Quality of Life

The average amount of time one spends as part of the game industry is 5 years. After 5 years most developers quit and never come back. When one considers that the game developing population tends to skew younger, you find yourself with an industry with few people over 30 and few people with any meaningful long-term experience. To say that this is self-defeating is an understatement. Quite frankly, it's suicide.

One of the main reasons for the 5 year falloff is without a doubt the quality of life or lack thereof at many game studios. I count myself lucky in having worked at companies that have been not only sympathetic, but accomodating in so far as efforts made to promote a workable, quality of life for their employees. Sadly this is not always the case. There are studios that find themselves in a constant state of crunch (whether acknowledged or not) wherein employees are required to work upwards of 60 even 80 plus hours a week, sometimes for months at a time. These are places where sick days and vacations are frowned upon, where working the extra hours (often without overtime pay) is seen as some sort of price one has to pay to be a game developer. The conception that a job in game development is some kind of gift is all too often conjured image that all but enforces this type of labor that is ultimately detrimental to one's physical and mental health and relationships.

The real danger is that such practices are seen as acceptable when they ought not to be. Such practices are seen as necessary when better planning and management would almost certainly pave the way to a better, smoother, less rigorous development cycle. But we accept it, partly because we do see our jobs as a gift. We're doing something we love in a field that (while less so every year) is still very exclusive. We work jobs that many think they want (although few of those have either the skill or the dedication) and because of that there is a lot of competion. And this competition and exclusivity is used against us to remind us of how lucky we are to have these jobs and in an economic climate such as this one even more so. Such draconian work ethics will not only harm the individual however, they will harm the industry as a whole.

An experienced industry is often a smarter, more efficient industry, but if we're breaking the wills of the best gaming minds of a generation before they even begin to make the decisions and offer up the ideas that could change the way we work, then we're only defeating our selves. If the industry continues not only allowing, but secretly lauding such death marches, then we have only ourselves to blame for our lack of advancement. We need to work smarter not harder and the smart people are going to be the first to get fed up and leave.

Possibly the most unfortunate aspect of this whole issue is the unspoken code of silence surrounding this issue. The stigma surrounding those who speak out against one companies practices will invariably follow them to others, because such practices are widespread. No one wants to be a whistleblower, especially when all they're trying to do is make their jobs better. That's why it seems the most vocal responses we've seen in regards to the subject of quality of life in game industry workplaces comes from the spouses of game developers. Several years ago the infamous "EA Spouse" opened the door publically to debate on the issue of unending crunch time and reduced quality of life on a number of fronts. I can't speak to specifics, but as I understand it, the statement served it's purpose and the publicity was enough such that changes were made. Now, a group of wives of Rock Star Games San Diego employees have banded together and drafted a letter "To Whom it May Concern", decrying the dwindling quality of life of their spouses.

I applaud these women and any others who speak out. I would like to see actual developers speak out as well, to come out from behind the unspoken code of silence and publically acknowledge such situations across the industry. Until we become unafraid to stand up to our oppressors we will continue to labor beneath their boots. I sincerely hope that the efforts of the Rock Star San Diego wives result in better working conditions for those developers, but I also hope that the rest of the industry takes this display as a warning. And not just a warning of what could happen should their workers unite agains them, but of the damage that they themselves are doing to their companies and the industry as a whole. The people who benefit most from such oppressive work place practices are often those who stand to lose the most should the masses of game developers become older, smarter, more efficient, more productive, and more engaged. I've worked with these people before and they have little talent beyond trying to keep their jobs and they will destroy this industry which we love.

This isn't a call to arms and neither is the letter drafted by the Rock Star San Diego wives, but it can be a wake up call and a portent of things to come should change not be on the horizon. As the industry slowly grows older and bigger, and more diverse, fewer people will be willing to take such punishment and as it is only in our best interest to change now, then we cannot let the coniving few keep us from that goal. Part of the reason I love this job is because I'm living in a time of pioneers. We are the new artistic medium of the 21st century and we live in interesting times indeed.

