Crunch is an ugly monster that eats time, money, and energy; then spits out buggy games and unhappy employees! In light of our CEO Martin’s upcoming panel at PG Connect, I thought now would be a good time to take a look at one of his previous talks. For the opening of the social platform…
The relationship between game development and marketing can be a contentious one. Many times when a game gets a negative reaction from fans on release, the reason is as much about how the game was marketed than anything else. Making sure that the public’s expectations are aligned with reality is essential to the success of…
Any die-hard Trekkies out there should be familiar with the Scotty Principle, even if you haven’t heard it referred to as that. You may not, however, know how it can apply to game development. Read on and you can find out. But first, for the uninitiated… What is the Scotty Principle? The Scotty Principle (also…
At Tiny Hydra, we believe that Crunch should be avoided at all costs. With proper planning and vigilance, it can be in many cases. However, we recognize that disasters happen and even the best of intentions can’t always protect a game from last-minute upsets. Game engine updates break your code, global pandemics torpedo your best-laid…
Talking to people who are disillusioned by crunch, we hear about a scenario that is becoming more and more common. A game studio goes through an intensive period of crunch to release a game. Everyone pulls together, works hard, and manages to meet their deadline. A few weeks or months of relative calm ensues. And…
Unions are few and far between in the games industry and as we have discussed in our breakdown of crunch, there are almost none that can halt the production of a triple A game. Most of the unions on this list are small and relatively new. Similarly, most only exist in one country, and therefore…
The popularity of video games has exploded in the last decade. Because of this, there is a greater variety of people playing games than ever before. To keep up with the demand for great games, the industry is growing at a breakneck pace. That means lots of new people entering the industry and lots of…