Tim Schafer Addresses Crunch In Psychonauts Documentary And How He's Working To Prevent It
Legendary game developer Tim Schafer discusses the importance of a healthy workplace and transparency in the gaming industry.
By Joseph Yaden on
As part of an interview with IGN's Rebekah Valentine, legendary game developer Tim Schafer shed some light on the ways he and his team at Double Fine are working to maintain a healthy workplace while also reducing crunch. Schafer is known for transparency, and you can see this on display in the 32-part Psychonauts 2 documentary from 2 Player Productions. This is unusual, given the high degree of secrecy in the video game industry.
Schafer, best known for his work on The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, and, most recently, Psychonauts 2, wants to make it easier — and healthier — for people to make video games. He notes that the documentary's goal is «pulling back the curtain and letting people see that they could probably get a job in games.”
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But making video games is no easy task, and is plagued by crunch, a term used to describe employees working extended overtime in order to meet deadlines. Despite being frowned upon, this practice is common in the video game industry, as many developers work upwards of 80-hour weeks (or more).
»It's hard, because people do want to work hard on something they love," Schafer tells IGN. «When they care about the games so much, a lot of people want to throw themselves into it completely.»
«Managing that balance between being really productive and making something you're proud of, but
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