Credit Where Credit is Due

This is an excellent article at Kotaku about crediting practices at game developers. I've been lucky enough to have been credited on the shipped titles I've worked on in some capacity or another, but I've worked with people who haven't been so lucky. Case in point, the "Warhammer Online" crediting controversy. I personally know dozens of people who left that project before the game shipped and who had spent years working on the project who were not credited. Yes, some people left under less than satisfactory circumstances, but there were just as many if not more who left with no ill will on either side of the aisle. I'm lucky enough now to be working for a developer who even though they're most recent release was seven years in the making, did a rather good job of crediting even those who only spent a short amount of time on the project before moving on to other things internally.

The callousness of those who try and defend this practice by stating that they don't want their employees to be the targets of recruiters and poachers is unbelievable. If you provide your employees with a satisfying work environment, decent benefits, and competitive pay then they're not going to want to leave. Refusing to credit certain individuals is simply childish. The very least a company can do is throw former employees in a "special thanks" section. I spent very little time working on Turbine Entertainment's "Asheron's Call 2" but they had the decency to list me as an additional contributor in the credits.

What's most disturbing in all this however is the anonymity of those speaking out against it. The fact that such a stigma exists in this industry against those who publicly voice the slightest concerns is staggering. Game developers are expected to work long hours often without overtime pay and be completely satisfied with the experience. The general consensus is that the trade off comes in having such a job in the first place. I love what I do, I've spent years chasing this career path, but at the end of the day it's a job. I and others like me have made these jobs our lives, much in the way that the industry stigma assumes we should and sacrificed relationships and our physical, mental, and social well-being in the process. But it's just a job, it's not the privilege that it's often built up to be by the craven few who are so isolated in their thinking as to not be able to see beyond the tips of their own noses.

I'm grateful for my job because at the end of the day it's a paycheck for doing something that I enjoy, but game developers aren't the only people who are allowed to enjoy their jobs. Plumbers, police officers, shop owners, office managers, salesmen; for any job you can imagine there's more people than not who enjoy doing that job. And yes, those people complain from time to time, but they enjoy what they do and they expect to be recognized for it. Game developers are no different and unfair crediting practices do nothing but reinforce a "thank you sir may I have another" subservient attitude in the industry. It not only belittles those already in the industry, but doesn't give much reason for new or outside talent to seek us out or stick around once they get here.

The people making these decisions not to credit the people who worked hard and then left for one reason or another need to grow up. It's not just about who's there when you cross the finish line, it's about the people who helped along the way as well. If someone leaves your company for "greener pastures" then that's a cue to look at how you could have served them better, not to be vindictive and withhold due credit. I've said it before that game development is the new media of the 21st century, but in order for that to really take shape we need to grow the hell up.

At Least I'm Not Alone

Ok, so this guy is more than a little annoying, but he makes some good points on the same subject I brought up this past weekend: The Spike TV VGA's. It's just nice to see someone who doesn't work in the industry support it in the same way many of us inside do.

The Angry Joe Show - Why Spike's Video Game Awards Suck Balls

An Honor Just to Be Nominated

The Spike TV VGA's are the Grammy's of video game awards; a popularity contest at best, shamerless plugging and pay-to-play consumerism at worst. BUT it is nice to work for a company that not only gets nominated, but wins as well. So congratulations to Dragon Age for winning Best RPG and Best PC Game 2009.

I had to read about the wins this morning online because I simply can't watch the VGA's. I tried to watch it last year when the last game I worked on, Warhammer Online, was nominated for Best RPG, but it the show 45% celebrities unrelated to gaming, 45% trailers/advertising for next year's games, and maybe 10% awards show. It's nothing but pandering to hype-machine obsessed mainstream audience and an attempt to validate ourselves to the same audience by coopting celebrities from other entertainment mediums. I want a televised awards show that celebrates the art and artistry of game development the way the Oscars do film making. But then I'm one of the people who enjoys watching the Oscars from start to finish every year. If there were a video game awards show like the Oscars, likely no one would watch it. And it's not just because most people find awards shows boring, but because the video game industry has spent so much time hitching it's star to other forms of entertainment that people don't know how to relate to us without them.

