lulz, this is just like people saying all we do is play video games but in reverse!
haha sorry what I meant was if you look at the average larger studio we have fridges stocked with food, free coffee machines, soda, snacks, food catered to us when we work ot....Im pretty sure people doing thigns like lifting heavy shit all day aint as pampered as us tenderfoots most studios do not have concentration camp like conditions, I would say most of us work in a cushy environment.
the thing people tend to forget is that most jobs have OT, and granted you get paid extra for it at most jobs unlike ours, but you are still putting in extra hours at the workplace.
im not saying shut the fuck up and do your job, if you are miserable bring it up but dont whine and be sure to bring it up to the right people in a polite/calm manner. bitching behind managements back at the smokers hangout doesn't accomplish shit other than to breed a negative atmosphere 10x faster than the actual work.
when all else fails, find the executive bathroom and PLANT MAD UPPER DECKERS!!! UPPER DECKERS ALL ROUND!
If you don't want to work there, there are many other studios to choose from.
I think you're overestimating how many people are able to pick and choose the studio that they work at. Sure if you've got a brilliant portfolio and plenty of experience, and you live in a country where there's plenty of work (does such a thing exist anywhere at this point?), the world is your proverbial mollusk, but for every elite artist there are lower tier schlubs who don't have the skill or experience or education necessary to get a work visa and have take whatever they can get.
I guess the moral of that particular story is: if you're getting stuck in shitty studios, improve yourself and you'll be able to potentially find your way into a nicer one.
I've only really been in fringe of this industry (if you can consider satellite box games and character designing for 2nd gen consoles) but have worked on some large projects, and seen some crazy shit go down in my time.
I think you need to give it 4 or 5 years before you see your first proper tantrum.
I've seen people break their bones, hair fall out, scream at each other, throw chairs etc. I even had the displeasure of seeing my bosses dog attack a staff member because they were arguing about not knowing how to use Softimage properly. It's a lot more dramatic than other industries thats for sure.
Anyone have any good tips for ways of finding out if the place your interviewing at is evil or not? I feel like if I push too hard, wondering if they work late often, that I'll just sound lazy.
www.TheChaosEngine.com - anonymous industry forum which has threads on almost every company imaginable. Invaluable when applying for jobs and need some inside info before doing so
For the Chaos Engine, best thing to do is have someone who you know who is to PM an admin to vouch for you, I don't even think email applications are even being processed now.
I suppose I'm one of those rare ones that have reached a decade in the industry. Looking to move to a new city for the third time in a decade so I don't have to commute 200 miles a day to the job. Seen the development scene in Sheffield collapse (Rage & Infograms in the space of months) and in the South West disappear altogether. I've watched publishers completely shaft a studio after they pulled their fat out the fire with a regards to a licenced property. The instability of the industry and the prospect of moving away from family probably contributed to my divorce.
Would I do anything else? Nope
It is a young industry. You have a accept that it is unstable, that you may have to move again to get another job, that you have to spend free time keeping skills sharp because Wii games don't produce the nice shiny things that are needed in your portfolio. Thankfully stories of crunch are becoming less common, I hope in part because the workforce is maturing, and while working till midnight because it' something you love doing is fine in your early 20's, come mid-30's you want your evenings snuggling up to your missus unwinding.
Besides, I've worked as a cleaner, in a chicken slaughterhouse and a double glazing salesman. There are worse things to do in life
I don't like whining either, Vig. But you're making it sound easy to "do something about it".
It's not easy, I agree. The best time to look for a job is while you still have one, so if you're not in a good position to leave, work toward getting there. It comes down to what type of co-worker the person wants to be.
That guy: people roll their eyes and look for the nearest out when caught in conversation.
The teammate: people wait to hear what that person has to say because its insightful and even when dealing with negative things, often positive.
Part of what we wish to do with 3Point is create something outside of the ridiculous norms of the game industry
I totally applaud what you guys are doing. I think artist banding together and stepping outside the office are one of the ways that we can acquire bargaining power. A few more artists collectives banding together and you have an incredible amount of bargaining power.
I'm sure you know many of the same people that I do, highly respected, near worshipped, artists at the very top of the industry who have had to and have to put up with being treated terribly because there's no one backing them up.
