3 ms·

I'm a bit over a decade removed from that industry but that largely lined up with my experiences(and from the tabs I've kept on things it doesn't seem like much

I'm a bit over a decade removed from that industry but that largely lined up with my experiences(and from the tabs I've kept on things it doesn't seem like much has changed). There's a constant stream of developers who have a high degree of interest in games so not only is crunch incredibly common but also compensation is significantly less(was about 1/2-1/3 standard SWE rates when I was in the industry). Combine that with publishers who pull recording industry contract style shenanigans and it's just a brutal industry. Tons of really interesting technical problems but even as someone who knew what they we going into at the time I advise people to think very carefully if it's a career option they want to pursue.

beej71 4y ago
100% this. I'm about 15 years out. But I did the math on my hourly rate in the industry and it was about $25/hr. Some of the smartest, most fun people I've ever had the pleasure of working with, for sure. But while I was working the rest of my life was thrown by the wayside. I quit after we shipped and rode my mountain bike for a year. It sucked because I didn't want to write code, a thing I'd previously loved. But it came back after a year of not working and a year of contracting part time. There were opportunities to get back into games, but I turned them all down. I just don't want to get back into that environment.