Frustration and Unhappiness In the Games Industry 422
Gamasutra's Leigh Alexander recently wrote an editorial about the atmosphere of irritation and dissatisfaction that pervades all aspects of the video game industry. Developers are often overworked and unfulfilled, gamers have no qualms about voicing their disapproval (sometimes quite warranted, sometimes not), and the media, in trying to please both groups, often fails to satisfy either. Why is there so much strife in an industry ostensibly focused on having fun? From the article:
"More and more developer sources I talked to suggested that fatigue, hostility, being at odds with one's employer and questioning one's career course is frighteningly common in the game industry. That being the case, it seems natural that elements like emotional detachment, anxiety and a lack of fulfillment make their way, even subtly, into the products the industry creates and into the ecosystem around the industry and its audience. 'Because of the secrecy and competition, a lot of development teams end up having a siege mentality — batten down the hatches and refuse to come up for air until the game's done,' says [an] anonymous developer. 'Game development has a way of taking over your life, because there's always more that can be done to improve perceived quality. I've seen a lot of divorces in my time in the game industry. I feel like it's much greater than average, but I have no statistical evidence.'"
Re:Not a troll at all (Score:5, Informative)
Let me be more specific about what Greenspan said. It was during the Reagan administration, so I don't remember every detail. Greenspan said that as Fed chairman his job was to maintain a certain minimum level of “worker insecurity” so there wouldn’t be “wage inflation” – income increases among the middle class.
This is actually a theme that he was challenged on several times during his tenure as Fed chairman by liberal senators like Ted Kennedy who were incredulous at the notion that having the entire middle class "insecure" about their jobs was a good thing. Yet Greenspan stood by his words and reiterated the theme many times.
Of course, this was before senate testimony of the Fed chairman made much news. Greenspan was actually giving voice to a belief held by wall street traders, who consistently reward companies that fire workers and by Chamber of Commerce types who see their role as being the champions of the corporate elite and the enemy of anybody who draws an honest paycheck.
Re:Welcome to the Real World (Score:5, Informative)
Games sucks much more than any of the others. This is why I don't work in that industry any more.
Re:Welcome to the Real World (Score:5, Informative)
Hunter/Gatherers may have had more fun at work... (Score:4, Informative)
See: http://www.primitivism.com/original-affluent.htm [primitivism.com] "Hunter-gatherers consume less energy per capita per year than any other group of human beings. Yet when you come to examine it the original affluent society was none other than the hunter's - in which all the people's material wants were easily satisfied. To accept that hunters are affluent is therefore to recognise that the present human condition of man slaving to bridge the gap between his unlimited wants and his insufficient means is a tragedy of modern times."
For the future, see Bob Black:
http://www.whywork.org/rethinking/whywork/abolition.html [whywork.org]
Or me: :-)
http://knol.google.com/k/paul-d-fernhout/beyond-a-jobless-recovery [google.com]
Re:Welcome to the Real World (Score:1, Informative)
He is in a 60% tax bracket for the privilege. For real.