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.'"
Today's gaming is not fun anymore. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Fill in the blank with your own industry (Score:5, Interesting)
Is this common in your own industry?
FTFC Joel Payne says:
It's an odd disconnect (Score:4, Interesting)
My weirdest experience with gaming has been with the Left 4 Dead series.
In both games, Valve has spent the first two or three weeks after release fixing any bug big bugs. After that they basically only fix a bug if it ends up crashing the game client. Bugs that allow you to lag out the players, crash the server, change maps when you're not supposed to, get maximum scores for an entire map even when your team dies, and spawn extra infected AI bots exist for both games, and never get fixed.
After those first few weeks, the only changes they make are ones that are trivial to implement -- very minor balancing fixes like changing the damage things do, or adding game modes that vary what weapons/monsters get spawned. None of the changes the community actually requests are ever added, like a working lobby system. There is basically no communication between the developers and community.
It's an odd disconnect. Especially for an industry that likes to hire directly out of it's hobby modding community.
Inflating expectations (Score:3, Interesting)
Capitalism may be the lesser evil, but I just feel like it's running out of control these days.
Re:The new game is the old game (Score:1, Interesting)
A lot of money goes into marketing and a lot of other things except game development sound, graphics, and plain code. All you get is expensive low grade, low satisfaction games. They cripple games by trying to capture as many areas of the market by removing certain feature, oversimplification being a key word, the golden era of games came and went. Look at the games on abandonware sites, see how original they were, you'll find nothing like it today. Most of them are clones of clones of clones ...
Re:Today's gaming is not fun anymore. (Score:3, Interesting)
As a guy born in '89 who mainly listens to 60s/70s music, I go for the former.
To video game developers I have only one thing to (Score:5, Interesting)
May I recommend you form a union? Or maybe just a guild/mutual benefit society that allows you all to prevent your employer from working you 80 hours a week for no overtime? Just like in show business, there will always be some 17 year old in his garage with no wife, kids or mortgage that would be happy to do your job for less money, more hours and no complaint. Something generally has to be done before the labor pool destroys itself and the ONLY people you can find to do the work are 17 year old greenhorns; the video game medium will never develop artistically if the work environment is actively hostile to people who want to spend a lifetime doing it.
Re:organization type... (Score:1, Interesting)
Very true. Back in the day we used to read every detail of the sleve notes. Pour over the Cover graphic especially if they were done by Hipgnosis, Roger Dean or Storm Thugerson. Think if thr iconic artwork on many Pink Floyd Albums from the simple Prism to the man on flames. Pure Genius.
Fast forward to today. What do we get? SFA that's what.
The games industry are going down the same toilet at the Music one already has. Recycling old stuff at hugely inflated prices.
Then there is DRM. All in the name of anti piracy. Well, if you really produced something totallt original then perhaps this latest 'Be on-line all the time' might be justified. IMHO, you sick just like the Music Industry.
Yes, I play Super Mario on my PC via an emulator. Lots of my gaming friends do the same. We don't buy the recent releases because the SUCK. And SUCK Bigtime. Why should I have to be online to play a game while I'm on the train during my moring commute? Especially as there are several tunnels and dead spots on my journey. No thank you STEAM, Valve or whoever.
I'd rather play DRM free stuff thank you very much. Oh yes, I will pay for the privelege. I don't pirate apart from giving a new one a trial. If I like it then I buy it.
All my gaming friends have the same stance.
How long have I been gaming?
Well, I started out playing Adventure on a dumb terminal connected to out VAX 11/780 circa 1980.Nowadays, I don't play anything regularly that is newer then 2003.
Gaming Industry! Are you litening? I doubt it.
Re:Welcome to a highly competitive industry (Score:5, Interesting)
Bizarrely, the first spat I was involved in at my current place of employment revolved around whether a stiffening section could be correctly referred to as a 'truss' (as I called it), or whether it was a 'strut' (as my boss called it). I pointed out that a truss is made up of struts, but I was quickly admonished by my boss and told that a truss consists of pin-jointed members only, whereas this was a single piece of material with cutouts in it and it therefore could not be a truss. Now, I disagreed and cited numerous texts which provide examples of trusses (such as the box truss) which support moments at corners - and that was when my boss fired me. As it was, we realised that it was ridiculous and I was immediately rehired, but you can see how something as minor as terminology can get out of hand. Ultimately, we compromised and referred to it as a 'web' in the documentation.
Re:The price of richness (Score:2, Interesting)
I realize that many people in IT-related fields especially in the US have some subconscious aversion against unions, but maybe it's time for you to become realistic...
Re:Gee.... (Score:4, Interesting)
The game industry is trying to wring growth out of a stagnating customer base, that requires increasing the money each customer pays.