Yep... sad to say big respected footprint around here but still a cog in giant machines. But they out of most people have the power change their situation if they're truly unhappy. It maybe seen as a step down to move to a smaller company but they can pretty much write their own ticket. Especially if they find a company you don't have to beat up to be respected. It actually says a lot to a company when one of those titans steps up and says I chose your company because you're doing something right. If you want to see a company fall all over itself trying to retain talent... that's one way it can happen.
Its easier for a small company to see an individuals hard work and dedication and reward them appropriately. Its also easier for an employee to raise through the ranks and acquire leverage. I've never had to use it but its there if I ever do. I would gladly use that leverage to help someone else. The team I work with knows it and would do the same. being a small team we wear unique hats and aren't easily replaced. Anywhere I go, I will look for this attitude.
Any good employer knows that their employees will work harder for each other than they will for the company and the company should do anything in their power to help their employees realize that. Small nods of respect, accountability and ownership over their work goes very very far.
In short you entered this industry as bums, and now at this point you've grown to become a skilled worker but still have the mentality of a bum.
I totally agree that attitude can be a major problem, mostly because they think at some point a benevolent exec will take notice, wave their magic wand and suddenly they'll have a Ferrari to drive back to their new palatial estate.
"I don't have crap, I'll gladly stab any of you in the back to steal your job, and I'll happily go on living like a bum for the foreseeable future because I believe at some point everyone will see what a genius I am and I'll be rewarded!"
Well, the problem is very few people get to renegotiate their pay once they've acquired skills, unless they change jobs. Waiting around for the company to wake up and suddenly pay you drastically more money is going to be a long painful wait. Add to it that the people that person will come to depend on will pick up on that new persons shark like attitude and are more inclined to let the new comer sink instead of swim. If they want respect, if they want money, if they want to have a lasting career and leave a mark on the industry, that is the wrong way to do it.
And don't take any of this like I'm trying to school ya, I'm more or less using your posts as a gateway to spew my own brand of artist patriotism. =P
Actually, I worked as an accountant before getting into the industry, I was reeling off positions that are worse to be in.
Yes, I accept the things that I cannot change. At my last studio, I was lead. I made sure that the schedules meant that no one had to crunch, that the artist were supported with the tools and resources they needed and that knowledge and techniques were shared.
What I couldn't change is the ability of the company directors to secure new projects to keep the studio from going under. I lobby my MP to impement the tax incentives in the UK that would mean British studios can compete with those in Canada and North Carolina and hopefully bring stability to studios so I don't have to relocate again.
Entity - re what you were saying about the the vfx industry. I totally agree, the schedules are insane and the pressure gets you.
I was actually missing the stress of working in games after a while.
high five!
It's cool when you see a commercial you've worked on appearing on tv/cinema, but the journey there is hell..
Game development can be tough. Shit goes wrong, bad planning happens, deadline become immovable due to various reasons and scope/quality is not being compromised.
All this crap happens because there ends up with a disconnect between the people doing the actual work and the handling things.
I don't think there is huge malice or a are you man enough to run with us attitude that's present across the industry however I think that simply various publishers/developers trying to do their best at their business. They may be misguided or desperate, have differences in expectations or be incompetent.
That shit happens everywhere and you have to leave and find new work if the situation is not remedied.
Yes it sucks that the games industry is relatively small and sporadically located but no one enters the industry under the naive perception that (unless there really are a 100 studios down the road) moving to find work may be necessary. Of course working remotely or freelancing is an option however that does not mean you are going to avoid all of these issues.
To be treated as a professional we have to act in a professional manner. Working at a game development studio is like going to school or joining a club however from some peoples attitudes you might think it is.
Atmosphere, studio culture and the state of development all filter down from management, so when you interview at a studio you should be looking to identify potential issues you will encounter. I know it probably goes without saying but research and prepare questions when you interview at studios. I have always spent time in interviews asking various questions related to concerns I have about the studio. You don't have to whine about things in interviews but as a professional you want to make sure that the studio/team whatever meets your expectations - or at least you identify their weaknesses aswell as their strengths (which they will undoubtedly sell you on anway).
Who is responsible for planning? How does the sign off process work here? Can you give me an example of all the responsibility's that my job will entail? You grill them as much, if not more than they grill you. If they don't like you asking questions then they have something to hide and in my experience that is indicative of deep rooted problems (in the person interviewing you or the studio).
