Uncharted director criticizes triple-a development, says it can 'destroy people'

[SvennoJ]

potato_hamster said:

GoOnKid said:

So, is there any way out? Can anything be done? Who's to blame and what would be the solution? (I know it's not that easy and that multiple factors weigh in differently and after all it comes down to each specific game that is regarded, but I ask you anyway. You as an insider. What could put the pressure off?)

Honestly, probably a game developer's union of some sort. The film industry would be just as bad if it wasn't for unions protecting their workers from profit driven corportations. Otherwise, there's nothing you can do. There's hundreds of people who have never made a game in their life, who haven't gone through the grind of making a video game from start to finish that are willing to do your job, with the same hours, and same pay. It's hard to have a bargaining chip when employers know that.

... but if developers pulling the shit they do led to strikes, or walkouts, or triggered automatic financial compensations to those who are forced into the meat grinder, it would change.

I'd love to see gamer's reactions to a developer strike. PD get criticised all the time for being slow to deliver. I have no idea how the crunch situation is there, yet dare to take more than 2 years to make another release and gamers already start complaining.

But true, the film industry has learned to time manage projects, why can't game development studios learn. I've been there too, and with a group of passionate people it's always, let's try to get this in too, let's do this a bit different, etc, until it's too late and the list of issues that still need to be fixed has grown out of hand. Someone needs to step in and say cut, stick to the original script, don't promiss anything else, good enough.