Dave Gilbert’s gamedev blog

I’ve discussed “crunch time” in an earlier entry – which refers to that period of development where you work insane hours and get little sleep trying to get things done on time. I once attended a lecture on project time management, and I gained some neat little bits of advice. The lecturer discussed the infamous “crunch period”, and talked about the dangers.

Of course its dangerous, that goes without saying. Sleep and proper food exist for a reason, and cutting those things out of your life even for a short period is bad. I can tell you this first hand, as the entire month of December was a nonstop crunch for me.

This lecturer went on to say that crunch periods are usually necessary, but to be smart and safe about it. Schedule a crunch EARLY. It’s far easier – and far less stressful – to work long hours without the weight of a deadline crushing you down.

So, I am going to give this a go. I’m aiming to release my next project in July/August, and I decided that I wanted to have the majority of the dialog and programming finished by the end of May. I’ve been working steadily all month, all the time knowing beforehand that I was going to crunch during the last week.

Aaaand… tomorrow is the beginning of the last week. So, I am going to attempt this “early crunch” thing and see if it works. I’m curious. Yes, the last-minute crunch is stressful and nerve-wrecking because of the looming deadline… but, without the looming deadline, would you work as hard?

We shall see. See you in a week.