No one should be about fucking someone else over but there will always be assholes.. make sure you avoid them if possible.
Expect to work on things that aren't the most stimulating awe inspiring tasks. Some has to make the fucking barrels right?
Optimizations and bug fixes are standard in the industry. Evolving tech/developing game will always mean there needs to be time planned out to ensure that things can be fixed, reworked or dumped if there isnt room for them.
'Try' and I say try because I find myself endeavouring to do this but it is difficult. Try not to invest your personal happiness in your work. Its work. A job. You are not your work and of course it reflects on you to an extent however as a professional you have to be able to disassociate yourself from it and view things objectively.
Do great things, plan, organise, create, have fun, fix and optimise.
Right now its an industry in its infancy. People are key to making things great and making great things however people are the cause of all the problems. I think we are lucky that game art can be pre-determined, planned for and then executed upon. There are a lot of concrete factors that can mean game development for us can be planned effectively and with good planning and predictable workloads/output deadlines can be met without blood, sweat and tears.
Start with the assumption that corporations are evil, then get together with peers to protect your interests. Read up on the history of labour organisations.
The disconnect that corporations have from the company's they work with is the same issue that really is at the heart of most development issues. The decision makers are so far removed from the workers that they have no real understanding or appreciation for the people. If you never get a chance to tell your boss how you feel they could improve how can they? IF they don't want to hear it then they have issues and the disconnect begins. Why should they tell you how you can improve if you cant provide feedback on them? It seems ridiculous to me that 20 people working for one manager can be told how to improve but will not have a chance to provide feedback the other way. If people give a shit and want to do things right then keeping the majority of people happy, valuing employees is key.
Educate yourselves and dont endure shit for no good reason.
All good jobs have downsides. Working in the gaming industry's biggest downside is that the majority of places don't pay for overtime. You know, if all studios paid OT no one would probably ever complain ever. Maybe we need a union or something? I dunno
Also, free food and shit during OT hours isn't worth it at all. You just paid like $150+ for a bum ass plate of food and you find that be worth it? Come on dude. People think "getting free meals" during overtime is the company being nice. Now, it's a farce into not paying shit to keep you there but look "giving" at the same time. Now, getting time off and paid equal to your OT hours almost makes up for it, but not quite.
If you don't like it, don't sign the papers to let them rape you? I dunno. Anyone could list a bunch of negatives about any job honestly.
EDIT - and oh, yes there are artists/programmers/producers/whatever that fuck over each other. Why? Because they can and the industry is cut-throat as hell but people like to pretend it isn't.
I think the bigger issue about games these days, even beyond shitty working conditions, is if the time spent making games is worth it.
In other words: are you going to spend the next 5 years of your life making background props or editing particle effects so that reviewers can shit all over your work and 14 year olds can say "LOL SUX. HALOZ BETTER"?
Even if people like your game, people will only play your game for a month or two before forgetting about it entirely. And let's face it. Most games made these days deserve to be forgotten.
I think the bigger issue about games these days, even beyond shitty working conditions, is if the time spent making games is worth it.
In other words: are you going to spend the next 5 years of your life making background props or editing particle effects so that reviewers can shit all over your work and 14 year olds can say "LOL SUX. HALOZ BETTER"?
Even if people like your game, people will only play your game for a month or two before forgetting about it entirely. And let's face it. Most games made these days deserve to be forgotten.
Oh come on, this sort of thinking applies to any job ever.
Is it really worth being an astronaut? Youll spend years and years training just so that you can risk your life flying to the moon for a couple hours, and when you get back youll have to endure people claiming the whole thing was a hoax for the rest of your life.
Who would want to be president? At least half the country is going to hate you no matter what you do and, unless there is a big war during your term, only history nerds will even remember you existed in 100 years.
In other words: are you going to spend the next 5 years of your life making background props or editing particle effects so that reviewers can shit all over your work and 14 year olds can say "LOL SUX. HALOZ BETTER"?
I thought this was one of the more interesting aspects of the article; that Alexander decided to discuss games journalism as part of the industry, as opposed to solely focusing on the working conditions of developers.
Several times, she either directly mentions or hints at not being taken seriously as a journalist for deciding to write content about video games. Surely this is even easier a situation to remedy than a developer struggling with the decision whether or not to move to another studio?
Want to be a 'serious' writer? Write about something important. As much as we love playing and working on them, games are still just entertainment. No game reviewer is ever going to win a Pulitzer for their witty deconstruction of masculinity stereotypes in Gears of War.
Not to mention the whole concept of games journalism is an entirely different animal than it was when we (or some of us) were kids. I thought the Life Well Wasted podcast about the death of EGM was excellent because it remembered a time when all we had were a few grainy screenshots and speculation, and you either waited for the next issue's review, or went and actually played it to make up your own mind. What a concept!
Does anyone even read game reviews anymore? The only guys I trust are Gabe and Tycho, and I'll usually make an effort to find out the metacritic score if I can, but that's about it for me.
From what folks are saying, is the worst aspect of working in the industry the lack of routine, like 9 - 6? 8 - 6? I think a lot of people like the routine of core hours, I do. At least you know where you are and you can work as hard as you can within those hours. I have worked overtime for a few hours a week, non-paid, and in the knowledge that its for the greater good, and is acknowledged, by superiors, it doesn't matter so much.
Not in the industry, so I'm only tring to to ascertain the main issue with the working part of it is.
Oh come on, this sort of thinking applies to any job ever.
You seem to be saying all jobs are essentially the same, and none are rewarding. This is up to personal tastes and preferences, but I certainly think some jobs are more worth doing than others. I think we'll just have to disagree.
When I was younger I wanted so bad for games to become mainstream so people could appreciate how awesome they were, but now that they are more mainstream, the audience for games is a bunch of slack jawed retards. I had some kid the other day trying to tell me Gears of War "had the best story ever" and was "so original".
So the reviewers that are doing the best now are morons like Jeff Gerstman-- "Kane and Lynch sucked because I didn't find the characters likable DERP DERP"
So the reviewers that are doing the best now are morons like Jeff Gerstman-- "Kane and Lynch sucked because I didn't find the characters likable DERP DERP"
Exactly. I think Alexander's frustration that game reviewer's jobs are peripheral to gaming at best and virtually useless at worst were a large part of the reason that she chose to focus on such overwhelmingly negative aspects of working in game development to begin with.
Of course, writing an article like this wouldn't have been an enviable task regardless of what angle she went for - writing an article about the positive aspects of working in games would probably perpetuate the idea that game development is all about nerf gun wars and playing games all day, not to mention being directly at odds with the experiences of most of gamasutra's readership.
You seem to be saying all jobs are essentially the same, and none are rewarding. This is up to personal tastes and preferences, but I certainly think some jobs are more worth doing than others. I think we'll just have to disagree.
Any job can be rewarding, but the only jobs that dont ever receive public criticism are the ones that are never reviewed by the public. On the art side, even the great masters that we find flawless today tended to be ragged on endlessly by their contemporaries.
Any job can be rewarding, but the only jobs that dont ever receive public criticism are the ones that are never reviewed by the public.
I don't have any problem with criticism, but my point was that the audience for games likes dogshit like Modern Warfare 2, so that making a great game for them is like casting pearls before swine.
Even if you do make a great game for a niche audience, it means you will probably end up with a low metacritic score, and then even the audience you are targeting will probably avoid your game.
well it could be worse ninjas. You might work on a game like Modern Warfare 2 and then have to deal with your actual peers calling it dogshit rather than just a bunch of 13 year olds.
I don't have any problem with criticism, but my point was that the audience for games likes dogshit like Modern Warfare 2, so that making a great game for them is like casting pearls before swine.
Even if you do make a great game for a niche audience, it means you will probably end up with a low metacritic score, and then even the audience you are targeting will probably avoid your game.
Ill give you that, but its no different than any other medium. Popular music is almost all crap, Transformers 3 will make a gigantic mountain of cash no matter how bad it is, and enough Twilight books have been sold to build a stack to the moon.
Edit: Im not a fan of FPS and have never played any Modern Warfare game, so Im not saying that particular game is bad.
well it could be worse ninjas. You might work on a game like Modern Warfare 2 and then have to deal with your actual peers calling it dogshit rather than just a bunch of 13 year olds.
I respect those guys enough to know they know what they made. I know why they made it too. here is the reason:
Ill give you that, but its no different than any other medium. Popular music is almost all crap, Transformers 3 will make a gigantic mountain of cash no matter how bad it is.
But how much of that is computer games being so closely tied to computer literacy? There are obviously legions of people who thought that Transformers 2 was an enjoyable and coherent experience, but I would guess most of those people dont know how to use the internet for anything but sending chain emails of funny cat pictures.
I have to agree with ninjas. Sure you can say that you can and have to make the best of any job given the situation but that is tough considering that most of us have the capability to make our jobs better. I wouldn't feel good flipping burgers any faster at McDonalds but I would feel better knowing I contributed to a team effort on a game project that does well. You also know what to expect when you work at a fast food joint in that the potential for growth is limited and obvious. A game company is radically different. People are hired for their creative and technical knowhow. So yeah, I would expect a lot more from a game company I work at than a more 'conventional' career.
And I could have said I feel better knowing I contributed to a team effort on a game project, period, but honestly, getting something more out of it than shipping a game is more important to me. I guess it's because I am getting older that I want more out of my career than "Thank God it's finished." As people, we get older develop different priorities and we want better things. The artist in me still wants to work long hours to complete something to some idyllic sense of perfection, but the person in me wants to make sure that I dont see myself as a cog in a machine or worse, an island unto myself in series of islands working as a team to make something that benefits the whole. The glory of working long hours to ship a buggy title become less gratifying and even less so when there are no incentives beyond the game shipping and being added to a resume.
What I would love to see is a commitment and a real sense of ownership made between company heads and their team, or at least terms and incentives that would make artists and other developers actually want to do a good job to begin with. I mean sure we all want to do a good job but there are dependencies and external factors that have to be addressed and lots of problems can be mitigated if you know, everyone actually is on board with the project. We all know it's totally possible because there are several companies out there that do that. I'd love to see something that way instead of a kneejerk reaction to contract terms and conditions.
There's nothing worse than working on a project knowing that it is a sinking ship and despite your best efforts will fail. The "Hey at least it pays the bills" response is bullshit too because we all signed up for something that has the potential for a whole lot more than flipping burgers would offer.
What sort of terms and incentives would you want to see? While everyone's thinking about this, we might as well try to come up with a few ideas on what can actually be done to improve things rather than just lamenting the issues.
Yeah as jackablade said, the issue is known. If we wan't to have any hope of change then maybe it is the time to discuss the various ways to change. And no, boycotting won't work :P
I thought about having a union, but then you get things where company's dont hire people because they are with a union. Atltrough maybe that would result in those company's being accepted as untrustworthy and see their asses getting bankrupt because they did not support a union.
plus the gamebizz is worldwide, so it must be an international solution to things.
Replies
haha sorry what I meant was if you look at the average larger studio we have fridges stocked with food, free coffee machines, soda, snacks, food catered to us when we work ot....Im pretty sure people doing thigns like lifting heavy shit all day aint as pampered as us tenderfoots
the thing people tend to forget is that most jobs have OT, and granted you get paid extra for it at most jobs unlike ours, but you are still putting in extra hours at the workplace.
im not saying shut the fuck up and do your job, if you are miserable bring it up but dont whine and be sure to bring it up to the right people in a polite/calm manner. bitching behind managements back at the smokers hangout doesn't accomplish shit other than to breed a negative atmosphere 10x faster than the actual work.
when all else fails, find the executive bathroom and PLANT MAD UPPER DECKERS!!! UPPER DECKERS ALL ROUND!
I guess the moral of that particular story is: if you're getting stuck in shitty studios, improve yourself and you'll be able to potentially find your way into a nicer one.
I think you need to give it 4 or 5 years before you see your first proper tantrum.
I've seen people break their bones, hair fall out, scream at each other, throw chairs etc. I even had the displeasure of seeing my bosses dog attack a staff member because they were arguing about not knowing how to use Softimage properly. It's a lot more dramatic than other industries thats for sure.
www.TheChaosEngine.com - anonymous industry forum which has threads on almost every company imaginable. Invaluable when applying for jobs and need some inside info before doing so
I suppose I'm one of those rare ones that have reached a decade in the industry. Looking to move to a new city for the third time in a decade so I don't have to commute 200 miles a day to the job. Seen the development scene in Sheffield collapse (Rage & Infograms in the space of months) and in the South West disappear altogether. I've watched publishers completely shaft a studio after they pulled their fat out the fire with a regards to a licenced property. The instability of the industry and the prospect of moving away from family probably contributed to my divorce.
Would I do anything else? Nope
It is a young industry. You have a accept that it is unstable, that you may have to move again to get another job, that you have to spend free time keeping skills sharp because Wii games don't produce the nice shiny things that are needed in your portfolio. Thankfully stories of crunch are becoming less common, I hope in part because the workforce is maturing, and while working till midnight because it' something you love doing is fine in your early 20's, come mid-30's you want your evenings snuggling up to your missus unwinding.
Besides, I've worked as a cleaner, in a chicken slaughterhouse and a double glazing salesman. There are worse things to do in life
That guy: people roll their eyes and look for the nearest out when caught in conversation.
The teammate: people wait to hear what that person has to say because its insightful and even when dealing with negative things, often positive.
I totally applaud what you guys are doing. I think artist banding together and stepping outside the office are one of the ways that we can acquire bargaining power. A few more artists collectives banding together and you have an incredible amount of bargaining power.
Yep... sad to say big respected footprint around here but still a cog in giant machines. But they out of most people have the power change their situation if they're truly unhappy. It maybe seen as a step down to move to a smaller company but they can pretty much write their own ticket. Especially if they find a company you don't have to beat up to be respected. It actually says a lot to a company when one of those titans steps up and says I chose your company because you're doing something right. If you want to see a company fall all over itself trying to retain talent... that's one way it can happen.
Its easier for a small company to see an individuals hard work and dedication and reward them appropriately. Its also easier for an employee to raise through the ranks and acquire leverage. I've never had to use it but its there if I ever do. I would gladly use that leverage to help someone else. The team I work with knows it and would do the same. being a small team we wear unique hats and aren't easily replaced. Anywhere I go, I will look for this attitude.
Any good employer knows that their employees will work harder for each other than they will for the company and the company should do anything in their power to help their employees realize that. Small nods of respect, accountability and ownership over their work goes very very far.
I totally agree that attitude can be a major problem, mostly because they think at some point a benevolent exec will take notice, wave their magic wand and suddenly they'll have a Ferrari to drive back to their new palatial estate.
Well, the problem is very few people get to renegotiate their pay once they've acquired skills, unless they change jobs. Waiting around for the company to wake up and suddenly pay you drastically more money is going to be a long painful wait. Add to it that the people that person will come to depend on will pick up on that new persons shark like attitude and are more inclined to let the new comer sink instead of swim. If they want respect, if they want money, if they want to have a lasting career and leave a mark on the industry, that is the wrong way to do it.
And don't take any of this like I'm trying to school ya, I'm more or less using your posts as a gateway to spew my own brand of artist patriotism. =P
err what was this thread about?
Yes, I accept the things that I cannot change. At my last studio, I was lead. I made sure that the schedules meant that no one had to crunch, that the artist were supported with the tools and resources they needed and that knowledge and techniques were shared.
What I couldn't change is the ability of the company directors to secure new projects to keep the studio from going under. I lobby my MP to impement the tax incentives in the UK that would mean British studios can compete with those in Canada and North Carolina and hopefully bring stability to studios so I don't have to relocate again.
high five!
It's cool when you see a commercial you've worked on appearing on tv/cinema, but the journey there is hell..
All this crap happens because there ends up with a disconnect between the people doing the actual work and the handling things.
I don't think there is huge malice or a are you man enough to run with us attitude that's present across the industry however I think that simply various publishers/developers trying to do their best at their business. They may be misguided or desperate, have differences in expectations or be incompetent.
That shit happens everywhere and you have to leave and find new work if the situation is not remedied.
Yes it sucks that the games industry is relatively small and sporadically located but no one enters the industry under the naive perception that (unless there really are a 100 studios down the road) moving to find work may be necessary. Of course working remotely or freelancing is an option however that does not mean you are going to avoid all of these issues.
To be treated as a professional we have to act in a professional manner. Working at a game development studio is like going to school or joining a club however from some peoples attitudes you might think it is.
