3 answers
Ian
Student
Delavan, Wisconsin
2
Questions
Asked
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when working on games how often can you take breaks?
When making games it is a long process to make 1 game so do you take breaks often.
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3 answers
Fred Rosenberger
Data Analyst
463
Answers
St. Louis, MO
Updated
Fred’s Answer
it depends.
If you are hired as an hourly employee, breaks and lunches are usually a bit more controlled. you may be told what time to come in, what time your breaks are, what time your lunch is, and when to leave. You would be expected to work 40 hours a week. Anything over 40 hours should be paid at overtime - usually time-and-a-half.
If you are salaried, things are a bit different. You are again expected to work at least 40 hours a week. Depending on the company, flexible time is often an option. I'm not in the gaming industry, but still in IT. I generally come in at 7a, and work until 4p. Others come in at 9:30a and work until 6:30p. Nobody pays a lot of attention to when I come and go from my desk, as long as work is getting done.
During peak times, there may be additional pressure on us to work more. When we are doing a release, we may work 60 hours a week, often at odd hours, and since we are salaried, we do not get extra pay. However, often times we will then get "comp time", so I may get a day or two off the week or two after the release. I may only work 20-30 hours that week, but still get the same pay.
Each company will do things differently. It can also depend on what state you live/work in.
If you are hired as an hourly employee, breaks and lunches are usually a bit more controlled. you may be told what time to come in, what time your breaks are, what time your lunch is, and when to leave. You would be expected to work 40 hours a week. Anything over 40 hours should be paid at overtime - usually time-and-a-half.
If you are salaried, things are a bit different. You are again expected to work at least 40 hours a week. Depending on the company, flexible time is often an option. I'm not in the gaming industry, but still in IT. I generally come in at 7a, and work until 4p. Others come in at 9:30a and work until 6:30p. Nobody pays a lot of attention to when I come and go from my desk, as long as work is getting done.
During peak times, there may be additional pressure on us to work more. When we are doing a release, we may work 60 hours a week, often at odd hours, and since we are salaried, we do not get extra pay. However, often times we will then get "comp time", so I may get a day or two off the week or two after the release. I may only work 20-30 hours that week, but still get the same pay.
Each company will do things differently. It can also depend on what state you live/work in.
Thank you for taking some time to answer my question.
Ian
Ken Felton
Sound Designer
3
Answers
Belmont, California
Updated
Ken’s Answer
Hi Ian- The work schedule in a game dev environment will be the same as most other tech companies. The amount of supervision and direction will be directly related to your experience. If you are an intern or entry level, your manager will be tasking and monitoring you closely. There could be weekly goals... could be daily. Probably not hourly. It's not like a retail facing job where you're told to take a break on a schedule. It's up to you to manage your daily time and efforts needed to get the job done. Hopefully it goes well and you get assigned another goal, and another and over time you get a reputation for being able to handle more important goals. The more competent you are, the less monitoring you will get from your manager. The game business has a well deserved reputation for working long hours. Doesn't have to be that way though. Think about working smarter vs. longer. Good Luck to you!
Rick Kolesar
Game Designer
11
Answers
Cleveland, Ohio
Updated
Rick’s Answer
Hi Ian,
With any job, taking small breaks during the day is important. To stretch, clear your head, brainstorm/solve problems. But during the entire production of a game, most people are working every day since everyone's work relies on someone else getting something else done (designers make a new mechanic that coders need to code and then needs new art for it). I've worked on a lot of games and people do take vacations during production. They schedule it in advance and make sure co-workers can cover their work. And people also take a random day off and it's fine, they just make sure someone else is covering for them.
But near the end of production, you will see there is an urgency for all employees to be present and working. Just because how games are made, all the moving pieces come together near the end and that is when the most bugs can show up. Also, it's the last chance to get any final fixes/polish work in to make the game the best it can be.
With any job, taking small breaks during the day is important. To stretch, clear your head, brainstorm/solve problems. But during the entire production of a game, most people are working every day since everyone's work relies on someone else getting something else done (designers make a new mechanic that coders need to code and then needs new art for it). I've worked on a lot of games and people do take vacations during production. They schedule it in advance and make sure co-workers can cover their work. And people also take a random day off and it's fine, they just make sure someone else is covering for them.
But near the end of production, you will see there is an urgency for all employees to be present and working. Just because how games are made, all the moving pieces come together near the end and that is when the most bugs can show up. Also, it's the last chance to get any final fixes/polish work in to make the game the best it can be.