The Crunch and its Impacts on the Health of Game Industry Developers
Abstract
This work aims to conceptualize crunch, a practice used in the games industry characterized by uncompensated overtime, and how it can potentially affect the physical and mental health of workers who constantly suffer this type of work. The research studies the relationship between the perpetuation of this practice and the organizational and sociocultural mechanisms that permeate the software industry, especially for game development, through a literature review, reports taken from specialized games’ websites, and reflections with a mental health professional. Finally, we expect to shed light on the issue and raise awareness about normalizing extreme workload conditions.
References
Bittencourt, R. N. (2022). Vida em burnout. Revista Espaço Acadêmico, 233:228–237.
Bonzatto, E. A. (2009). In Tripalium: o trabalho como maldição, como crime e como punição., pages 1–19. Direito em foco.
Cote and Harris (2020). In ‘Weekends became something other people did’: Understanding and intervening in the habitus of video game crunch, pages 1–16. Publishing Press.
Cote, A. C. and Harris, B. C. (2021). The cruel optimism of “good crunch”: How game industry discourses perpetuate unsustainable labor practices. New Media & Society.
da Cruz Medeiros, K. A. (2020). Imprensa, videogames e exploração de trabalho: os efeitos sobre as denúncias de crunch na indústria de games. Revista Temática, 16(8):–.
da Veiga Dias, F. and Pasinato, L. P. B. (2021). A sustentabilidade social das práticas comerciaislaborais da indústria tecnológica dos videogames a partir do direito brasileiro. Scientia Iuris, 25(3):176–191.
Forum, F. (2023). Amid spiking burnout, workplace flexibility fuels company culture and productivity. Future Forum Pulse, pages –.
Izidro, B. (2019). Criando games sobre pressão. [link].
Jozin, R. (2020). Crunch time in software development: a theory. Master’s thesis, ISTE - Institute of Software Technology.
Laudon, K. C. and Laudon, J. P. (2012). Essentials of management information systems. pages 1–440.
Pascarella, L., Palomba, F., Di Penta, M., and Bacchelli, A. (2018). How is video game development different from software development in open source. pages 392–402.
Prieto, D. and Nesteriuk, S. (2022). Crunch: Analysis of the phenomenon in the independent game development scene. Revista GEMInIS, 13:5–15.
Schreier, J. (2017). Sangue, suor e pixels, volume 1. Harper Collins.
Sotamaa, O. (2021). Studying game development cultures. Games and Culture.
Thompson, J. B., Brandão, W. d. O., and Avritzer, L. (2008). A mídia e a modernidade : uma teoria social da mídia. Vozes, Petrópolis, 10 edition.
Woleck, A. (2002). In O TRABALHO, A OCUPAÇÃO E O EMPREGO: UMA PERSPECTIVA HISTÓRICA, pages 1–15.
Bonzatto, E. A. (2009). In Tripalium: o trabalho como maldição, como crime e como punição., pages 1–19. Direito em foco.
Cote and Harris (2020). In ‘Weekends became something other people did’: Understanding and intervening in the habitus of video game crunch, pages 1–16. Publishing Press.
Cote, A. C. and Harris, B. C. (2021). The cruel optimism of “good crunch”: How game industry discourses perpetuate unsustainable labor practices. New Media & Society.
da Cruz Medeiros, K. A. (2020). Imprensa, videogames e exploração de trabalho: os efeitos sobre as denúncias de crunch na indústria de games. Revista Temática, 16(8):–.
da Veiga Dias, F. and Pasinato, L. P. B. (2021). A sustentabilidade social das práticas comerciaislaborais da indústria tecnológica dos videogames a partir do direito brasileiro. Scientia Iuris, 25(3):176–191.
Forum, F. (2023). Amid spiking burnout, workplace flexibility fuels company culture and productivity. Future Forum Pulse, pages –.
Izidro, B. (2019). Criando games sobre pressão. [link].
Jozin, R. (2020). Crunch time in software development: a theory. Master’s thesis, ISTE - Institute of Software Technology.
Laudon, K. C. and Laudon, J. P. (2012). Essentials of management information systems. pages 1–440.
Pascarella, L., Palomba, F., Di Penta, M., and Bacchelli, A. (2018). How is video game development different from software development in open source. pages 392–402.
Prieto, D. and Nesteriuk, S. (2022). Crunch: Analysis of the phenomenon in the independent game development scene. Revista GEMInIS, 13:5–15.
Schreier, J. (2017). Sangue, suor e pixels, volume 1. Harper Collins.
Sotamaa, O. (2021). Studying game development cultures. Games and Culture.
Thompson, J. B., Brandão, W. d. O., and Avritzer, L. (2008). A mídia e a modernidade : uma teoria social da mídia. Vozes, Petrópolis, 10 edition.
Woleck, A. (2002). In O TRABALHO, A OCUPAÇÃO E O EMPREGO: UMA PERSPECTIVA HISTÓRICA, pages 1–15.
Published
2023-08-06
How to Cite
GAIDZINSKI, João V.; VIEIRA, Jonathan F.; TEIXEIRA, Carlos H. M.; FERRO, Mariza.
The Crunch and its Impacts on the Health of Game Industry Developers. In: WORKSHOP ON THE IMPLICATIONS OF COMPUTING IN SOCIETY (WICS), 4. , 2023, João Pessoa/PB.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2023
.
p. 131-139.
ISSN 2763-8707.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/wics.2023.230417.
