Duke Nukem Forever lead project manager George Broussard recently came to Naughty Dog's defense, following questions about whether the studio deserved its The Game Awards 2020 wins for The Last of Us Part II. The topic first arose on the night of the awards ceremony, as the Sony-owned team raked in a grand total of seven trophies.
Viewers and internet pundits alike questioned the appropriateness of Naughty Dog receiving awards for Best Game Direction and Game of the Year, given allegations of the developer's unhealthy crunch practices. The accusations picked up steam earlier this year due to a report from Kotaku that featured employees describing a work culture hinged on achieving perfection at all costs. According to that report's claims, Naughty Dog's crunch culture has gotten so bad in recent years that staff retention can be difficult after long periods of crunching and the burnout that follows. Another article from Kotaku following The Game Awards 2020 criticized the decision to give a game that was made under crunch conditions the "Best Direction" award.
3D Realms co-founder Greg Broussard didn't take too kindly to the assertions made by the Kotaku article. Broussard, who helmed Duke Nukem Forever throughout all 12 years of its tumultuous development cycle, shared the Kotaku write-up in an explicit tweet. According to the industry veteran, Kotaku had no right to question Naughty Dog's merit, since the article's writer has "no idea what it takes to ship world beating AAA games." Broussard also contended the piece was based on the word of " disgruntled ex-employees" without considering the hundreds of staffers that happily remain on the team.
After receiving backlash, Broussard clarified by saying his post was in no way defending crunch. He added that he couldn't think of a studio that doesn't try limiting the controversial practice, but went on to note that crunch does not always equate to "bad management." Still, Broussard doubled down on his criticism of the Kotaku post, lambasting the publication for "attacking Naughty Dog" the day after TLoU Part II's wins at the Game Awards.
Of course, most who stumbled across Broussard's post questioned whether he has a right to pass judgment in any direction, since Duke Nukem Forever wasn't exactly a massive success with Broussard at the helm. But his tweet and some of the responses to it are only adding to the myriad problems surrounding video game-related discourse, which too often devolves into vitriol that harpoons the productivity of the discussion at hand. Unfortunately, The Last of Us Part II, as well as the recent release of CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk 2077, continues to show that genuine discussion about the persistent issues in the video game industry are incredibly hard to come by - at least without a lot of negativity and digression alongside it.
The Last of Us Part II is available to play now on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Source: George Broussard/Twitter
