Rohan Rahman is a game-loving man. As a student of computer science and engineering, his friendship with computer is very old. Thanks to him, playing video games on the computer in his spare time has also become his regular habit. Today, he has been involved in gaming for almost twenty years, playing almost all kinds of games. The favorite list includes many games like 'Grand Theft Auto', 'Assassin's Creed', 'God of War', 'Need for Speed', 'Call of Duty'. In his spare time he drowned in this world.
In this age of computer technology, many more like Rohan prefer to dive into the world of their favorite game in their spare time. There are many others out there who make a living by playing these games. This gaming world is like a dreamland for them. But what many of them don't know is that many people in the video game industry itself have to go through an unbearable, inhuman physical and mental torture to get a chance to get lost in this 'Disneyland'. This tragic chapter of the game-making industry is known as ‘Crunch Culture’.
What is crunching?
Crunch or crunching basically means that game developers have been working for a long time. Let's make the matter a little clearer. In America, a person works an average of 44/45 hours a week. In the countries of the European Union, the normal working hours of the people are around 40 per week. But a game developer is often forced to do more work for a variety of reasons than the usual weekly working hours. Their extra workload sometimes exceeds 100 hours a week or more. A developer often can’t even enjoy a weekly vacation; Under the pressure of work, they do not have time to pay attention to the other side. For this extra labor they often don’t get much out of the mine. This overwork of developers is known as 'crunch' in the gaming industry. Crunch is not just about overwork; On the contrary, other inequalities in the workplace of industries also fall into the crunch stage. Here are some of the ones I found to be interesting:
Unpaid Overtime
Instead of paying a certain amount of wages for overtime work, many companies offer their employees future leave and free-meals instead.
Lack of minimum wage
Many are looking for jobs in the game industry. So they often take less money than the salary allocated for their position. As a result, they are paid much less per hour, even if they work longer hours.
Contract Work
Although many developers enter the industry through independent contracts, at the end of the day they are also considered as salaried employees. They also do not get paid for overtime.
Tipsai system
In the past, the farmers were forced to lose their land by giving tipsi to the zamindar. Employees in the game industry often face similar misfortunes. Many companies force employees to enter into contracts that state that employees will work more than 40 hours (normal working hours) a week without additional compensation.
 Why is crunching?
In those seventies, game developers were thought of as nothing more than ordinary textile workers. Back then they were ordinary workers, not creative builders. David Cohen, a professor at The University of Texas at Austin, said authorities at the time treated them as if they had been rescued. As a result, the path of crunch culture has become easier. At present, as there is no specific legal way to stop crunch, young manufacturers are being exploited and crushed all the time.
Professor Cohen's experience suggests that some people become so obsessed with game-making that they volunteer to work overtime. According to the survey, manufacturers admit to crunch more than once a year. They have to work about 50 percent more than the usual 40 hours a week. Sometimes it goes beyond 100 hours.
Crunch is sometimes due to internal reasons, sometimes due to external needs. Gamers are looking forward to the release of new versions of famous games. So the producers have to sit in front of the computer for a long time to release the game according to the schedule. Once again, a few days before the release, the authorities suddenly decided to make a radical change in the structure of the game. After receiving feedback from the players through preview footage or pre-release beta testing, the authorities decided to make the final change accordingly. Such as deleting a mode or installing a new mode in its place, adding new characters or events, etc. In this way, game developers have to write and edit new programs in a short period of time. As a result, game creators become overwhelmed by the pressure of overtime, extra working hours, etc., while the quality of the game decreases.
Even a few decades ago, the amount of crunch was much lower than it is now. In particular, console games were crunched just weeks before the game was released. But with the advancement of technology, the type of game is changing. As the number of customers increases, so does the demand for games, so does the scope of the game industry. Game building requires more technical skills and resources than ever before. The rate of crunch is also increasing day by day. The Internet has an important relationship with this. Most of the games did not require any regular updates as the availability of internet was low before. But now more than 90 percent of game consoles are connected to the Internet. So a game keeps updating throughout the year. Also included is 'Downloadable Content' or DLC, which is available as you progress through the game. DLC can be new weapons, characters, avatars, maps, etc.
Impact on staff
"Every game of your choice is made with the hard work of the creators."
That's what Nathan Allen Ortega says about video games. He started working at Teltel in 2015. Though he is overjoyed to think that he has got the job of his dreams, he soon breaks his mistake. Sesame seeds work hard to settle ulcers in his body. According to Ortega,
"I worked with all the gruesome games whose creators were dying for months to free themselves from this vicious cycle of work."
