Quality of Life is so crucial, but so are your dreams. My entire adult life I have been broke, overworked and dealing with a whole side plate of stuff. So what's the biggest perk of me new job?
No overtime! Oh it happens on the rare occasion but it is rare, I know one or two people are doing some overtime this weekend. However in the main 95% of the workforce leaves on time 90% of the time. So yes I'm happy, extremely so. Thank you Jagex!
It's sad that it is so rare in the games industry that people can have a healthy balance. Some people's dreams aren't their careers, or even the games. That's more than okay and those people should be allowed to live their dreams and still contribute to our wonderful industry. Not driven out by the super geeks and obsessed zombies worshipping the cult of games.
That being said I have dreams and I am happy to sweat and slog for them. Dreams are hard but always achievable. My dream has always been cultural expression and relevance in my chosen artform. So pardon if I take a breather for a few months to enjoy a happy work/life balance for the first time.
Dreams are hard, but life should be fun.