Game developers on business trips: "It's tedious and requires a lot of work"
Glen Schofield, former director of Sledgehammer Games, spoke about the importance of research activities when creating Call of Duty. However, the Kotaku publication compared his work trips with vacations and considered that the head of a large studio had nothing to complain about. Many developers came to Scofield’s defense. They explained why business trips are tedious and difficult work.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
How did it all start?
An interview with Schofield appeared in the new issue of Edge magazine. The former head of Sledgehammer Games said that it is incorrect to compare the development of Call of Duty with the pipeline.
He said that a lot of research work was invested in the creation of each game. “I studied World War II for three years. I’ve worked with historians. I spent eight days driving around Europe in a van and visiting places that then got into the game. I shot with various old weapons. You have to do all these things when you’re working on a game like Call of Duty,” Scofield explained.
It was for these phrases that the author of Kotaku caught on. In his article, journalist Ian Walker noted that Scofield’s work “suspiciously resembles a vacation.” “You’re traveling around Europe with an Activision credit card, not sitting in a studio and looking for bugs for 12 hours a day for a little more than the minimum wage,” Walker said.
As a result, the material provoked heated discussions on the web, and many people from the industry criticized the position of the author Kotaku.
Industry reaction
Many developers came to the defense of Scofield and his position. Among them was Palle Hoffstein, the producer of Massive Entertainment, who emphasized the complexity of research activities and business trips.
“Yes, sometimes it can be fun, but it is both tedious and requires a lot of work. Not once during a business trip did I feel like I was on vacation. On the contrary, it seems that you don’t stop working at all,” Hoffstein wrote.
This article, quite frankly, sucks. Research is hard work. Work travel is hard. Yeah its fun sometimes but it’s also exhausting and takes a toll. At no point on work travel have I ever felt like I was on holiday. If anything it feels like you’re always on the job. https://t.co/omOVCn7vDg
— PALLE! (@Palle_Hoffstein) July 16, 2021
According to David Satzinger, art director of Frictional Games, research trips are not at all like vacations: “After the last such business trip, I needed to take a break from work.”
The network as a whole negatively perceived the position of the author of Kotaku, considering the very analogy with vacation inappropriate.
“It’s like saying, ‘Gaming journalists get paid just for playing games all day long.’ This in itself is ridiculous and has nothing to do with the hard work that is required in any of these professions,“ said an insider Shinobi602.
This is basically the equivalent of: “Game journalists get paid to just play games all day lol”.
Which is itself ridiculous and not at all encompassing of the hard work that goes into either profession. A needlessly hostile piece. I expected better. https://t.co/2CqRnG4AA9
— Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) July 15, 2021
“Glen Schofield is a recognized industry veteran who works to the fullest. This article has a strange goal to portray him as “a man who goes on vacation in Europe,” while he managed and led huge teams and the development of AAA games for decades,” the Benji-Sales analyst is perplexed.
Some developers also recalled their experience with Scofield. They treat him with respect and believe that it is impossible to belittle his merits.
“Glen helped me get into the industry. He saw my work at the spring exhibition at my school, took me aside and invited me to his exhibition. He introduced me to the leaders in the team, encouraged me, even though he didn’t have to do it. A great guy,“ wrote Maya Oberg, who now works as an environment artist at 2K.
“I worked with this guy, and he was never lazy, no matter what level he worked at. This also applies to research work,” said Aaron Jason Espinoza, senior community manager at Insomniac Games.
Imagine trying to nitpick Glen Schofield about hard work. Having worked with the dude, he’s no slouch no matter what level he’s working on including research. When you’re developing for an audience as critical as the Call of Duty community, you better get those details right. https://t.co/gDHixG6JSa
— Aaron Jason Espinoza (@TheAgentOfDoom) July 15, 2021
Others simply criticized Kotaku’s material, noting its aggressive tone. On the one hand, you can write whatever you want. On the other hand, such articles do not help in any way to fight for the rights of developers.
“This is a passive-aggressive and rude article that discredits the importance of research and development needed to create literally EVERYTHING,” Belinda Garcia, narrative designer of Sledgehammer Games, believes.
Um… this article is passive aggressive, rude, and discredits the research and development necessary for literally ANYTHING to get made. It is further driving the ignorant narrative that making art is one big forever vacation and makes us vulnerable to harassment. https://t.co/xfRCnpbzsx
— Belinda Garcia (@bbcgarcia) July 15, 2021
Nick Calandra, editor-in-chief of The Escapist, noted that Kotaku should not be surprised by the negative reaction to his material. He also stressed that the article itself makes no sense and it only exposes Scofield in a negative light. But he just wanted to say that the development of Call of Duty is not an easy task.
