Quality games shouldn’t have to rely on crunch. In an interview published earlier this year by N4G, executives at London-based publisher Modern Wolf (Necronator, Out There: Oceans of Time) share how their studio seeks to redefine the way publishers and developers work together.
Within the gaming industry, the relationship between publisher and developer is, canonically, one-sided. Publishers want dev teams to produce the best game possible in the shortest amount of time—often pushing creatives to the brink of total collapse.
In a story published in March of this year, Kotaku’s Jason Schreier famously brought to light many of the industry-wide, crunch-related issues that have been circulating just out of sight for years. Those who choose game development as a career understand that long-hours and tight deadlines are just part of the price you have to pay for a “dream job,” but developers at Naughty Dog (Uncharted, The Last of Us) reveal that the standard at many studios is, “get the job done at all costs,” even if that cost is detrimental to an employee’s mental and physical health.
Modern Wolf says this doesn’t have to be the case. Great games can and should be born out of a positive working relationship between publisher and developer. “Most developers don’t work with the same publisher more than once. Even if they create a big hit, they release the games themselves, because they seldom have the impression that working with the publisher provides them with sufficient value. We would like to change that,” says Modern Wolf CEO Fernando Rizo.
Many publishers plan the “entire roadmap” of game development years before release and hand that schedule to dev teams with relatively little back-and-forth, details Rizo. “We don’t do that.” Modern Wolf prides themselves on their process of building a schedule with developers that is ambitious but also practical.
Additionally, Rizo claims that Modern Wolf, “most importantly,” allows developers to retain creative control over their games. “We give them advice—and we hope for good advice…but they can always decide for themselves and say no.” Ceding complete creative control to the devs is not something that happens often, according to Rizo.
But, without a strict schedule, how can a publisher push developers to finish projects on time? “A big part is choosing your partners carefully. It’s not just about trust but signing the people we believe in.”
Modern Wolf’s titles aren’t as widely recognized or critically acclaimed as those from a studio like Naughty Dog, but perhaps larger studios can learn something from the way they’re made.
