Luke Plunkett
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Brendan McNamara, boss of LA Noire developers Team Bondi, thinks it's totally reasonable for his staff to be "killing themselves" with long hours because that's what this business is about. The International Game Developers Association begs to differ.
The IGDA, which can serve as a watchdog of sorts for developers, has launched an investigation into allegations of poor work conditions at Team Bondi.
Brian Robbins, chair of the IDGA's board, told Develop "...certainly reports of 12-hour a day, lengthy crunch time, if true, are absolutely unacceptable and harmful to the individuals involved, the final product, and the industry as a whole".
"We encourage any Team Bondi employee and/or family member to email qol@igda.org with comments about the recent past and current situation - positive or negative".
While McNamara (pictured) is adamant long hours were needed, saying "you just have to be prepared to do what you have to do" to compete against the world's top developers, Owen put it best when he said "Crunch is not a virtue. It's poor management coupled with abusive labor practice."
