If you look at older games you'll often find the creator's / developer's quirks and mannerisms have seeped through showing mild biases, prejudice, stereotypes, etc (humanity). The freedom to express yourself in your work, resulted in people becoming emotionally invested in the product. This investment likely meant they spend many additional hours if not directly working on the product, than thinking about it resulting in a faster shipping date or a higher quality product in the same timespan.