You may have seen drama ensuing in different communities, and although we gamers think of ourselves as quiet creatures, we are susceptible to causing drama. Just recently, John Junyszek, the Senior Community Manager at 343 Industries, conducted a poll on Twitter, which certainly caused turmoil.
The poll asked, “Should game developers be allowed to take a vacation?” Many gamers misunderstood the tweet, accusing John of not letting people take time off for vacations. Although he did his best to clear the misunderstanding, some people were just too reluctant to see.
The drama escalated to the point where he had to redo the poll, deleting the one prior. Our team at TopTierList compiled the tweets, giving the much-needed context, so you don’t have to spend time understanding the situation.
Major Points
- John Junyszek asked a question in a poll, which caused people to misunderstand his intentions and even accuse him.
- The 343 Community Manager made follow-up tweets to give more context and even had to redo the poll with clearer instructions.
- Though the drama has been watered down since the original tweet, John surely had a hectic day on his vacation.
It all started with the now-deleted poll asking a question that is honestly relevant now that we have heard stories of toxic work environments in notable video game studios. Hours later, he had to make a follow-up tweet since he found it to be heavily misunderstood by the community.
Clarifying since folks are accusing me – a game dev on vacation – of forcing people to not take time off (🫠). The poll format was intentional and meant to get anonymous responses when only presented with two options: Yes (and the game doesn't suffer) and No (no matter what).
— John Junyszek (@Unyshek) December 27, 2022
After the accusations, he made it clear that he is a game dev on vacation and understands their burden. Still, vacations aren’t something anyone should take away from hard-working developers. What’s more interesting is how around 30% of people answered “No” in the original poll, which the community was not calling out as they should.
The concerning part of this poll isn't the format (which is actually tilted in favor of Yes's), but the fact that ~30% (over 6,000 people) have said No. Everyone deserves time off and the US is pretty far behind in this regard. If you voted No, I truly hope you reconsider ✌️
— John Junyszek (@Unyshek) December 27, 2022
Due to the misunderstandings and people expressing how they “accidentally” answered “No” and can’t change their answer since it’s Twitter. Some even told the Community Manager that his poll format was not ideal, “I think the fact “yes” was semi-conditional is a mistake in the poll. Maybe a third option for “Yes, with no obligation to work” would help clarify the point.”
The main issue was that people believed even the “Yes” was a bad option, as the game devs must be on-call even when they are off work. However, they failed to consider that John actually cleared it up with a reply to the original tweet, “Yes, without needing to be on-call” option would ultimately fall into the “yes” bucket. It also proactively addresses the “What if everything goes down?” part of the discussion that would inevitably pop up. I was really trying to give the “No’s” a chance to vote “Yes.”
Sorry, too m̶a̶n̶y̶ few options. Will redo poll.
— John Junyszek (@Unyshek) December 27, 2022
After extensive discussion between gamers, some continued to criticize John’s poll format. So, he decided to redo the poll, adding the third option of “Yes, while being on-call.” He followed up with a somewhat sarcastic tweet because no one still addressed the issue of how 30% of people said “No” in the earlier poll.
Should game developers be allowed to take vacation? 🤔
— John Junyszek (@Unyshek) December 27, 2022
Nonetheless, the new poll is up, and the weird thing is happening again where 10% of people have answered “No,” while almost 10% answered, “Yes, while being on-call.” The latter group believed some games or important roles should require you to be on-call, even on vacations.
It has still only been less than 2-hours, so let’s wait and see what people think. In the meantime, do you think game devs should be allowed to take a vacation? If yes, should they always be on-call in case of emergencies? Share your thoughts with us below, and we will get back to you!
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