For the record (Gaming)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Monday, May 25, 2020, 09:11 (1646 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Sometimes you are forced. This is not like Canada where everyone gets healthcare. If you don't like the job, yet you need medication or are sick, or someone in your family is, then you have to stay at your job. You can't quit because then you lose healthcare, and Cobra is crazy expensive.

No, i’m aware of that. But once again, that is incorrect use of the term “forced”. Nobody is forcing these people to take jobs AT THESE COMPANIES. That is a CHOICE. Yes, people find themselves in situations where they feel like the crunch is too much and they want to get out but that would cost them their health insurance. That is a shitty situation, but it is one they got themselves into. Again, crunch surprises NOBODY. We all know that video game developers operate this way. So if somebody doesn’t want to crunch, don’t go and work for a video game developer!

Again, we need to remember that most people working at these big studios have skills that could easily land them jobs in other industries. It is really hard to get hired by one of these studios, precisely because they are looking for highly developed skills. Leaving a job is always scary and stressful, but I’m way less worried about programmers and animators being able to find new jobs that many other people.

It doesn’t matter how any of us feel about crunch, nothing will change as long as thousands and thousands of people are clamouring to get into the industry every year. This is supply and demand, 101. If people stop applying for these jobs due to crunch, then we’ll start to see more and more studios making efforts to entice people in through better hours and working conditions. But right now, every single person at a team like Bungie or Ubisoft has a thousand people behind them who are desperate to take that job. So if you are someone who doesn’t want to crunch, go work in a different industry, or better yet, start your own “crunch-free” development studio. You’d have no problem attracting talent.