LogFAQs > #979092588

I'd say it applies across the board. If crunch was ever on the table, having AI tools that supposedly speed things up will probably make it worse. In cases where the tools don't make crunch worse, crunch was probably never on the table to begin with. Either way, AI tools aren't likely to impact abusive crunch.

I'm also not sure I'd go with dumb/smart companies so much as companies that do/don't suck. By and large, the "dumb" companies are quite successful and have made/are making tons of money. It's unlikely that that money is sustainable, but they're engineered such that if the bubble does burst, the executives and board members will get their golden parachutes and the only people really suffering for their myopic greed will be the employees. They may have a few high-profile failures as a result of being out of touch with what it takes to actually make a good game (Anthem being one of the more notable recent examples), but generally speaking, they're quite competent when it comes to the overall goal of making a lot of money quickly. They just suck, from our perspective, because we place more value on having good games and not compromising employees' quality of life than on giving shareholders nice returns.