Atmosphere, studio culture and the state of development all filter down from management, so when you interview at a studio you should be looking to identify potential issues you will encounter. I know it probably goes without saying but research and prepare questions when you interview at studios. I have always spent time in interviews asking various questions related to concerns I have about the studio. You don't have to whine about things in interviews but as a professional you want to make sure that the studio/team whatever meets your expectations - or at least you identify their weaknesses aswell as their strengths (which they will undoubtedly sell you on anway).
Who is responsible for planning? How does the sign off process work here? Can you give me an example of all the responsibility's that my job will entail? You grill them as much, if not more than they grill you. If they don't like you asking questions then they have something to hide and in my experience that is indicative of deep rooted problems (in the person interviewing you or the studio).
No one should be about fucking someone else over but there will always be assholes.. make sure you avoid them if possible.
Expect to work on things that aren't the most stimulating awe inspiring tasks. Some has to make the fucking barrels right?
Optimizations and bug fixes are standard in the industry. Evolving tech/developing game will always mean there needs to be time planned out to ensure that things can be fixed, reworked or dumped if there isnt room for them.
'Try' and I say try because I find myself endeavouring to do this but it is difficult. Try not to invest your personal happiness in your work. Its work. A job. You are not your work and of course it reflects on you to an extent however as a professional you have to be able to disassociate yourself from it and view things objectively.
Do great things, plan, organise, create, have fun, fix and optimise.
Right now its an industry in its infancy. People are key to making things great and making great things however people are the cause of all the problems. I think we are lucky that game art can be pre-determined, planned for and then executed upon. There are a lot of concrete factors that can mean game development for us can be planned effectively and with good planning and predictable workloads/output deadlines can be met without blood, sweat and tears.
The disconnect that corporations have from the company's they work with is the same issue that really is at the heart of most development issues. The decision makers are so far removed from the workers that they have no real understanding or appreciation for the people. If you never get a chance to tell your boss how you feel they could improve how can they? IF they don't want to hear it then they have issues and the disconnect begins. Why should they tell you how you can improve if you cant provide feedback on them? It seems ridiculous to me that 20 people working for one manager can be told how to improve but will not have a chance to provide feedback the other way. If people give a shit and want to do things right then keeping the majority of people happy, valuing employees is key.
Educate yourselves and dont endure shit for no good reason.
Also, free food and shit during OT hours isn't worth it at all. You just paid like $150+ for a bum ass plate of food and you find that be worth it? Come on dude. People think "getting free meals" during overtime is the company being nice. Now, it's a farce into not paying shit to keep you there but look "giving" at the same time. Now, getting time off and paid equal to your OT hours almost makes up for it, but not quite.
If you don't like it, don't sign the papers to let them rape you? I dunno. Anyone could list a bunch of negatives about any job honestly.
EDIT - and oh, yes there are artists/programmers/producers/whatever that fuck over each other. Why? Because they can and the industry is cut-throat as hell but people like to pretend it isn't.
In other words: are you going to spend the next 5 years of your life making background props or editing particle effects so that reviewers can shit all over your work and 14 year olds can say "LOL SUX. HALOZ BETTER"?
Even if people like your game, people will only play your game for a month or two before forgetting about it entirely. And let's face it. Most games made these days deserve to be forgotten.
Oh come on, this sort of thinking applies to any job ever.
Is it really worth being an astronaut? Youll spend years and years training just so that you can risk your life flying to the moon for a couple hours, and when you get back youll have to endure people claiming the whole thing was a hoax for the rest of your life.
Who would want to be president? At least half the country is going to hate you no matter what you do and, unless there is a big war during your term, only history nerds will even remember you existed in 100 years.
I thought this was one of the more interesting aspects of the article; that Alexander decided to discuss games journalism as part of the industry, as opposed to solely focusing on the working conditions of developers.
Several times, she either directly mentions or hints at not being taken seriously as a journalist for deciding to write content about video games. Surely this is even easier a situation to remedy than a developer struggling with the decision whether or not to move to another studio?
Want to be a 'serious' writer? Write about something important. As much as we love playing and working on them, games are still just entertainment. No game reviewer is ever going to win a Pulitzer for their witty deconstruction of masculinity stereotypes in Gears of War.
