Gamedev in Times of Pandemic – Developing AAAs on Couch
Covid-19 gradually bled through, slowly encircled the whole world, paralyzing cities, then countries; companies and entire industries. What effect has the pandemic had on development of video games? Well, we have good and bad news.
Table of Contents
- Gamedev in Times of Pandemic – Developing AAAs on Couch
- “We've wrapped it up in three days”
- Developing games, making dinner
- The Big Short – recession vs. gaming
- A lesson for the future
“We've wrapped it up in three days”
I asked people from these studios about a few key issues. How did it look from their perspective? At which point did they realize the virus from Wuhan will affect their lives? Everyone was suddenly cast in a post-apocalyptic movie. At least that's what it looked like if you were to be modestly fatalistic.
Kuba Stokalski, project lead at 11 bit studios, said that probably nobody could have foreseen the scale of the outbreak. "The moment I realized it was serious was when big events like the GDC were cancelled." If huge fairs involving tens of thousands of people are cancelled, you know something's going on.
It still is. 2020 was supposed to be the year of my first E3. Unfortunately, the biggest conference of the gaming industry fell victim to the pandemic, as have numerous other events. Everything was set. Unfortunately, instead of L.A., I'll be sunbathing on my balcony.
Joanna Staniszewska of Flying Wild Hog recalls:
We have already seen various crises in global markets, crashes and collapses of entire industries. A global meltdown affecting each and every industry is a different story altogether. I think no one expected such a degree of paralysis of the entire world.
Joanna Staniszewska, Flying Wild Hog
Following the news in late February and early March, and having first-hand information, I had the impression that, for some reason, the private sector reacted much faster than the public. I already mentioned cancelled business trips, but many services had reported concerns about future activities, and introduced changes to the way they operate long before nation-wide lockdown. The lockdown that could have disastrous effects on the entire gamedev.
WORK IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY
The pandemics aside, people need food. 11 bit studios and Flying Wild Hog are constantly recruiting (through online interviews), so if you have what it takes and want to try your hand at game development, check out the careers section on their website.
Until the very last minute, until borders were shut down and flights cancelled, I was bending over backwards to arrange two trips to direct voice acting sessions for our new game. It was all set up. Switching to remote work wasn't a huge deal – our employees were free to use home office as they pleased (as long as it didn't last forever and we could remember their faces).
Jarek Zielinski, Destructive Creations
I asked about the difference of perspective between the private sector and the ordinary citizens. Staniszewska replied that her company observed the markets in other countries and learned a lot from this alone. It's a great way to look out for crises and brace for impact in time.
For many studios, this is a completely new reality. Like any major change in the way companies operate, the transition to full-time home office of all employees requires time and proper adjustments of internal workflow. Ensuring internal communication within the team becomes crucial. In this case, the bigger the company, the greater the communication challenges to overcome.
Joanna Staniszewska, Flying Wild Hog
For executives, this kind of a challenge is always a test. In the best-case scenario, you want to be ready to make the right move even before the turning point actually occurs. Ensuring safety of the employees – although, as I believe, it mainly stems from the innate concern for thy neighbor – secures of the company's interests. .
However, as it turns out, not enough people have been developing models and scenarios for a pandemic, so most problems we encounter are unexpected, and everyone is pretty much in the dark. In case of our office, it fortunately was pretty straightforward – we made sure everyone can connect remotely, we bough cameras and headsets as needed. If anyone needed something extra, they could count on their colleagues and our CEO to deliver, say, a proper office chair to their homes. As I learned, it was pretty much the same in the studios.
The company reacted swiftly, because the job of the board – and believe me when I say our board is astute – is to prepare people for all kinds of turbulence: economic, internal, and external, so we started discussing it early on. We also have a resolute IT department, and they started preparations right off the bat.
Pawel Miechowski, 11 bit studios
You could say we've moved the company from the office to out homes in three days.
Kuba Stokalski, 11 bit studios
Interestingly, the pandemic caught 11 bit studios in the middle of moving from one office to another, which today still stands completely empty.
It's ironic, but if there could be a good time for a pandemic to hit a company, it was that – many software solutions were already implemented to help us accommodate in the new space. And they turned out to be perfect for taking our office home.
Pawel Miechowski, 11 bit studios
The people of Flying Wild Hog faced similar odds. The mandatory gear was ensured for employees, infrastructure was put in place and communication methods were established.
"It's as if we were working in the office – but now our offices are our homes and personal contact was substituted by videoconferencing" Joanna told me.
