There is an interesting article over at steveswink.com exploring whether or not MMORPG game makers are wasting their time making their games in the same way that their players are playing them.
“The crux of the question is whether or not playing WoW is more or less a waste of your life than creating original games intended to produce the same kind of enjoyment. In this age of digital property, virtual experience, how does one set of bits have value relative to another? How is it that Shane is wasting his life while I am an artist or a game designer or whatever? Why is sitting around making games and digital art different than raids on Molten Core?”
I’ve been on both sides of this coin, and I’m going to have to say that development ‘Crunch Time’ is certainly more stressful than any raid, it can easily eclipse the amount of time that a hardcore MMO player might spend in an average week in game, and may just as detrimental to your health. Though you are getting paid to Crunch instead of paying to play your MMO, so I suppose Crunch may be slightly less so.