A developer who worked on The Last Of Us Part 1 mentioned that Naughty Dog didn't institute crunch - which is something the studio has been known for in recent times.
the last of us part 1
GamesRadar reports that the developer, Anthony Vacarro, is more or less a Naughty Dog veteran. He's been with the studio since 2010 and has worked on their biggest projects, including Uncharted 3, 4, Lost Legacy, the original The Last Of Us, and The Last Of Us Part 2 - the latter being an infamous example of crunch on its own.
He made the statement after the announcement that The Last Of Us Part 1 has gone gold:
Here's what he said:
This is the first time in my 13 year career, across multiple studios that I didn't need crunch to finish a game. Feels good, really good. Especially hitting the same quality bar as TLOU2. More work to keep doing but proud of the big changes so far to make the studio healthier.
For the unaware, crunch is when a game development studio basically forces its team to work longer hours just to finish a game in time. It's long been a moot point in the industry, with so many people considering it a terrible practice that doesn't exactly lead to games being good - at the cost of the developers' health and even lives.
Vacarro's statement is more or less just another proof that crunching on a game isn't doing people any favors. He mentioned that it's only the first time in his long 13-year career that he didn't need crunch to finish a game. That makes it clear that crunch has remained a widespread practice among game studios for so long.
He also mentioned how it "felt really good," because it really does. For game developers who have been forced into crunch so many times, not having to worry about crunch has to feel like a refreshing dip into a cold pool on a hot summer day.
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Is The Last Of Us Part 1 Proof That Conditions At Naughty Dog Are Improving?
A developer on The Last Of Us Part 1 saying that it never needed crunch could be more or less a sign of good things to come, especially at a studio who's infamous for gargantuan crunch.
the last of us part 1 dev
As previously mentioned, The Last Of Us Part 2 is a "perfect" example of the troubles that crunch can bring to developers' lives. One worker who was part of the project told Kotaku before it launched back in 2020: "This game is really good, but at a huge cost to the people."
Heck, even studio co-president Neil Druckmann has mentioned that "there's no one solution" for the studio's crunch culture. In a report by IGN, Druckmann even said that he feels putting a limit to work hours would "handcuff" those people who actually want to work and further polish the project they're working on.
Obviously, Druckmann's statements struck a nerve throughout the gaming industry. This is especially even more pronounced given that some triple-A studios are capable of producing massive, big-budget games without ever needing crunch. A perfect example would be Guerilla Games, who said Horizon Forbidden West was delayed to prevent crunch from happening.
Naughty Dog can very well do it just like Guerilla can. And if The Last Of Us Part 1 really never needed crunch, then it should be a priority moving forward.
Related Article: The Last Of Us Part 1 Is 'Not a Cashgrab,' Says Developer
This article is posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce