Q.
QA teams have always been frontline combatants when it comes to crunch. How far along are we from the c-word falling out of use?
Adam Rush (Keywords Studios): This is a term I’ve seen less and less over the years, and I would like to think that it’s due to better development timelines and less chaos as companies build better policies. Either way, I hope that video game crunch becomes a thing of the past - like using VCRs to record bug videos!
Steph McStea (Double Eleven): I think this depends on the studio, really. I know some studios have successfully removed any need for crunch for all departments, while others still have their teams crunching for months on end. I’d say with more folks speaking up it has sparked awareness on a larger (and more public) scale, so hopefully that has created a reluctance from studios to get to that point.
Tarek Nijmeh (PTW): The answer isn’t simple. It really depends on the kind of a studio. Some studios understand that QA is indeed part of development, so they focus on polish and quality. The same studios would allocate a sufficient budget and time needed for test- driven development. Which means QA can create and deploy more tools or invest in QA vendors, like PTW, to streamline the testing process and minimise or eliminate the need for crunch. Some studios, however, may still underestimate the time and resources needed for QA due to lack of planning or experience, leading to a stressful pre/post-release cycle, also known as crunch.
Neil Soane (Quantic Lab): Crunch was something that became the norm rather than the exception and I worked through many evenings of drinking sugary soda and eating pizza to get the game done. We have seen a reduction in teams pushing us to crunch for them. Companies are now looking at extended crunch periods as something to be avoided if possible and I tend to agree with that approach. When you see ads for new studios that specifically say “we don’t do crunch” that is great to see that aspiration. Whether that
truly happens is another question, but we will always be flexible with our clients and work around their schedules. We try to assist our clients in their planning so that crunch never becomes a requirement. Stuff happens during development; things don’t always go to plan so we will always be there to assist where we can. If crunch is avoided then we’re happy too, it’s more about the people to us.
Adriano Rizzo (Payload Studios): It’s very rare that development of a game goes smoothly, and I think the only way for us to completely remove crunch from the industry is to accept that and factor it into planning. Game dev isn’t an exact science, it’s an art, and crunch doesn’t allow for the creativity needed to make a great game.
Povilas Svetova (Nordcurrent): From my experience, the most frequent cause of testers dealing with crunch is not giving sufficient attention to test planning and thinking it’s not that important. Consequently, the testing schedule becomes abstract and lacks details/ depth. Spending a few days delving into the analysis and planning is better. The project’s quality assurance and control are a part of the project’s management, so proper involvement of the people related to the project helps avoid miscommunication, surprises, and inconsistencies. Of course, unpredictable situations which lead to crunch time are unavoidable, but it is possible to lower the probability significantly.
Erik Hittenhausen (Testronic): To be honest, I think we’re in an exceptional position within the industry, because, as an outsource vendor, we work to pre-defined budgets, plus hourly and overtime rates. We can ask teams to work longer shifts and at weekends if absolutely required, but they are compensated and not obliged to work those longer hours. However, these scenarios tend to be the exception rather than the rule, and we have the flexibility and resources to manage it.
“Game dev isn’t an exact science, it’s an art, and crunch doesn’t allow for the creativity needed to make a great game.”
Adriano Rizzo, QA lead at Payload Studios 42 | MCV/DEVELOP February 2023
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