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.”
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).