Not to mention the whole concept of games journalism is an entirely different animal than it was when we (or some of us) were kids. I thought the Life Well Wasted podcast about the death of EGM was excellent because it remembered a time when all we had were a few grainy screenshots and speculation, and you either waited for the next issue's review, or went and actually played it to make up your own mind. What a concept!
Does anyone even read game reviews anymore? The only guys I trust are Gabe and Tycho, and I'll usually make an effort to find out the metacritic score if I can, but that's about it for me.
Not in the industry, so I'm only tring to to ascertain the main issue with the working part of it is.
You seem to be saying all jobs are essentially the same, and none are rewarding. This is up to personal tastes and preferences, but I certainly think some jobs are more worth doing than others. I think we'll just have to disagree.
When I was younger I wanted so bad for games to become mainstream so people could appreciate how awesome they were, but now that they are more mainstream, the audience for games is a bunch of slack jawed retards. I had some kid the other day trying to tell me Gears of War "had the best story ever" and was "so original".
So the reviewers that are doing the best now are morons like Jeff Gerstman-- "Kane and Lynch sucked because I didn't find the characters likable DERP DERP"
Exactly. I think Alexander's frustration that game reviewer's jobs are peripheral to gaming at best and virtually useless at worst were a large part of the reason that she chose to focus on such overwhelmingly negative aspects of working in game development to begin with.
Of course, writing an article like this wouldn't have been an enviable task regardless of what angle she went for - writing an article about the positive aspects of working in games would probably perpetuate the idea that game development is all about nerf gun wars and playing games all day, not to mention being directly at odds with the experiences of most of gamasutra's readership.
Any job can be rewarding, but the only jobs that dont ever receive public criticism are the ones that are never reviewed by the public. On the art side, even the great masters that we find flawless today tended to be ragged on endlessly by their contemporaries.
I don't have any problem with criticism, but my point was that the audience for games likes dogshit like Modern Warfare 2, so that making a great game for them is like casting pearls before swine.
Even if you do make a great game for a niche audience, it means you will probably end up with a low metacritic score, and then even the audience you are targeting will probably avoid your game.
Ill give you that, but its no different than any other medium. Popular music is almost all crap, Transformers 3 will make a gigantic mountain of cash no matter how bad it is, and enough Twilight books have been sold to build a stack to the moon.
Edit: Im not a fan of FPS and have never played any Modern Warfare game, so Im not saying that particular game is bad.
I respect those guys enough to know they know what they made. I know why they made it too. here is the reason:
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/modernwarfare2?q=modern%20warfare%202
here is the difference:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_revenge_of_the_fallen/ (compare with link above)
But how much of that is computer games being so closely tied to computer literacy? There are obviously legions of people who thought that Transformers 2 was an enjoyable and coherent experience, but I would guess most of those people dont know how to use the internet for anything but sending chain emails of funny cat pictures.
And I could have said I feel better knowing I contributed to a team effort on a game project, period, but honestly, getting something more out of it than shipping a game is more important to me. I guess it's because I am getting older that I want more out of my career than "Thank God it's finished." As people, we get older develop different priorities and we want better things. The artist in me still wants to work long hours to complete something to some idyllic sense of perfection, but the person in me wants to make sure that I dont see myself as a cog in a machine or worse, an island unto myself in series of islands working as a team to make something that benefits the whole. The glory of working long hours to ship a buggy title become less gratifying and even less so when there are no incentives beyond the game shipping and being added to a resume.
What I would love to see is a commitment and a real sense of ownership made between company heads and their team, or at least terms and incentives that would make artists and other developers actually want to do a good job to begin with. I mean sure we all want to do a good job but there are dependencies and external factors that have to be addressed and lots of problems can be mitigated if you know, everyone actually is on board with the project. We all know it's totally possible because there are several companies out there that do that. I'd love to see something that way instead of a kneejerk reaction to contract terms and conditions.
There's nothing worse than working on a project knowing that it is a sinking ship and despite your best efforts will fail. The "Hey at least it pays the bills" response is bullshit too because we all signed up for something that has the potential for a whole lot more than flipping burgers would offer.
It is has our solution.
I thought about having a union, but then you get things where company's dont hire people because they are with a union. Atltrough maybe that would result in those company's being accepted as untrustworthy and see their asses getting bankrupt because they did not support a union.
plus the gamebizz is worldwide, so it must be an international solution to things.