(I'd been putting #Blapril instead of #Blapril2020 in the posts. Oh yay. Guess I'm going to have to go fix that.)
What to write about Developer/Creator Appreciation Week of #Blapril?
That you have my sympathy.
You're already in an impossible position --attempting to please a (very) fickle audience, while at the same time maintain your own sanity-- and then on top of it you're typically crapped upon salary-wise by your employer and told what a "privilege" it is to work in the video games industry as an excuse. When you decide to deviate from an implicitly defined "formula" for video games, the gatekeepers come out of the woodwork to tell you that "you're doing it wrong" to be polite about it.
In short, the video games industry is a microcosm of what our pre-pandemic lives were like, but played out in public and all over the internet.
It's not as if people were going to follow the foibles of Bob's Plumbing and Propane* all over Reddit, but I can guarantee you that any post about Star Wars: The Old Republic on Facebook will result in at least a decent number of commenters saying "I can't believe this shitty game is still around, and who would ever play this piece of shit is beyond me."
For starters.
It's like seeing an ad for Ivory Soap --yes, it still exists, people-- and waiting for the inevitable "P&G is in league with SATAN!!!" comments from conspiracy theorists who thought the old P&G logo described a hidden connection to Satanists that was only revealed to a chosen few.
Or hearing the "Paul is Dead" refrain from people who still think Paul McCartney died in a car crash in the mid 60s, prior to Sargent Pepper's release.**
Besides, if there's anybody who had a deal with the Devil, it has to be Keith Richards.
I'd rather not crush anybody's hopes and dreams (tm), but if you're getting into the IT field --let alone the video games industry-- you have to realize that the early days of video games (70s through the 90s) are long gone, and Corporate America (tm) and the MBA people have invaded the video games industry and turned it into just another corporate drone kind of life, where the investors reign supreme.
Oh, there are exceptions out there, but in general you have to realize that video game development is a job like any other, and upper management typically looks at the developer/creator as just another cog in the machine. If you think otherwise, go listen to a quarterly investor call for a company such as EA or Activision/Blizzard.
Once, several years ago, I fielded a call from a comp sci club at a local university, who wanted me to talk to their computer science students about the exciting things I was doing in the field I was in. The presumption was that because of my field, I was getting to do all sorts of cutting edge work in IT.
"Um," I said, "I'm not sure if I'm the right guy to talk to your club."
"Why not?"
"Because about half of a job in my field is spent in meetings."
"Meetings?" I could almost hear the guy's optimism burst and deflate.
"Yeah. That and bureacracy, because [my field] is the butt end of the universe in IT. And if someone knows your name, it's because the crap is hitting the fan and people are yelling your name. If nobody knows your name, it means everything is working right, and then people wonder why they're paying so much for your time and effort."
So yes, developers, I hear you. I see you, and I appreciate all of your efforts.
Yes, I see the shitstorms that come out of saying things such as the story being just as important in video games as other parts, and I see the layoffs that hit your company when you still had record profits. I see you being thrown under the bus when upper management wants a sacrificial lamb for when nobody at the top could provide consistent and cohesive direction. And I see you when you are marginalized, made to feel small --or unwanted-- or stressed beyond belief when the company wants you to work 80-100 hour work weeks.
Yeah, I see you. You have my respect and my love, and I wish I had won the lottery so that I could create a game company that would do things right for their developers.
But since Powerball hasn't been so kind (not like it's ever going to, let's be real here), I can only give you my love and support.
#Blapril2020
*I have no idea if this company exists, but it wouldn't shock me if it does.
**Newsflash: Paul is not only still alive, but had a recent album release and even played Lady Madonna on the One World Together At Home fundraiser.
What to write about Developer/Creator Appreciation Week of #Blapril?
That you have my sympathy.
You're already in an impossible position --attempting to please a (very) fickle audience, while at the same time maintain your own sanity-- and then on top of it you're typically crapped upon salary-wise by your employer and told what a "privilege" it is to work in the video games industry as an excuse. When you decide to deviate from an implicitly defined "formula" for video games, the gatekeepers come out of the woodwork to tell you that "you're doing it wrong" to be polite about it.
In short, the video games industry is a microcosm of what our pre-pandemic lives were like, but played out in public and all over the internet.
It's not as if people were going to follow the foibles of Bob's Plumbing and Propane* all over Reddit, but I can guarantee you that any post about Star Wars: The Old Republic on Facebook will result in at least a decent number of commenters saying "I can't believe this shitty game is still around, and who would ever play this piece of shit is beyond me."
For starters.
It's like seeing an ad for Ivory Soap --yes, it still exists, people-- and waiting for the inevitable "P&G is in league with SATAN!!!" comments from conspiracy theorists who thought the old P&G logo described a hidden connection to Satanists that was only revealed to a chosen few.
Or hearing the "Paul is Dead" refrain from people who still think Paul McCartney died in a car crash in the mid 60s, prior to Sargent Pepper's release.**
Besides, if there's anybody who had a deal with the Devil, it has to be Keith Richards.
***
I'd rather not crush anybody's hopes and dreams (tm), but if you're getting into the IT field --let alone the video games industry-- you have to realize that the early days of video games (70s through the 90s) are long gone, and Corporate America (tm) and the MBA people have invaded the video games industry and turned it into just another corporate drone kind of life, where the investors reign supreme.
Oh, there are exceptions out there, but in general you have to realize that video game development is a job like any other, and upper management typically looks at the developer/creator as just another cog in the machine. If you think otherwise, go listen to a quarterly investor call for a company such as EA or Activision/Blizzard.
Once, several years ago, I fielded a call from a comp sci club at a local university, who wanted me to talk to their computer science students about the exciting things I was doing in the field I was in. The presumption was that because of my field, I was getting to do all sorts of cutting edge work in IT.
"Um," I said, "I'm not sure if I'm the right guy to talk to your club."
"Why not?"
"Because about half of a job in my field is spent in meetings."
"Meetings?" I could almost hear the guy's optimism burst and deflate.
"Yeah. That and bureacracy, because [my field] is the butt end of the universe in IT. And if someone knows your name, it's because the crap is hitting the fan and people are yelling your name. If nobody knows your name, it means everything is working right, and then people wonder why they're paying so much for your time and effort."
***
So yes, developers, I hear you. I see you, and I appreciate all of your efforts.
Yes, I see the shitstorms that come out of saying things such as the story being just as important in video games as other parts, and I see the layoffs that hit your company when you still had record profits. I see you being thrown under the bus when upper management wants a sacrificial lamb for when nobody at the top could provide consistent and cohesive direction. And I see you when you are marginalized, made to feel small --or unwanted-- or stressed beyond belief when the company wants you to work 80-100 hour work weeks.
Yeah, I see you. You have my respect and my love, and I wish I had won the lottery so that I could create a game company that would do things right for their developers.
But since Powerball hasn't been so kind (not like it's ever going to, let's be real here), I can only give you my love and support.
#Blapril2020
*I have no idea if this company exists, but it wouldn't shock me if it does.
**Newsflash: Paul is not only still alive, but had a recent album release and even played Lady Madonna on the One World Together At Home fundraiser.
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