Thanks (Gaming)

by Robot Chickens, Friday, May 29, 2020, 11:31 (1643 days ago) @ MartyTheElder

Wow, you go away for a few days and...

I skimmed the thread on Detroit/Crunch/Suffering/etc and it was quite fascinating.

Here's what I know. Creative projects that turn out great are the result of passion, vision, and focus. Most of the time there is some sort of crunch involved. Crunch can be good and it can be bad. Halo 2 was bad, but sort of in the same way the road building scene in Cool Hand Luke was bad. Somehow, regardless of the leadership screwups, the end result and camaraderie made it all worth it - even though it should have never happened and should never happen again.

I've never been a "suffering artist". Perhaps what I've made isn't fine art, but anything that I look back on fondly was made with passion, vision, and focus. There were times when I forgot where and when I was, which caused a bad balance in my life (might be considered suffering) but not really all that terrible. I've been married for almost 43 years (so far), have two great kids, and two grandchildren. There have been sacrifices made for my passion, but it hasn't really hurt all that badly.

Just about all Bungie problems were self-inflected wounds. I contributed at times, and at other times I was a target. Bad crunches are the result of bad internal management along with bad outside influences. Bungie didn't have a problem with shipping on deadlines. Bungie could stumble over managing the vision, which could lead to a lack of trust, and then - disaster.

It ain't easy, but it ain't all bad.

Hearing lots of perspectives from people at different levels in an organization is super helpful. I'm glad that crunch didn't leave you empty and depleted. :-)

Your work may not be considered "fine art" by whatever gatekeepers bestow that status, but it is certainly widespread and impactful. It has been a constant in the background of my life and I'm appreciative. I could wax eloquently about all the different places it has seeped in, but I won't bore you. Suffice to say, thanks.

[Real Talk] Is anyone else disappointed this isn't a workout video of Marty doing 50 crunches [/Real Talk]