“This is something we will not do again”, Naughty Dog addresses one of the main problems of the video game industry

Game news “This is something we will not do again”, Naughty Dog addresses one of the main problems of the video game industry

A reputation that doesn’t date from yesterday

Always faster, always stronger, always higher! The evolution of video games has coincided with the increased demands of players, and many studios have entered the dance of the buzz, the spectacular and the unexpected. How is it, we always need more! Unfortunately, what might have been normal in the 1980s and 1990s (with a new industry and young, passionate people, single and without children, who don’t care about working hours with friends) no longer fits our time. . Crunch is a disaster and some studios, starting with Naughty Dog, were quickly labeled for using it at unreasonable levels. While this method of criticism affects areas that go well beyond video games (especially animated films and the creation of special effects in cinema), the issue was addressed in Sony’s latest documentary dedicated to the making of The Last of Us Part II.

Like the big studios, Naughty Dog is renowned for its production quality, but this often goes hand in hand with periods of dire straits for staff. Thus the American firm earned the sad reputation of making the crunch a corporate culture. And this problem was addressed in the documentary dedicated to The Last of Us Part 2, which is a sign that Naughty Dog wants to put an end to such practices – or in any case, to minimize them as much as possible. Those in charge have apparently realized that the crunch is doing more harm than good to the project. Based on previous reports, working 12 hours a day, including some weekends, is no longer acceptable. Emilia Schatz, co-lead game designer for The Last of Us Part 2, says she can’t work with the same intensity she once did when she first came to the studio. It seems the company has realized this and put things in place.

Is the crunch problem really taken seriously?

However, as seen in the documentary and as the GamesRadar site notes, Naughty Dog tries to be conciliatory towards its employees, specifically addressing the implementation of free meals, but some insist that it is mainly to force employees to stay later. In fact, the problem is addressed, but through the prism of awareness, without paying attention to the actual harm and damage of such a practice. Director Neil Druckmann is still keen to explain that The Last of Us Part 2 took a different approach from the original, in the sense that it was a project that had real pre-production, with a story, beginning, middle and end. which are pre-determined.

In this sense, the documentary is still interesting because it highlights this awareness that is expressed in Naughty Dog Studios. Druckmann attests that the aim is to eliminate attrition and many partners agree, explaining that each new employee is told the following: “ Crunch is something we don’t want and won’t do again. » There’s no hope left for the staff that this will translate into reality, but it seems that the remake of The Last of Us Part I, just to speak for itself, was carried out without a problem.