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Rockstar employees were working "100 hour weeks" for RDR 2 [UPDATE: Rockstar's response]
- Thread starter Odesu
- Start date
In terms of sales a few thousand to 10K wouldn't be noticed. Not saying this and other places do not carry weight, but there is not enough here to make a difference in sales.
Goddamn, all those years and it got worse.
There has to be a better way to manage this, surely? In all those 8 years, staying in crunch time for this long a period is proper mismanagement.
Man, working in the games industry sounds like utter bullshit.
They had so much money and manpower they were able to properly model, test, and implement horse testicles physics.
You dont get that kind of attention to detail working a few dudes for 40 hours a week
You dont get that kind of attention to detail working a few dudes for 40 hours a week
Of course it isn't. They should be working harder, who needs a whole 10 hours outside of work anyway.
So because the pay might be good, an insane amount of hours is fine. Seriously fuck off, some value their free time more than some big pay day.
This isn't true in practice as you can opt out and companies will lean on you very heavily to do just that. Threats of no CoL rises, getting exiled to shit departments and general nasty workplace manipulation that is somehow not illegal. Several companies are also forcing their employees to become self employed on contracts to escape workers rights legislation.
There would have been more people complaining if games took even longer to release if crunch wasn't a thing.
Add two more years onto this game, and R* doesn't even release a game this generation. Whew. imagine the trolling they would get.
Add two more years onto this game, and R* doesn't even release a game this generation. Whew. imagine the trolling they would get.
Yeah, this is also a problem. I would gladly skip it if I knew others would. But they won't. So I won't, because I know that they won't and so why should I miss out on the game and have no effect on Rockstar? And I'm sure there's a small amount of people who feel the same way and will also still get the game regardless.
It's a really shit situation.
It really, really, really doesn't. This isn't the old place at its heyday. And even then. Almost any gaming subreddit has about 10x more influence than this forum.
It sucks but that's the industry. Games can already take over 5 years to make, you want 6 or 7? Eliminate crunch. Same thing with the budgets because now you have to pay your team for another year or two.
This is why everyone hates crunch in the industry but no one has an answer on how to fix it.
This is why everyone hates crunch in the industry but no one has an answer on how to fix it.
Yet, no one has tweeted how much they hate it. It sucks having to work so much, but if the job pays you well enough, then it should be worth it. There are people in the military or even other hardworking jobs that have to leave their families for months to years. This really isn't all that bad considering the wages that these guys make to sit in chairs and make video games.
I'm not saying it's right, but you know. It's their choice to work in the games industry for one. For another, it's not like Rockstar doesn't have a reputation.
I'm not saying it's right, but you know. It's their choice to work in the games industry for one. For another, it's not like Rockstar doesn't have a reputation.
Thats unacceptable. Rockstar are going to burn out so many talented people for this game. I cant blame any of them if the never work in the industry again.
I dont care how much pay they are getting, nothing can give them the time back and possible mental health issues that can arise from being worked so hard.
I dont care how much pay they are getting, nothing can give them the time back and possible mental health issues that can arise from being worked so hard.
Why is "crunch time" so notorious in this industry? Shit, with all the money these games and companies get they can't even manage it right?
This is the truth, it's bloody sad.
This is only a valid complaint if those hours are mandatory. Do we know if those hours are mandatory at Rockstar these days?
so I have no idea how this works in videogame industry, so quick question:
- is the extra hour paid as overtime? or it is more like "you either do it, or we fire you"
- is this optional? or basically do it or else...
- does employees have a contract, with benefits, etc..?
- is the extra hour paid as overtime? or it is more like "you either do it, or we fire you"
- is this optional? or basically do it or else...
- does employees have a contract, with benefits, etc..?
I don't wanna defend Rockstar, but there are people in other countries who also work 100 hours or even more, and while I do think it's crazy to work at Rockstar at crunch, I don't think it's even comparable to what other poor people are going through day in day out. And... you're probably wearing the jeans they made.
Bring back the fun of making and playing games. Not chasing a hollywood movie cinematic shit fest. So many games go for a cinematic experience with all the bells and whistles to chase a pipe dream of exposure and record profit sales.
