Chair: Development time for Infinity Blade II was too short and left team 'burnt out'

Chair co-founder Donald Mustard has spoken candidly about the negative impact Infinity Blade II’s development cycle had on his team.

Speaking to Gamasutra, Mustard said that the final months of development involved “more crunching than is effective”, and required the team to “death march kill” themselves to get the job done.

The term ‘crunch’ refers to the controversial period of development immediately prior to a game’s release. During this time, developers are often forced to work extremely long hours in order to ensure their game is finished.

Mustard acknowledged the unpleasant side-effects of the crunch, stating he will adjust future development schedules to avoid unnecessary exhaustion.

“I think in retrospect, having done it twice, that our development cycles are a little too short,” he said. “Not that the games are less polished because of it, but we're way more burnt out.”

“We definitely won't do that again. It's not worth the cost.”

For more insight from Mustard, check-out our new feature charting the highs and lows of Infinity Blade’s production.

Also be sure to keep your eyes out for our review of Infinity Blade II, which should be on the site a little later today.