Maybe modding will finally move to where it belongs: To opensource engines that give you access to ALL code, not just the parts included in the SDK and no central authority that'll decide it's no longer worth the money to keep fixing bugs because users are supposed to move on to the next iteration of the product..
Capitalism. (Score:4, Interesting)
what happened ? innovation, free spirit, enthusiasm of discovery, excitement, adventure that made its way into games in early days of gaming in 10-15 years preceding 1995 got out of the picture. it was much better to capitalize on existing formats, tried and surefire methods, even existing titles than to take risks with new things. everything is to please shareholders.
and because all the companies did or had to do it, at least which have a wide reach, people came to accept this as the reality of gaming. unfortunate in itself, for those who remember 1980-1995. ironically, games of those time still play good in regard to gameplay, and actually most of the prime titles that are selling again and again in 2,3,4,5
not only the games deteriorated in quality, but also their prices have gone up, and stabilized at certain price levels. thanks to the perception of marketing departments of megacorps, which decide these things independently and at large.
this is the way with capitalism. supposed competition does not end up being to the favor of the customer - all companies try to escape with the minimum satisfaction they can get away, while taking maximum money with no risk. and when entire industries act in this mindset, mediocrity becomes a standard, and people come to accept mediocrity as the reality of life.
Re:That's not exploitation (Score:3, Interesting)
Nobody's got a gun to the employees' heads.
The only reason the companies get away with doing all this is that the employees allow it. They could say "no", and back that up by quitting if need be. Then the companies couldn't do it.
The fact that this doesn't happen means that the developers are being paid fairly for the work that they're doing, whether that work is during "crunch time" or not.
Re:Not a troll at all (Score:4, Interesting)
"In South Carolina (a "right to work" state) there was a story about a factory looking for experienced machinists with advanced training and offering to pay $12 per hour, which is approximately what a fast food worker would make after a year or so."
I can verify the South Carolina situation. I live there and work at a vo-tech. (We have retrained a few machinists and machine operators as weldors because there is a modest shortage of those and they can travel nationwide for contract work.)
Machinists are available because manufacturing took a dive. Boeing moved to Charleston for very good reason. Everything is cheaper down here which greatly cushions the effect of low wages. What I'd pay in property taxes in North Jersey would buy a nice house and lots of acreage in SC.
As for "right to work", that "right to compete" is an advantage because manufacturers can simply leave union states and move South. If the South goes union, they can simply outsource and shut down their plants.
Re:That's not exploitation (Score:3, Interesting)
Nothing is black & white and you can't just let it sort itself out (when it clearly isn't) but likewise you can't go to the other extreme and have the government control it completely.
I left a stellar games career because of suckage (Score:1, Interesting)
I was on the OS team of the original PlayStation, as well as a supporting OS engineer for the 3DO at EA; I worked on a dozen high profile games over a 15 year career. I left bitter and angry over never, ever receiving any promised bonus over all the productions where I was team or lead. The "producers" are weasels and their publisher counterparts force these weasels to suck their dicks, so they take it all out on the developers and artists. Studio owners are soulless hacks that have turned to the dark side and are exploiting their own "because that's the industry". The whole industry is so corrupt, I hope someone goes actually postal someday... that's the only thing that will bring light to the sweatshop this industry actually is.
Re:Welcome to a highly competitive industry (Score:2, Interesting)
Add to that the whole getting paid thing, it seems like a sensible choice.
Re:Game dev is technically difficult and challengi (Score:3, Interesting)
I think that what you're saying is true but I don't think managers are trained to be abusive. It's more "The shit flows downhill" that makes bosses jerks. The CEO/President/Big Boss sets the tone for the company. If the chief screams/abuses/threatens the middle managers then that attitude gets passed on. That's why I'm dubious when a manager gets replaced with a new manager about whether anything really improves. Either the new manager will quit because of the threats or he/she will pass on the stress to the people underneath.
Books on improving working conditions... (Score:3, Interesting)
"Punished By Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise and Other Bribes" by Alfie Kohn
http://www.amazon.com/Punished-Rewards-Trouble-Incentive-Praise/dp/0395710901 [amazon.com]
"Have Fun at Work" by W. L. Livingston
http://www.amazon.com/Have-Fun-at-Work-Livingston/dp/0937063053/ [amazon.com]
"Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-battering System That Shapes Their Lives" by Jeff Schmidt
http://www.amazon.com/Disciplined-Minds-Critical-Professionals-Soul-Battering/dp/0742516857 [amazon.com]
And something I organized on why work as we know it is going away (according to Marshall Brain and many others, given that the same technology that makes fancy computer games with fancy game AIs possible is also reducing the value of most human labor relative to automation and better design):
"Beyond a Jobless Recovery: A heterodox perspective on 21st century economics"
http://knol.google.com/k/paul-d-fernhout/beyond-a-jobless-recovery [google.com]
Ultimately, there will be no greener pastures to leave towards as robotics spreads; see for example Marshall Brain's "Manna":
http://www.marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm [marshallbrain.com]
Re:Welcome to the Real World (Score:5, Interesting)
Google may have won "Best Employer" in the US, but they would be considered McDonald's level in Scandinavia and a lot of the western european countries.
