I'm a coder who does not work in the game industry but I had friends there. In North America, working in that industry is considered a sacrifice you make for your craft. One of the chief problems is dumbass managers who think a copious amount of overtime gets results faster.
Even testers are overworked and abused. I knew testers from Ubisoft Montreal and the minimum workweek is 50 hours.
A friend testing for EA once had a rush order with a very minimal and specific list of things to check before rushing a game out of the door. When it came up buggy, they made the testers sign it was their fault. The ones who refused had their hours slashed to zero without being fired so they wouldn't get paid and couldn't collect unemployment.
Isn't that illegal? Absolutely, they work on a "fuck you, you don't have the money to sue us" basis.
I suppose in Europe you have actual watchdogs that would tear them a new one, right?
Oh shit, my bad, for some reason I automatically just think of the indie scene when I think of the games industry. Yea, big publishers will just work you to the bone, but then if you want to make good games why would you be working for them anyway? Big mistake.
As for working hours - I'm not sure. I know that unpaid overtime is expected but not legally enforced in many places, but it would be taken in to account when cuts/promotions come up so it's tantamount to forced.
I'm a coder who does not work in the game industry but I had friends there. In North America, working in that industry is considered a sacrifice you make for your craft. One of the chief problems is dumbass managers who think a copious amount of overtime gets results faster.
Even testers are overworked and abused. I knew testers from Ubisoft Montreal and the minimum workweek is 50 hours.
A friend testing for EA once had a rush order with a very minimal and specific list of things to check before rushing a game out of the door. When it came up buggy, they made the testers sign it was their fault. The ones who refused had their hours slashed to zero without being fired so they wouldn't get paid and couldn't collect unemployment.
Isn't that illegal? Absolutely, they work on a "fuck you, you don't have the money to sue us" basis.
I suppose in Europe you have actual watchdogs that would tear them a new one, right?
Oh shit, my bad, for some reason I automatically just think of the indie scene when I think of the games industry. Yea, big publishers will just work you to the bone, but then if you want to make good games why would you be working for them anyway? Big mistake.
As for working hours - I'm not sure. I know that unpaid overtime is expected but not legally enforced in many places, but it would be taken in to account when cuts/promotions come up so it's tantamount to forced.
The stupid thing is that paid or not, overtime does not work. Tired workers are very unproductive.