[gameprogrammer] Re: crunch time

  • From: jakbri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • To: gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:18:00 +1300

DISCLAIMER : I am in the software industry - but not gaming....

Anyway, the way I see it you have a contract that requires you to work 40 hours a week and in return your employer will compensate you by giving you money. They would not pay you extra just for shits and giggles, so you should not work extra just for shits and giggles. You have no obligation to work more just because your employer wants you to.

If you are offered extra money for the extra time worked then its still up to you to work more or not.

This is just my opinion on how it should be, not a statement of fact since I don't know the labour laws from where you come from.

I have worked overtime before for no money, but now its strictly a good-will thing - if I work a few hours in the weekend, I take those hours off during the week etc....

Jake

Quoting Alan Wolfe <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx>:

Heya,

I'm fairly new to the game industry, just hitting my one year mark
earlier this month, but being a long time ameteur/indie game developer
having been doing it for about 14 years now on my own.

Our producer just asked that we work 90 hour work weeks until further
notice, and we have been working 3 months solidly at 60 hours a week,
with a couple months before that of crunch like that on and off.  We
of course are getting still only paid for 40 hours and are promised "3
days paid vacation" at the end of this project.  This is a fairly
reputable company w/ aprox. 60 employees and our upper management are
industry vetrans of aprox. 20 years each (and some of them you would
surely know about!)

I knew about the unpaid overtime going into game programming but 90
hour work weeks seem a bit excessive.

What's been everyone else's experience, is 90 hours just par for the
course sometimes or is that beyond reasonable in a modern day
"professional game shop"?

Im curious to hear what people at different companies have experienced
and what the overall climate of the industry is regarding crunch time.

Thanks a bunch,
Alan

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