Several factors have come together to make this an incredibly tumultuous time for video game developers, and could have lasting effects on the industry.
It’s the normal layoff cycle of new game development amplified by the Covid boom.
Why does the layoff cycle keep happening? Because developers are okay with it. They keep signing those contracts and not joining unions. And that’s their choice.
The main issue with video game development is it is many people’s dream job. They are willing to put up with anything to get the job; until they aren’t, and then the next crop of fresh faces are waiting in line to get their dream job. In that setting, a union won’t form as there is just too much competition among prospective hires, too many people not doing research into the industry, and too many people willing to work insane hours for no gain.
Actors and professional athletes both have an advantage: name recognition. There is only one Tom Holland, there is only one Michael Jordan. It doesn’t matter how many people are lined up, the industry cannot replace them 1-for-1. The same is not true of video game development. Think of the last video game you played, do you know the name of even a single developer that worked on it? Almost certainly not. That person will be replaced by one of thousands of people in line; Tom Holland cannot be. This gives actors and athletes significantly more bargaining power to affect change in the industry, such as forming unions.
This was an ironic read for me. Your examples really solidified the opposite of your point for me. People can name their top 20 favorite offensive linemen in football. You had an entire industry and thought of 3 names that most people even within the fandoms would fail to recognize.
Just because you don’t recognize them doesn’t mean no one else would be able to. I couldn’t name an athlete I hadn’t read about in the last five minutes if I tried. That doesn’t mean they don’t have name recognition.
Interesting that you only chose one of the three names as something you didn’t recognize.
Lmao, I’m talking to a person who couldn’t name a single one of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Babe Ruth, Messi, Usain Bolt, Muhammid Ali, etc… let’s do some less top athletes and just drop some athlete names I can do off the top of my head: Brett Farve, Manning, Mike Tyson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Williams sisters,
I’ll probably try to think of more later.
then, I don’t think you can be considered a trustworthy input on this topic. That says so much more about you than anything else.
It’s such a monumentally clueless statement about the world around you. I would be embarrassed to out myself as that clueless on physical fitness. This is all coming from a guy who never watched sports, except maybe in high school a decade+ ago.
No shit I told you I don’t recognize the name I said I didn’t recognize. I’ve followed video games and worked in video game development for 25+ years. I was establishing how far you were fishing for 3 recognizable names, even amongst would be experts on the subject.
Yea, I don’t trust your input. It feels better to assume you wrote that comment in bad faith rather than out of cluelessness.
“It’s exclusively the workers fault that their employers are shitheels”
You can acknowledge that workers need to do more to better their own working conditions without placing all the blame on them. The publishers have as much free will as the developers, they choose to be awful as much as developers choose to work for them. And they have a lot more power to influence change.
You really live in a truly binary world, don’t you? Either it’s all one thing or it’s all another.
No, it’s not likely that mega-corporations are suddenly going to magically decide to be okay guys. Yes, it’s mostly likely going to take a great deal of communication and organization of workers and/or government intervention to make things better.
That does not preclude that the people running those mega-corporations made that choice. It is not a forgone conclusion that they are going to be shitheels. They are specifically making that choice. Believing otherwise removes that onus from them, and whatever blame can be laid at their feet.
If you want to live in a black and white world, and just assume that everything as a good or bad trait, that everything has a yes or no answer, feel free. But just know that you are not living in reality, but some fantasy you have created to try and explain the world away.
It’s the normal layoff cycle of new game development amplified by the Covid boom.
Why does the layoff cycle keep happening? Because developers are okay with it. They keep signing those contracts and not joining unions. And that’s their choice.
How many unions are there for game dev, and how successful are they in the industry?
My experience trying to join a Union in America makes me critical of this callout.
The main issue with video game development is it is many people’s dream job. They are willing to put up with anything to get the job; until they aren’t, and then the next crop of fresh faces are waiting in line to get their dream job. In that setting, a union won’t form as there is just too much competition among prospective hires, too many people not doing research into the industry, and too many people willing to work insane hours for no gain.
Acting and professional sports are dream jobs with plenty of fresh faces waiting in line and yet they have unions.
Actors and professional athletes both have an advantage: name recognition. There is only one Tom Holland, there is only one Michael Jordan. It doesn’t matter how many people are lined up, the industry cannot replace them 1-for-1. The same is not true of video game development. Think of the last video game you played, do you know the name of even a single developer that worked on it? Almost certainly not. That person will be replaced by one of thousands of people in line; Tom Holland cannot be. This gives actors and athletes significantly more bargaining power to affect change in the industry, such as forming unions.
Don’t they both have a Union?
There’s tons of recognition in game development as well. Notch? ConcernedApe? Peter Molyneux?
There’s tons of no-name actors and athletes to go with the big names as well.
This was an ironic read for me. Your examples really solidified the opposite of your point for me. People can name their top 20 favorite offensive linemen in football. You had an entire industry and thought of 3 names that most people even within the fandoms would fail to recognize.
Who even is concerned Ape?
Just because you don’t recognize them doesn’t mean no one else would be able to. I couldn’t name an athlete I hadn’t read about in the last five minutes if I tried. That doesn’t mean they don’t have name recognition.
Interesting that you only chose one of the three names as something you didn’t recognize.
Lmao, I’m talking to a person who couldn’t name a single one of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Babe Ruth, Messi, Usain Bolt, Muhammid Ali, etc… let’s do some less top athletes and just drop some athlete names I can do off the top of my head: Brett Farve, Manning, Mike Tyson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Williams sisters,
I’ll probably try to think of more later.
then, I don’t think you can be considered a trustworthy input on this topic. That says so much more about you than anything else.
It’s such a monumentally clueless statement about the world around you. I would be embarrassed to out myself as that clueless on physical fitness. This is all coming from a guy who never watched sports, except maybe in high school a decade+ ago.
No shit I told you I don’t recognize the name I said I didn’t recognize. I’ve followed video games and worked in video game development for 25+ years. I was establishing how far you were fishing for 3 recognizable names, even amongst would be experts on the subject.
Yea, I don’t trust your input. It feels better to assume you wrote that comment in bad faith rather than out of cluelessness.
“It’s exclusively the workers fault that their employers are shitheels”
You can acknowledge that workers need to do more to better their own working conditions without placing all the blame on them. The publishers have as much free will as the developers, they choose to be awful as much as developers choose to work for them. And they have a lot more power to influence change.
Expecting a company to do anything for you without being forced is naive.
Yet we have armies of bootlickers hoping for it…
You really live in a truly binary world, don’t you? Either it’s all one thing or it’s all another.
No, it’s not likely that mega-corporations are suddenly going to magically decide to be okay guys. Yes, it’s mostly likely going to take a great deal of communication and organization of workers and/or government intervention to make things better.
That does not preclude that the people running those mega-corporations made that choice. It is not a forgone conclusion that they are going to be shitheels. They are specifically making that choice. Believing otherwise removes that onus from them, and whatever blame can be laid at their feet.
If you want to live in a black and white world, and just assume that everything as a good or bad trait, that everything has a yes or no answer, feel free. But just know that you are not living in reality, but some fantasy you have created to try and explain the world away.
The bootlickers would be the people denying the responsibility of the company… Maybe read your comment again with that thought in mind.
shallow understanding of how bootlickers operate.
so much work to be done…
Shallow ability to state your stance more like. Don’t blame other people because you can’t express your thoughts.