[CentralOH] Scribbles - EA Spouse letter

[Jason Conaway]

As a former EA employee, I (and my wife) can attest to the EA Spouse 
letter. For example, when working on Golden Eye: Rogue Agent, I worked 
120 hours/week for a few months in a row. Similarly, after several 
months of crunch-time on Medal of Honor: Frontline, I finished the 
project by working a continuous 72 hours shift, with no sleep! This was 
deemed necessary to fix remaining bugs and hit our second declared ship 
date; we had no chance of hitting our first declared ship date, months 
earlier.

Fortunately, most EA studios took the criticism to heart. Or maybe it 
was the lawsuits that made the difference. Regardless, working 
conditions got much better after the EA Spouse letter went public. The 
video games industry is still a demanding work environment, but not as 
intense as it once was. It is also one of the most fun and rewarding 
work environments, which is why I'm still in it, after 17 years.

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