Not too long ago I reviewed gaming journalist Jason Schreier’s Blood, Sweat, and Pixels – a book looking at the development of a dozen games in the 2000s and 2010s. Due to the size of the games and the graphic fidelity, hundreds of people can work YEARS on a AAA game (a major game). It’s controlled chaos and tons of crunch (working nonstop for extended periods). 
Schreier told some compelling stories in that book, and in this followup he explores what it’s like to have a career in the industry itself. Press Reset is about the human experience of making games. he tells the story of rock star story developers down to the quality testers – people making minimum wage and finding bugs in games.
It’s chaos, to summarize. Studios frequently cannibalize other studios, only to either spit them out as a spinoff or to quickly lay off dozens or hundreds of employees no longer needed in between games. Game makers often move around California or even the planet seeking work.
The last 10 percent of this book is Schreier offering some suggestions to make game making more sustainable and humane. Examples include unionization; segmenting the industry into smaller companies in which the smaller companies contract to work on certain aspects of others’ games (ex combat, lighting, menus); remote work, and more. People within the industry see pros and cons to all of these ideas.
After reading both of Schreier’s books, I think it would be fun to make a tiny game myself as a side project, but I don’t think there’s any way I’d enter such a volatile industry at this stage in my life. Maybe when I was younger, or when my kids are older. I do hope those who love making games can find a sustainable and humane way to do it – I hope the industry changes!