Honestly wish it was easy for consumers to organize themselves such that we can buy a product by donating directly to employees with consolidated funds.
Rockstar management don't deserve a single cent for this incompetence.
Boycott campaigns are organized by charismatic and disciplined people. If you don't want to lead such a campaign you aren't saying anything useful.
Rockstar management don't deserve a single cent for this incompetence.
Boycott campaigns are organized by charismatic and disciplined people. If you don't want to lead such a campaign you aren't saying anything useful.
At a certain point you have to be so beaten down that you just become inefficient and it stops being valuable, right? How worthwhile for the company was that extra time?
This is what I've heard, too . The gaming industry pays less than other companies in software development because there's no shortage of young people willing to be abused for the privilege of working on a video game. I bet many of them don't realize they're underpaid until they burn out and start applying at companies outside the industry, either.
The hell is this?
This isn't happening because they're chasing "hollywood pipe dreams".
So really, it's their choice. They could literally make 'generic' software and make more money.
Who cares what forum dwellers think? Rockstar's first priority should be its employees not a few thousand angry tweets. Besides Rockstar could easily have hired more if they wanted to hit their deadlines without forcing their employees to work crazy hours.
Yes, other people somewhere have it even worse and that also sucks. This thread is about Rockstar employees though.
As if gamers would find something not to complain about. There are people in this thread who will still call aspects of the game they don't like lazy.
You do with 1000 dudes working 40 hours a week for an accommodating production period.
Crunch is cramming. That's what it comes down to. Rockstar has X production expectations, management requests development and implementation of Y features/content, and producers/shareholders expect the entire work to be completed in Z time. The issue with crunch is fundamentally at the core of shareholder/funding versus management inconsistencies, the former delegating an often strict limitation on time and money, and the latter poorly managing that time/money versus intended scope. If Rockstar scaled back their ambition and detail, there would be little to no crunch in Red Dead Redemption 2's existing production cycle. If shareholders were willing to extend funding and budget and move the release date, you'd still get the same ambition and detail with little to no crunch.
Cramming is the worst of managers/producers overreaching and over-promising at the cost of day-to-day staff.
I used to work 72 hours a week, 1 day off, it was brutal, i only had 9 hours for myself per day, left me with no time to cook a decent meal just get home and sleep, i gain weight because of that job, i would come home eat fast food and be sleeping in 40 mins, with weight gain came depression, to hell with anyone who defends these type garbage work environments...
Looking at take-two fiscals, basically doubling budget for 40 hour work week might have resulted losses in 2018 fiscal year, but IDK for certain.
oh no, waiting 2 more years for my virtual luxury toys just so that peoples lives are not ruined - the horror :'(
regarding expenses, these products make millions and millions of profit. CEOs and investors get a whole lot of millions of dollars, while the actual people who make the game get crunched to death. Perhaps there is something else at fault here?
Those amount of hours - and crunch in general - is horrendous and abusive. It is unbelievable and I know my dollars won't be supporting Rockstar.
Opting out is only for the averaged weekly working hours limit. The law still requires minimum time between shifts and a full 24hr break every week. Anything else you mentioned obviously happens but is illegal. And yes, big companies are notoriously good and evading the law.
So, why don't they go to work for a generic software company and get paid 5 times more (which surely it must be an exaggeration)?. Because you have the solution right there, if people move to better jobs the videogame industry would be forced to improve work conditions and salaries in order to get the specialized workforce they need. As I said before, this is not a case of quasi-slaves forced to work in some seedy vietnamese factory so they don't starve. We are talking about high specialized and trained professionals with no shortage of job options.
Been working 14 hour days for the last week in response to Hurricane Michael. Doing it because me and my crew can see the greater good. What's the problem? They want to make an amazing, immersive experience. That doesn't happen working part time.
Plenty of workplace studies have found that productivity starts dropping after about 50 hours a week, and that long workweeks over extended periods reduce productivity further. So it's quite likely that those employees suffered for little or no benefit for the game.
It means working 14 hours each day for an extended period of time. Do you understand how excruciating for a person's body and mind that must be?
He is a detective that needs all the info. Maybe their days are longer than 24 hours.