We have been doing this informally for a while, but recently we have officially committed to the program Kotit's not about giving employees who play the game after hours a deadline– Actually the game review–time to change.
If you are a reader of our reviews, I hope you let us know we strengthen this approach.
Playing a review game is a chore. Pure and simple. It's so easy to overlook that. Of course, it sounds fun and normal, but it can also be digesting and consuming a good amount of time. Work is work, and we must always be aware that it is, even when work involves play Animal Crossing before it comes out or is among the first to get into the exciting new JRPG.
The dietary challenges of combining games can be enormous. Games and hardware are expensive. Pre-game access is compulsory, as is the developer's access. Brick keepers abound. In addition, games take longer to be played and understood.
One of the biggest and yet most present challenges of the games that journalists and critics face is the time commitment required to cover the sport properly. It creates a lot of complexity in terms of allocating people and resources. It is also part of the gig. Giving people time to rest after a review doesn't reduce that, but it is a good thing to do.
There is no denying that Kotaku (and other outlets) are increasingly available for reviewers who play games late into the night or on weekends. Game publishers and developers may send us copy reviews in the days before release, but that doesn't mean we can simply look at the game and freely write reviews or other game covers without significant workday extensions. I always try to see when employees are let down by the extra hours they need to write a review and give them time to rest, but why wait for that?
It should be automatic: assign a review game, think about how long it will take to play, and schedule a day or two to compensate.
Note that we have already taken our time as much as possible. We do not always rush the embedded date update provided by the publisher, usually due to the time needed to play. We will take our time, even if that means our review will go later than others & # 39 ;. There we are Kotaku
To be clear, I'm not talking about all the gaming we do outside of traditional work hours. I expect that for anyone Kotaku an employee, like me, will probably play games after hours or so. We love playing games! We do not change all that for a longer period of time. But the experience of playing in the middle of the night or on the weekend is the last time it should be considered actual work.
I'm worried that not managing the completed game management is as deadly as the task can make the game's length, creativity or poor quality sound like it's bigger than it should be. It risks blurring the already blurred lines about work-life balance.
Been there, I come to terms with the fact that the game I'm reviewing is not over yet and I feel it should be worth my time off. I'm more focused on how to balance 60-hour games in my life more than my full-day media job. It does not have to be flat.
All that said, our reviews are great. I never felt the pressure of the review had affected their take on the game. But I have seen fatigue. We're used to that.
Finally, we precede that.
Playing the last-day games is a chore too, as quiet as that may sound to others – sir you know we have some major problems in the world that need fixing – I'll be sure to always treat you like that. That is very good for critics and, I hope, what readers will also want.
