Following the positive reception from reviewers of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, a developer on the game celebrated its success while praising the lack of crunch time with Insomniac Games.Grant Parker, a game designer at Insomniac Games, took to Twitter to share his happiness with the game's average review score, while also insisting that the result came without any crunch time. "I'd appreciate people sharing this positive. Because it's important. #RatchetPS5 is at 89 average score and I can't speak for anyone on the team but myself, but I didn't crunch once. 40 hour weeks the whole time. It is possible to work on a great game without suffering," said Parker.
Parker did go on to specify that he could only speak regarding his own personal experience during the game's development. "Something others have pointed out which is worth mentioning. I can only speak for myself. I'm a white cis straight male designer. So I'm also working with some privilege for sure. But overall I was very encouraged by how my managers actively pushed for me to avoid burn out," continued Parker.
The term 'crunch' in the gaming industry refers to when game designers are encouraged to work extra hours. The exact nature of the overtime varies between developers, with it sometimes being described as 'optional,' while others report it as mandatory. The duration of the crunch can also differ between productions, with some lasting weeks and others months. While supporters of crunch will cite improving the game's quality and occasionally benefits such as extra pay or additional annual leave as positives, the overall consensus is that it is a harmful practice and has a generally negative impact on employees.
Developers such as Naughty Dog came under fire for their crunch culture during the making of The Last of Us 2. The situation was described by some to include as many as 12-hour working days, sometimes including weekends. Similarly, CD Projekt Red reportedly involved months of crunch during the development of Cyberpunk 2077. In general, while it is seen as beneficial to the game's production, it comes at the expense of the employees' physical and mental well-being.
The new-gen debut of Ratchet and Clank is an ambitious project that pushes the PlayStation 5's hardware to its limit. Despite having graphics that some have described as on par with a Pixar film, the game still reportedly runs at a stable 60fps. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart's biggest selling point is the ability to travel between dimensions, or levels, almost instantaneously, without loading times.
Developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart arrives on PlayStation 5 June 11.
Source: Twitter