems I've never encountered before with a multitude of machine specific languages all tied together nicely under some code I and two developers are producing. I am getting to use all of my skills and knowledge to help a small business get on it's feet and it feels good.
I'd sooner spend the rest of my working life doing this than go back to the tread mill. And there I was thinking I'd retire early, never say never... Except to the crunch.
All good points that you introduce as well, Bran. I commented on the article because when I finished reading it, I realized that I was a bit offended. Game developers overworked and stressed? You mean like the millions of us who are out there, the non-game developers? Believe me, I have respect for game developers, and I know that they must have their "hell". I know that there are times that they feel as though their work is misunderstood, that it isn't "easy". I guess my feeling, after reading the article, was one of "Yep....well, join the crowd". Its an ugly truth that if you want the cash, if you want the lifestyle that you desire, you usually have to take a large chunk out of you (or win the lottery). For everyone, the amount of cash, the type of lifestyle, differs, and thus they set their priorities. Obviously, the priorities that you set forth for yourself are good, and it would be advantageous for others to have those same priorities.
There is no denying that the crunch and grind, the push-push-push, will exact its toll. Some see the effects and are able to change their habits or outlook, others are given a reprieve after the illness befalls them. As for myself, I guess it just hasn't gotten crazy enough yet. Perhaps this is why I have no family (other than Helen, the longtime GF), and I have no pets, because others need not be inflicted with this craziness. I guess I live somewhat under the Hunter S. Thompson motto of:
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow!""
For what it is worth, the youth would do better following your footsteps instead of mine.
Oh well, time for a whiskey.
It's weird AFK is an accepted term in the Dev world,
I might try AFW - Away From Work.
"Hey boss I'm AFW today, OK?"
I might try AFW - Away From Work.
"Hey boss I'm AFW today, OK?"