Is this job ethical?
Hello thankyou everyone for reading this
My question is that I have been offered a job working for a company that makes graphics for slot machines/pokies. Since gambling can be an addiction do you think it is rite to work at this job? I would like the experience and money but I would hate if it being a gambling job would work against me and look bad on my CV to future employers.
It is hard decision as I want the job, but I dont want to be contributing to something that can be an addiction for others. I am very lost
Thankyou for your opinions.
My question is that I have been offered a job working for a company that makes graphics for slot machines/pokies. Since gambling can be an addiction do you think it is rite to work at this job? I would like the experience and money but I would hate if it being a gambling job would work against me and look bad on my CV to future employers.
It is hard decision as I want the job, but I dont want to be contributing to something that can be an addiction for others. I am very lost
Thankyou for your opinions.
Replies
Regarding the ethical stuff, in my opinion if a person want to throw their money away at the slots they will do it anyway. It's not that if you don't accept the job people stop playing.
It's their own decision.
It may sound cynical but at the end of the day is the truth and can be applied to other stuff that i won't discuss here.
Also normal videogames can become an addiction too like everything else, WoW and other MMORPG are a great example of this.
Nowadays a more revelant example would be any mobile game: free to play with microtransactions, companies make millions ( literaly ) because people pay tons of money to have an advantage ( Clash of Clans ) or to have cosmetic stuff ( Fortnite, Dota ).
If the pay is good i would accept the job because you will also have something to show on the CV that is related to an artist position.
I dont think it does hurt my skill.
You'll be fine, it's experience. There are so many genres out there that's in games, it's pretty much part of the game dev world; educational games, serious games, music-based games, typing games, military games, etc.
Except my girlfriend got a job as product manager in a free-2-play mobile game studio based on her experience working for casino apps. There is no surprise countries are banning free-2-play mechanics based on gambling laws, since a lot of the ideas behind them are from gambling. The whole market is based on exploiting the 'whales' (if I am not mistaken another term coming from casinos) to pay for the products while the majority of players uses it for free.
Back to the topic: These days you see a lot of artists working for gambling apps. They are often far easier to get into and they often also overpay since they have a harder time to get people (working for them comes often with quite boring IPs, far simpler productions,... making it harder to attract people). There is probably a stigma, but it isn't much of an issue simply because its the reality of the market. Bigger issue is that you will have to put additional hours after the job to stay on top of developments in technology and workflows, since as mentioned many casino games developers don't need cutting edge graphics - neither do they have the teams to keep up with developments. Doing stylized art it might be less of an issue, but if you have a realistic art style you will have a hard time to have a portfolio that can compete with AAA-productions if you want to switch later on.
When it comes to addiction - meh, regular games have the same issue. Just because we dislike the gambling products doesn't mean that all users are poor victims, while gamers are all rational and balanced. I've just seen someone 3-4 weeks ago spend roughly € 800,- to purchase items to sell ingame and get ingame currency in a AAA-mmorpg... not certain if that is anywhere near to a sane behavior...
If it's your only option to make money and build a good portfolio, go for it.
If you feel too bad about doing it and you have other options to follow your plan, don't do it.
I don't think it will be bad in your resume, all that counts is the quality of your work, i don't think any art manager will be against your work if it is good.
I think this is a question only you can answer for yourself.
I know also people who go every now and then to the casino knowing exactly what they will get out of it - a few drinks for free and a few hours of fun for the amount of money they are willing to drop - which is actually about the same they would have spent at a bar. You are comparing compuslive gamblers with average gamers. Not everyone going to a casino, playing the lottery or droping money into a slot machine lacks selfcontrol. Even if I don't care for the thrill and don't do it myself, I've stopped caring what people do with their money for fun. Shall we really start discussions about what is morally correct to do with your earnings for fun?
That's not meant as a starting point for a discussion, just putting some light on the other side of the issue to get an idea what the other point of view might be.
I think I will accept the job after reading all your kind comments. I feel a small bit bad as it is normally said that the people (mostly old people) who play slot machines are the ones that cant afford it. But I have to keep telling me that not all people who play slot machines are addicts. And really I dont think my art will be part of whether or not someone chooses to plays the slot machine. If they have addiction they will be playing any way. It is the same as being a bartender... not all your customers are alcoholics, but some are.
Again many thanks for all your thoughts