Author Topic: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)  (Read 32146 times)

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)
« Reply #290 on: October 15, 2018, 09:05:38 AM »
I don't think we've talked about the big issue that's been running around the gaming journalism sites this year which is poor labor conditions for game developers. Rockstar is the latest developer in the limelight.

Of course, there was that story years ago about Rockstar wives writing angry letters and there are so many companies that practice this that I think even with more awareness the hope for change is probably minimal. I know a lot of indie devs have quit big studios because of the unhealthy work week grinds.

I love games, I love the idea of big, ambitious titles that try to push things forward, but I hate the idea that so many people have to work 100 hour work weeks for something as trivial as a game. It's just a shame that entertainment has to come at the cost of some people being able to spend time with their families/live well-balanced lives.

As someone who works 90+ hour work weeks almost at least once a month (I work in biotech), I can certainly relate. I'm not advocating this should be the norm; however, there are passionate people in all fields of professional sciences/arts/etc. and these kinds of practices are going to happen, unless a union comes into play (which has more con's than pro's--in my opinion). Those "crunch" weeks certainly appear painful to an outsider (they don't sound like fun), they can in fact be wonderful times of productivity/creativity and most companies have reward programs in place to recognize that dedication. From the Vulture article, it sounded like those 100 hour work weeks were rare in the course of the 7-year development. Like most projects, it comes down to deadlines and the back end is considerably more challenging/demanding than the early stages. Work/life balances are important, but I think those people working those hours aren't forced at gunpoint. They want to see their visions delivered and it's a nature of the beast (in almost every industry), and I'm thankful for those people dedicated enough to put in more than what the bare minimum of their salary demands from them.

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)
« Reply #291 on: October 15, 2018, 02:04:20 PM »
Update: Here's Howser's statement regarding the Vulture article...

Quote
There seems to be some confusion arising from my interview with Harold Goldberg. The point I was trying to make in the article was related to how the narrative and dialogue in the game was crafted, which was mostly what we talked about, not about the different processes of the wider team. After working on the game for seven years, the senior writing team, which consists of four people, Mike Unsworth, Rupert Humphries, Lazlow and myself, had, as we always do, three weeks of intense work when we wrapped everything up. Three weeks, not years. We have all worked together for at least 12 years now, and feel we need this to get everything finished. After so many years of getting things organized and ready on this project, we needed this to check and finalize everything.

More importantly, we obviously don’t expect anyone else to work this way. Across the whole company, we have some senior people who work very hard purely because they’re passionate about a project, or their particular work, and we believe that passion shows in the games we release. But that additional effort is a choice, and we don’t ask or expect anyone to work anything like this. Lots of other senior people work in an entirely different way and are just as productive – I’m just not one of them! No one, senior or junior, is ever forced to work hard. I believe we go to great lengths to run a business that cares about its people, and to make the company a great place for them to work.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)
« Reply #292 on: October 15, 2018, 04:07:15 PM »
This tweet pretty much sums up my feelings. Management that doesn't try to protect employees from overworking or crunch seasons are both things that need to be addressed in the gaming industry and this response really doesn't address either. Rockstar also has a reputation for overworking staff and this sounds like more lame excuses that don't address that it's a real problem.

Look, I'm not saying you're a bad person if you get RDR2. The Witcher 3 had a lot of crunch work done on it and I bought and liked that game. I just think it's worth examining once again if there's a better way. Saying that no one at the company is making people behave this way when offering no incentive for people to work 100+ hours a week certainly doesn't sound right.

I don't know people who want to work 100 hours when they could work 40 hours and get paid the same. I know people who work 100 hours because it gets them bigger payouts or overtime or they're more likely to climb up the chain, all of which are ways your corporation is basically making people do it by incentivizing working longer hours.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)
« Reply #293 on: October 15, 2018, 08:11:21 PM »
That's the thing, they can say they aren't mandating it all they want, because I'm sure they aren't, but that doesn't mean it's not an expectation. Like if they want to get rid of someone, there are plenty of things that can be used as a reason when in reality the reason is that they opted to not put in the time, though that's a fault of labor laws and the expectation of work in general. Obviously there will be people who want to put that time in, or are fine with it/happy to do so because they just want to make the best game they can make, and with deadlines/it being such a huge project the whole thing ends up being slightly different than just an artist dedicating their whole being to their work.

Regardless, I'm buying RDR2, so what do I know.

I probably won't play a lot of (s)Quads in BOIV, so idk if that matter too much for me.

Solid Blake

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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)
« Reply #295 on: October 19, 2018, 01:13:00 PM »
Local game shops won't get Red Dead Redemption 2 until November.

I've never had the pleasure of a great locally owned video game shop (or at least one that dealt in new releases), but it's a shame that they're cutting out the smaller stores. It sucks for both the local patrons of those stores and the owners of those shops. I really hope this doesn't become a trend and it's lame Take-Two/Rockstar is using its weight to set a horrible example for the industry right now.

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)
« Reply #296 on: October 19, 2018, 01:32:37 PM »
Physical media is bad for the environment. Get hip, go digital.

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)
« Reply #297 on: October 21, 2018, 01:01:34 PM »
Hearing Ryan Davis at the beginning of this podcast almost brought me to tears:

https://www.giantbomb.com/podcasts/were-sorry-ten-years-of-the-giant-bombcast/1600-2495/

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)
« Reply #298 on: October 23, 2018, 06:49:32 PM »
The new Spider-Man DLC is pretty good, but all I care about is Friday. I’ve already taken off the following week and have an assortment of whiskey lined up. Yeehaw, it’s almost time!!

The Deer Hunter

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Re: What are you playing? 2018 SPECIAL EDITION (4 Seasonal DLC Packs Included)
« Reply #299 on: October 24, 2018, 01:35:12 AM »
I do wonder if Red Dead is going to be a disappointment based on expectations. I don't remember the last time a game had such high level expectations.