Valuing Your Talent in The New Year

[Cameron read an article on Kotaku titled "New Year's Resolutions For The Game Industry" by Leigh Alexander. Among the many points argued, she calls for more recognition of the people who actually make the games - Ed]

Among the resolutions Ms. Alexander discussed, the ever so hopeful “Value Your Talent” section caught my eye. I’ll just say that Marketing will never entertain the thought. The very last thing they would want is for someone in press to talk to a designer who’s been knee-deep in 65 hour-a-week shifts knowing all the things, good and bad, with the game’s development. It’s far more convenient and safe (for their own job security) to throw out the PR-spiel prepared Producer to the media. A producer won’t be disgruntled. A producer will want to protect his “project” just as much as the PR bum in charge. A producer is more refreshed than the drained, disgruntled designer.

Not saying all, but many producers don’t have to (nor want to) sit around in the office as long as the design team, and they don’t. They clock in their 30 hours for the week and maybe keep up with the team from the comfort of their office chair…at casa del producer. That’s not to say they aren’t team players, some will actually stick it through and kudos to them. However, from my experiences, unless they have to take on the final boss that is the almighty deadline, forget about it. Even in deadline, there’s no lingering issue that a “Will Not Fix, Legacy” tag won’t cure.

Going back to the disgruntled designer, who is on his sixth cup of stale Maxwell House, he is probably ready to break down. QA has been digging at him to fix issues void of the necessary details to, you know, actually fix them. The designer can only feel solace in his name being listed on the game’s credits. Indeed that annual salary is worth the perpetual extra hours and effort, heaven forbid that you don’t have the chance to be assigned to that AAA title. It may not seem too extreme to hear “the game is going to suck” or “there’s a few features we cut back on to get this damn thing out” from one of them on one of their bad days. I don’t think marketing would like for those soundbytes to come out. Just a hunch.

Let’s say it’s all positive and the designer is feeling great about the title. Now you have an information leak of a different kind, the kind that kills hype. I don’t think marketing would like to lose control of hype. Just a hunch.

Of course if all else fails, the media can try getting information from QA. That’s a bad joke by the way. The confidential lockdown that they’re placed on, with reason, would be a risk for all parties. They are just as jaded as designers having seen the game in its naked form and knowing which issues will remain in that gold build.

Press should probably stick to that cute and confident PR person and media capable producer if they ever want to maintain any source of information in the future. Such nonsense! Let’s just drink and say cheers to the status quo and celebrate what the industry has in store for us!