At one time, being able to work overtime in the industry was considered an achievement. According to Mike Wilson, who has been involved with the gaming industry for many years, it all started with the Nerds. In the nineties, Crunch was seen as a 'badge of pride'. And those who did not want to join the flow of this 'bravery' have gradually disappeared from the industry.
The crunch problem first made significant headway in 2004. In November of that year, Erin Hoffmann, the wife of an employee of the game maker Electronic Arts, lamented her husband's crunch culture at work in a LiveJournal blog.
"My husband comes home late at night with a headache. A severe pain that will never go away. There is a digestive problem with it. It is also a long-term one.
Also in 2010, the wives of several Rockstar Games staffers opened up about their husbands' work situations. This spouse letter also raises questions about the company's mismanagement, chaos and overtime. However, almost 18 years after the publication of 'EA Spouse Letter', not much has changed in the game industry.
Brandon Kebenka, a former developer at Teltel, wrote on Twitter urging his colleagues not to work unpaid overtime.
"Take care of your body. The company doesn't even pay you a penny."
Game designer Byron Atkinson-Jones described Crunch's experience working in the British and Canadian industries.
"In my first job in the game industry, I worked like crazy. So one night we decided to go home on time. But fortunately, a director of the company found our room empty that day. It was seven o'clock in the evening. He took us to the meeting room the next morning. It was explained that if we left work early at night and returned, we would not be able to do the job for long. "
Jared Rhea, another former Attari employee, had to work 12 hours a day in his first job. Apart from this, two more hours would be wasted for travel.
"I would leave the house at 7 in the morning, I would not be able to return before 11 at night. After a few weeks, I lost my appetite. I could not sleep properly. It seemed that my body was not working anymore. I would try to fall asleep, or I would just sit and cry. "
Jared wanted to work in the video game industry, it was his dream. So he has endured hundreds of hardships. He did not let anyone see his own plight. Thus many workers face mental problems in the face of work stress. Jill Murray, a game-story writer, said that although the mental problems started, her managers did not believe them at all. On the contrary, the authorities thought that those who did not want to take this pressure had no place in the industry.
Although Fortnite, released in 2016, was not initially popular, the game became one of the most popular games in the world after the addition of Battle Royale mode. But most gamers have no idea that this huge success is due to the tireless physical exertion and mental discomfort of a bunch of people. In an interview with Polygon, one worker said he worked an average of 60 hours a week. There are hundreds more like him in that industry who have had to go through the same ordeal. He said he also knew workers who worked 100 hours a week. Another said he seldom slept, and was always in a bad mood at home. Getting a weekend off seemed like a huge thing to him.
Crunch complains
From 'Fortnight' to 'Red Dead Redemption', behind all the games is a sad chapter written by the developers with sweat and tears. Here are some of the crunch culture allegations and their reactions to the first-line game industry.
Rockstar Games
It took almost seven years to make the game 'Red Dead Redemption 2' released in October 2017! Many have had to go through hundreds of hours of work a week to create a game with thousands of animations, countless dialogues, and a long 60-hour story. Dan Hauser, co-founder and vice-president of Rockstar Games, said in an interview with Valchar that he was very proud.
Hauser's remarks caused a storm on social media. Gaming website Kotaku then published a report based on interviews with more than 75 former and current employees. Workers complain of working 55 to 60 hours a day, six days a week. They also said they were forced to work overtime as much as possible. At that time, workers were afraid of falling behind or losing their jobs due to unhealthy work competition. This causes anxiety and depression in them.
Feedback
Dan Hauser later said he spoke only of himself and a handful of workers who had gone through hundreds of hours of work. Rockstar doesn’t want them to ‘let any other worker do the same’.
Bioware
In early 2019, the makers of the games 'Anthem' and 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' were accused of bioware crunch. Poor planning and management during the creation of 'Anthem' created this crunch. Even though the game came at the very last moment of construction, many changes were made to the story, which put extra pressure on the developers. As a result, workers have to work at night.
Feedback
In response to their blogpost, the studio stated that they believed that the report accusing them had unfairly targeted some workers. Criticism of the response began when Casey Hudson, general manager of Bioware, acknowledged the problem in an internal message to his staff and promised to resolve it.
Treark
Many were crushed while making Activision's Trekark studio 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4'. Excluding 'Campaign Mode' and introducing 'Battle Royal Mode' in its place and increasing the working hours of the employees due to augmentation etc.
According to Kotaku, the biggest problem with this is the QA Testers. They have to work 60 hours a week.
According to Digital Trends, the company did not respond to a request for comment.