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"Why can AAA become a game dev crusher"
A [long] thread.
!["Why can AAA become a game dev crusher" A [long] thread.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Etf9IHoWQAAU7b_.jpg "\"Why can AAA become a game dev crusher\" A [long] thread.")
A [long] thread.
I won't take to much time mentioning crunch and harassment as those topics are already well known. Some people such as @jasonschreier 
and @erwancario 
are must follows to keep track of what's happening in the industry.
and @erwancario are must follows to keep track of what's happening in the industry.
Disclaimer : this is not meant to point any studio, this is an explanation of the different factors and symptoms that can explain the AAA's dev suffering.
PUBLIC EXPECTATION:
When a hit is released. The dopamine levels tend to get a little crazy. Money flows, fame does too. It can already be difficult to digest in itself. But then comes the least fun part of all.
The AFTER.
When a hit is released. The dopamine levels tend to get a little crazy. Money flows, fame does too. It can already be difficult to digest in itself. But then comes the least fun part of all.
The AFTER.
Now we don’t only need to have the same success as before. We need to do more. Whether it’s about the length, adding several mechanics, enhancing graphics. Usually, all of them at once...
All of that while keeping the same processes, because it's always the rush. Pressure.
All of that while keeping the same processes, because it's always the rush. Pressure.
Also, players frequently put a lot of pressure on devs. Gathering a large audience necessarily comes with tons of bad intended or frustrated people and trolls. Smaller creators will rarely be on such a converging spot and most likely attract a community that matches their values
THE FUN AND PASSION:
Fun and passion is an important factor that powers up game makers to give the best of themselves and push their own limits. It’s something that shouldn’t be undervalued as it remains vivid in many developers hearts. Risks are taken for passion.
Fun and passion is an important factor that powers up game makers to give the best of themselves and push their own limits. It’s something that shouldn’t be undervalued as it remains vivid in many developers hearts. Risks are taken for passion.
But passion is also seen by many as a mirage waved to teams when it's time to go for overtime periods, even if it's not said out loud, that's what the teams might end up thinking.
Also, the word “fun” is a perfect excuse to cover-up abuse, racism or sexism being seen by some as “part of the fun” or just "jokes".
All in all, fun and passion can justify overscoping and harassment. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-21/ubisoft-sexual-misconduct-scandal-harassment-sexism-and-abuse
All in all, fun and passion can justify overscoping and harassment. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-21/ubisoft-sexual-misconduct-scandal-harassment-sexism-and-abuse
THE GROUP DYNAMICS:
It’s a fact, when you’re a small number, communication is going faster. From being concentrated in a single room to being able to easily have a look at everyone's job makes forecasting of tasks and responsiveness easier for developers.
It’s a fact, when you’re a small number, communication is going faster. From being concentrated in a single room to being able to easily have a look at everyone's job makes forecasting of tasks and responsiveness easier for developers.
When something requires change, inertia will necessarily be lessened compared to a bigger studio, separate rooms, separate floors, separates buildings and sometimes even separate countries. At that point, even Time Zones are playing against the teams.
The group dynamic also can’t be the same as in a small studio. More people means more individualities, having different beliefs and opinions. Little dev teams tend to be groups of people sharing common values that agreed to go in a very specific direction from the start.
Working in AAA industry, I’ve met several people who were working there for the stable income only. Completely fine, everyone doesn’t have to be passionate about something to be legitimate at doing it.
It can partly explain why bigger studios, gathering people not having the same goals and ambitions can naturally struggle more to impulse a common direction to the team. Some very passionate devs might be downed by the lack of group dynamic.
There also might be frictions between departments.
Ex: QA may be seen as not being efficient enough. Even internally.
But QA is usually understaffed, running after more critical issues and can't have a look at everything as much as the dev teams can.
Ex: QA may be seen as not being efficient enough. Even internally.
But QA is usually understaffed, running after more critical issues and can't have a look at everything as much as the dev teams can.
Not receiving bugs on everything may rise suspicions on the producers "are they hiding some of them ?"...
You get the idea, miscommunication between groups of developers leading to potential mistrust, leading to anxiety, etc.
You get the idea, miscommunication between groups of developers leading to potential mistrust, leading to anxiety, etc.
SENSE AND OWNERSHIP:
For most developers, the ownership of what they do is something powerful and meaningful. Every parent, partner or child of a game developer already heard this “Look! I made this!”.
For most developers, the ownership of what they do is something powerful and meaningful. Every parent, partner or child of a game developer already heard this “Look! I made this!”.
That doesn’t mean that the work can’t be shared with others, but the more people will pass behind their stuff, the less the developers' fingerprint will be present. Many companies tried to tackle this issue in different ways..
For the making of Dead Space, the teams were being divided into autonomous pods responsible for one sequence or feature.
Ubisoft open worlds tend to use the rule of one LD and one LA, being given a district that they will push from the start to the end of the prod. But even there, handover of the district to another coworker or a simple cut can be decided, resulting in months of work flying away.
Lastly, let me have a word about brown out. Many of you are already aware of the Burnout disease that is happening when a worker is suffering from an overload of tasks and the emotional involvement of the worker is becoming too strong and unstable.
Brown out is a mental state of exhaustion that can appear when you can’t find sense in your job anymore. When the tasks are not meaningful and don’t make much sense in the bigger picture. Which is something that frequently happens when you are more than a hundred people...
... with departments that don’t always talk to each other… the project vision as seen by the direction team might sometimes be quite far from the expectations from the dev team or even far from the actual reality of what’s currently in the game.
Many studio employees also mentioned that they didn’t play the game they were working on, sometimes for weeks, months or even years. These situations are naturally leading to demobilized teams that don’t see what their goals are or why they are doing what they are doing.
The conclusion which is almost as long will be coming later, I reached the maximum amount of tweets to the thread. 