Except for the fact that a whole bunch of those "McDonald's" employees are now multi-millionaires. And those that missed the IPO boat are still getting paid WAY more than their equivalent in Sweden. Except for the vacation time (which is a definite lifestyle difference - most engineers I know in the US have 1/2 that much, but never use it all anyway), all of those other perks are more than made up for (ie you can pay for them yourself and still be ahead) by the higher salary.
But hey, people have different priorities. I work with a bunch of engineers originally from a few different Northern/Western European countries with similar working conditions, and they all say they are here because they LIKE the faster pace of the work and the extra disposable income...
Re:Welcome to the Real World (Score:4, Interesting)
Except for the vacation time (which is a definite lifestyle difference - most engineers I know in the US have 1/2 that much, but never use it all anyway), all of those other perks are more than made up for (ie you can pay for them yourself and still be ahead) by the higher salary.
It's a "lifestyle difference" because our corporate culture makes it one. Engineers in the US don't (generally speaking) not take vacation because they abhor time off. They don't take vacation because the company makes it clear to them that vacation time is bad. It's not done in any overt way. People would rebel against a company policy that says "we give you three weeks of vacation, but insist you take only half of it". It's done in the way people who actually use their vacation are treated. The way that you're subtly pushed to not be "that guy".
I've worked in companies where the staff was subtly pushed to avoid time off. I've worked in companies where they weren't. Guess what? In the latter case, everyone finds (perfectly valid and reasonable sounding) excuses not to take time off. In the former, people make use of their vacation time and are happy to do so. I've never really met a fellow worker, engineer or otherwise, who really just liked his/her job SOOO much that they never wanted to take a few days off.
It may very well be true that European countries overdo it. There's probably a reasonable argument there. On the other hand, it seems pretty obvious to me that a lot of American companies underdo it. There's pretty much reams of research showing that productivity at most 60-80 hour a week, never take a break, companies is not significantly different (and depending on the type of work, can even be lower) than productivity at more reasonable companies. Just because you're at work for 16 hours a day and I'm only there 8, does not per se mean you're getting more done than I am.
Re:Hunter/Gatherers may have had more fun at work. (Score:3, Interesting)
If you have modern health issues, please see:
Dr. Fuhrman on healthy eating (as we almost all eat too much junk):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPiR9VcuVWw [youtube.com]
Dr. Cannell on curing Vitamin D deficiency (as we almost all spend so much time indoors):
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/treatment.shtml [vitamindcouncil.org]
As far as population density, you are right that it can be an issue, but that is what space habitats and ocean habitats are for. :-)
"Growing a Space Habatit with a Lichen Composite"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4XFqyKx4BM [youtube.com]
"1st Seastead Design Contest overall winner by András Gyrfi from Hungary"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCCStJ8a7pg [youtube.com]
If we have the technological capacity to change the planet's atmosphere as a geologic force, surely we have the capability to create a few self-replicating space habitats and seasteads?
Anyway, this is not to disagree with your larger points about bad aspects of many hunter/gatherer societies in the past (infant mortality, disease, even wars). Ideally we want the best of both cultures -- an end to "work" and a return to "joy" and "community", along with an end to needless suffering that advanced technology can help prevent as well as a chance at transcendence to whatever the better aspects of technology can, in theory, provide.
Re:Welcome to the Real World (Score:5, Interesting)
“What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom “to” and freedom “from.” – Marilyn vos Savant
From my Swedish perspective, in the US, "Freedom From" often gets neglected.
Besides, I doubt taking care of your workforce, for the cases of work where their loyalty and experience actually matters, is really bad business anyways. I do know of one example for a pure development house, where they switched from 8h workday to a 6h workday, as an experiment in productivity. The result? Staff were more focused, more creative and more productive. During the 6h workday, they produced about as much code as previously during 8, but the produced code got cleaner, with fewer bugs, saving a lot of time for new features.
Re:Welcome to the Real World (Score:3, Interesting)
Work is a trade of my time and energy (mental and physical) for money. Not suffering.
Exactly. Suffering is related only in the case of those idiot MBAs who think that paying a salary makes them own their employees as if they'd rented slaves.
Reminds me of how Mike Rowe's TED talk [ted.com] where he discusses the guys doing dirty jobs (seek to ~11:00 if you're pressed for time). He claims they're much happier than us desk workers, and they're the ones we'd assume are "suffering" the most.