I just wish the video game industry would take itself more seriously when in the spotlight instead of prostrating ourselves before television, hollywood, and the celebrity cult of personality like we're their kid brother trying to "be cool." Yeah we're the new kids on the block, but we don't need their approval to succeed and the fact that the video game industry revenue exceeds that of music, television and film and has for several years, should be proof enough.

In America at least I feel as if video games are still seen as an industry of nerds and slackers making more money than they have any right to. This is a myth perpetuated by an misunderstanding of what goes into the making of video games and the few publicized successes from the 90's (Doom, etc.) Are we nerds? Yes. Are our work environments generally casual? Yes. But I challenge any hollywood, record label, television, or other office drones to call me or any decent game developer a slacker to our faces while they're skipping out of work at 4pm on a Friday afternoon. Game developers are overworked and underpaid and we love every minute of it. And while my ultimate payoff is that I love my job, I wouldn't mind a little respect from the rest of the 9-5 working world and that's not something we're going to get by acting excited just to be invited to the party.

Video games are going to shape the 21st century the way that film shaped the 20th, it's time to grow up and act like it. I'm honored to have worked for companies that have been nominated for and won Spike TV VGA's, but I don't need Jack Black, Green Day, and Samuel L. Jackson, to validate that to the rest of the world. We need to make our own celebrities and face the world on our terms. Let them pander to us because we don't owe them anything.

Rock Star vs. Tarantino

Rock Star Games are the Quentin Tarantino of the game development world. Their skill and past successes are rarely in question by anyone worth their salt, but they have a habit recently of producing critically acclaimed shite. I wasn't a fan of Tarantino's latest film "Inglourious Basterds." Much like his portion of 2007's Grindhouse double feature, "Death Proof", Basterds was 3/4 pointless exposition and masturbatory dialog, culminating in maybe half an hour or so of actual film. His direction and shooting style are without out question brilliant, but the man is badly in need of an editor for his scripts. Still, Basterds was a huge success for Tanrantino due mostly to the fact that he's become a brand now. He can sell tickets based on his name alone and the less people understand or the more they are bored by his films, the more they assume they must be watching something powerful and artistic.

Grand Theft Auto IV was the Inglourious Basterds of the video game world. Rock Star took their tried and true formula (perfected in GTA: Vice City and San Andreas in my opinion) and screwed with it in ways that didn't boost the core gameplay in the least. The game is full of pointless, annoying mini games that take focus away from not only the main plot, but for the most part exist entirely isolated from any other content in the game. The camera controls on foot are in a word: awful. This is nothing new, but you'd think they'd take the time to fix this between games or give those of us who loathe camera snap back an option to play without it. And finally they even messed with the driving physics in what one can only assume is an attempt at realism. Now when you're racing whatever clunker you've just stolen down the streets of Liberty City at 80+ mph you can expect the cars to handle just about as well as they would in the real world: horribly. I simply couldn't finish the game. Every time I tried to play it would do something to turn me away and I finally just gave up. And yet it was one of the most successful games in history, because Rock Star is a brand if people can't pplay the game well then that must be their fault because Rock Star is good at this kind of thing and we should just shut up.

Now Rock Star has a new game coming out this spring. Red Dead Redemption, the sequel to 2004's Red Dead Revolver, a game that received luke-warm reviews and was not much more than Grand Theft Auto ... on a horse. Don't get me wrong, the GTA format can work in different settings, but you can't just drop it in and hope it works. Red Dead Redemption may remedy this, but with Rock Star's track record I'm not expecting much. I can already see the side missions where I'm forced to take my cousin to the saloon, or where I have to romance a whore. I shudder at the thought of a horse shoeing mini game.

The problem is that I want a GTA style western game and I want it to be good. The western is a genre that is under used in video games, but that I think has a lot of potential. It's no mystery that Rock Star can make a good trailer, but can they still deliver a good game? If Red Dead Redemption focuses on game play instead of gimmicks, then maybe Rock Star can find a way to redeem themselves in my eyes. As it stands right now though they fall into the same category as Quentin Tarantino for me. They aren't making grand gestures and advancing their art, they're just wasting time because they can. Pointless mini games and needless dialog are two sides of the same worthless coin.