It’s Possible to Create a Great Game Without Crunch
Crunch is one of the largest issues the video game industry is facing at the moment. Whether it’s Cyberpunk 2077 going back on its word to avoid crunch or a Duke Nukem dev getting aggressive towards an anti-crunch article on Twitter, it seems like everyone has an opinion. Now two of the devs who worked on the upcoming Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart have weighed in with their thoughts on the matter, and what they have to say probably shouldn’t be as shocking as it is. Insomniac Games Designer Grant Parker took to Twitter specifically to report that he didn’t crunch once while working on the game–in fact, he claims to have maintained a reasonable 40 hour work week and still turned out a title with an average review score of 89. He admits he can’t speak for anyone else on the team, but still exults in the fact that you can create a great game without suffering.
I'd appreciate ppl sharing this positive. Because it's important.#RatchetPS5 is at 89 avg score & I can't speak for anyone on the team but myself, but I didn't crunch once. 40h weeks the whole time.
It is possible to work on a great game w/o suffering.https://t.co/8GOzukf2sh
— Grant Parker (@GrantPDesign) June 8, 2021
At least one of Parker’s coworkers agrees with him. Animator Lindsay Thompson responded to his tweet with her own, where she stated that while she did work a couple of late nights to make sure things were finished, the production as a whole was completely crunch-free. Needless to say, she’s pretty thrilled about the focus on team wellness–and appears to believe that the lack of crunch was directly related to the creativity she was able to pour into Rift Apart.
While crunch remains a divisive topic, especially among major industry figures such as the founder of id Software, this seems like a step in the right direction. The video game industry is full of people who love video games and are often happy to work late if it means producing a better product. However, very few people want to engage in crunch.
Yes, I will also add, that I speak for myself. I do believe the team as a whole did not suffer crunch and our management certainly encouraged that.
— Lindsay Thompson (@Binzimation) June 8, 2021
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will be available on June 11th, 2021, for PlayStation 5.
What are your thoughts on crunch? Let us know down in the comments, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.