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SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
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'Sandbox MMO' is a PTSD trigger word for anyone who has the experience to know that anonymous players invariably use a 'sandbox' in the same manner a housecat does.
When your head is stuck in the sand, your ass becomes the only recognizable part of you.
No game is more fun than the one you can't play, and no game is more boring than one which you've become familiar.
How to become a millionaire:
Start with a billion dollars and make an MMO.
'Sandbox MMO' is a PTSD trigger word for anyone who has the experience to know that anonymous players invariably use a 'sandbox' in the same manner a housecat does.
When your head is stuck in the sand, your ass becomes the only recognizable part of you.
No game is more fun than the one you can't play, and no game is more boring than one which you've become familiar.
How to become a millionaire:
Start with a billion dollars and make an MMO.
Anyway this is great news that CSE is committed to living up to their plans and are willing to sacrifice to meet them. Another sign that I was correct to back them in Kickstarter.
I too plan on living up to my commitment and actively participate is testing and providing feedback.
Nanulak
The point of crunch isn't some neanderthal test of endurance. It's meant to squeeze every last bit of production out of a team. But the truth is, and this is from more than one instance of experience, it just ends up amping up the mistakes and results in far more uninspired examples of so-called creativity. Not to even mention that game design is hardly a lethal proposition as is military service.
But, even the military understands crunch is pointless and even after intensive training are finding that efficiency and production go DOWN after prolonged attempts at heightened awareness/production. So much so that it resulted in the death of an entire M1A1 tank crew in the advance on Baghdad in Operation Enduring Freedom from fatigue due to the driver driving off a bridge and the tank landing upside down in a river. Much less the countless other examples that aren't so obvious.
Military Study
This isn't what good team management is about. It's about scheduling your time effectively so you DON'T NEED CRUNCH. If you get into crunch mode, then your leaders/producers/planners have failed. It's not the team that needs to be questioned about their endurance, it's the people on the production team or the leaders of the team that need to have their ability to plan questioned.
'Sandbox MMO' is a PTSD trigger word for anyone who has the experience to know that anonymous players invariably use a 'sandbox' in the same manner a housecat does.
When your head is stuck in the sand, your ass becomes the only recognizable part of you.
No game is more fun than the one you can't play, and no game is more boring than one which you've become familiar.
How to become a millionaire:
Start with a billion dollars and make an MMO.
Agreed, currently only working 4 days a week because even 9 hrs a day, 5 days a week, in a job that requires a lot of brain power and constant learning had turned me into a zombie by 10am. I could still do a bit here and there when needed, but my brain just didn't work. Any sort of creative thinking went right out the window and I was making lots of really basic mistakes which then took me more time to fix.
I assume these guys are all experienced enough to know what they are in for, but still, crunch mode is generally a terrible idea, and I would rather they take a bit more time and get it right than trying to rush for some arbitrary date.
Unfortunately the study you site is based on "Fatigue and its Effect on Performance in a Military Environment". Lucky for CSE they are not in a stressful military environment. There are many civilian studies on the other hand that more closely reflects working at gaming studio that conclude there is little to no difference between an 8 pr 12 hour shift as far as productivity per hour worked.
More on topic of the article... CSE want to make good on their stated plans and are going to try to meet that obligation. And unlike when you work for the military, the job and its hours are voluntary. [quitting is an option that the military does not offer you]
Nanulak
No need to hold back. Just tell us how you really feel.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
That is the purpose of a Beta,to show what you have and test it,get feedback and go back and fix it,improve it or rework it with additions.
As soon as you see time lines,it goes back to what we have seen of late from developers...FAKE Beta testing,nothing more than a prequel to sales or pre orders or simple marketing ploys.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Take your time setting everything up. Wait til the last min. to rush everything to completion just like college finals.
Always be surprised when this happens list:
The game will be launched before it's ready.
Gold sellers and bots become a big problem.
Players go through content faster then intended.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Yes, which is how you know it is worth the read.
Which had you read the report or even scanned it, you would have discovered that the adrenaline of a 'stressful military environment' is one way the soldier can combat the deleterious effects of compromised capability brought on by fatigue. And as you so accidentally pointed out, there is no major adrenaline inducing events in game design. Meaning, that the effects of fatigue are MORE likely to adversely affect a game design team. So... thanks for making that point.
So many you failed to include even one... Did you forget to because you were fatigued?
So this imaginary point you're making is that there is little difference in productivity between 8 and 12 hours? Well that's not very interesting or relevant since we're talking about not 8 vs 12 hours, but 40 vs 84 per week for several weeks on end.
No, It's a game design lead trying to suck up to his potential customers by selling an obvious screw up on his or his direct subordinates part as a positive display of how willing his 'team' are to get things done. What he is leaving out is exactly what I am saying about how the game will end up suffering because of his inept scheduling and his ham-fisted attempt at rectifying his mistake.
'Sandbox MMO' is a PTSD trigger word for anyone who has the experience to know that anonymous players invariably use a 'sandbox' in the same manner a housecat does.
When your head is stuck in the sand, your ass becomes the only recognizable part of you.
No game is more fun than the one you can't play, and no game is more boring than one which you've become familiar.
How to become a millionaire:
Start with a billion dollars and make an MMO.
Looks like we will have Beta 1 on time, avoiding another wave of bad hype
I know what you're trying to say, but just the state of crunch adds an expectation. Just like I said earlier about there is no such thing as a 5 day crunch. As soon as someone falls behind and shows up for a Saturday session, then that is the new benchmark and the others either step up or look bad.
Soon, you will have the situation listed in the report of an expectation of productivity that is not allowed to rest and reset that is expected in a cerebral activity.
I've never seen an instance of 'crunch' expectations that got better over time, only ones that got worse.
'Sandbox MMO' is a PTSD trigger word for anyone who has the experience to know that anonymous players invariably use a 'sandbox' in the same manner a housecat does.
When your head is stuck in the sand, your ass becomes the only recognizable part of you.
No game is more fun than the one you can't play, and no game is more boring than one which you've become familiar.
How to become a millionaire:
Start with a billion dollars and make an MMO.
"this is far from running anyone into the ground. This is all manageable hours. We're also keeping it light, everyone fed and rested. No plan to burn anyone out here. We all just really wanna get a bunch of stuff into the game!"
"We're are going at this in a very healthy way. I can very easily attest that this is one of the easiest crunches I've had to do as it's not very long, and we're really going at this as a marathon vs a sprint. We're making accommodations for those of us with family obligations. People are allowed to come in earlier and leave earlier if they choose. Some are trading weeknight time for weekend time. It's much more about the effort vs counting hours. We're also trying to make it fun for the team. Lots of snacks, live streaming, etc. It's more about the heart the team puts into it vs the exact hour counting. "
Maybe they will make this a positive work enhancement. Though I will never stop having an immediate and severely negative reaction to the term 'crunch'. I already work long hours without being coerced and crunch to me is like a girlfriend getting mad because I forgot Valentines, even though I brought her flowers the other 364 days that year.
'Sandbox MMO' is a PTSD trigger word for anyone who has the experience to know that anonymous players invariably use a 'sandbox' in the same manner a housecat does.
When your head is stuck in the sand, your ass becomes the only recognizable part of you.
No game is more fun than the one you can't play, and no game is more boring than one which you've become familiar.
How to become a millionaire:
Start with a billion dollars and make an MMO.
I agree that the last week will be crunchier, last day the crunchiest - that is, I expect eventual Beta announcement at the very deadline (end of winter) or very close to it, from either side.
I think they are just trying to let us know they are putting in alot of effort, don't see why there has to be so much negativity.