Studios have the habit of churning out game after game to an audience just waiting to lap them up. Most of the time even so much as a second look into the working conditions of the staff members is not taken. Now the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has spoken out in response to the overtime concerns at Rockstar San Diego, condemning its alleged “exploitative, harmful” work conditions.
Apparently the wives of Rockstar San Diego employees claimed that the working conditions for employees of the Red Dead Redemption studio had taken a turn for the worse. And the IGDA is trying to raise awareness of quality of life issues within an industry at a time when economic factors may be leading up to greater pressures on businesses.
It said in a statement, “In any studio, the IGDA finds the practice of undisclosed and constant overtime to be deceptive, exploitative, and ultimately harmful not only to developers but to their final product and the industry as a whole. While our research shows that many studios have found ways to preserve quality of life for their employees, unhealthy practices are still far too common in our industry.”
In its most recent Quality of Life Survey comprising of 3300 game developers which concluded in December 2009, the IGDA found that more than half of the developers surveyed felt that they needed more time for themselves and their families.