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Developer's Dilemma: The Secret World of Videogame Creators
An examination of work—including the organization of work and the market forces that surround it—through the lens of the collaborative practice of game development.
Rank-and-file game developers bring videogames from concept to product, and yet their work is almost invisible, hidden behind the famous names of publishers, executives, or console manufacturers. In this book, Casey O’Donnell examines the creative collaborative practice of typical game developers. His investigation of why game developers work the way they do sheds light on our understanding of work, the organization of work, and the market forces that shape (and are shaped by) media industries. O’Donnell shows that the ability to play with the underlying systems—technical, conceptual, and social—is at the core of creative and collaborative practice, which is central to the New Economy. When access to underlying systems is undermined, so too is creative collaborative process.
Drawing on extensive fieldwork in game studios in the United States and India, O’Donnell stakes out new territory empirically, conceptually, and methodologically. Mimicking the structure of videogames, the book is divided into worlds, within which are levels; and each world ends with a boss fight, a “rant” about lessons learned and tools mastered. O’Donnell describes the process of videogame development from pre-production through production, considering such aspects as experimental systems, “socially mandatory” overtime, and the perpetual startup machine that exhausts young, initially enthusiastic workers. He links work practice to broader systems of publishing, manufacturing, and distribution; introduces the concept of a privileged “actor-intra-internetwork”; and describes patent and copyright enforcement by industry and the state.
Rank-and-file game developers bring videogames from concept to product, and yet their work is almost invisible, hidden behind the famous names of publishers, executives, or console manufacturers. In this book, Casey O’Donnell examines the creative collaborative practice of typical game developers. His investigation of why game developers work the way they do sheds light on our understanding of work, the organization of work, and the market forces that shape (and are shaped by) media industries. O’Donnell shows that the ability to play with the underlying systems—technical, conceptual, and social—is at the core of creative and collaborative practice, which is central to the New Economy. When access to underlying systems is undermined, so too is creative collaborative process.
Drawing on extensive fieldwork in game studios in the United States and India, O’Donnell stakes out new territory empirically, conceptually, and methodologically. Mimicking the structure of videogames, the book is divided into worlds, within which are levels; and each world ends with a boss fight, a “rant” about lessons learned and tools mastered. O’Donnell describes the process of videogame development from pre-production through production, considering such aspects as experimental systems, “socially mandatory” overtime, and the perpetual startup machine that exhausts young, initially enthusiastic workers. He links work practice to broader systems of publishing, manufacturing, and distribution; introduces the concept of a privileged “actor-intra-internetwork”; and describes patent and copyright enforcement by industry and the state.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 23, 2018
Excellent anthropological perspective on the creative work of game developers.
Such a rare piece of literature studying the ever more complex dynamics in one of the most creative industries. It's a hard read sometimes due to the switches from simple language to game dev jargon to sociology/anthropology jargon and studies.
Such a rare piece of literature studying the ever more complex dynamics in one of the most creative industries. It's a hard read sometimes due to the switches from simple language to game dev jargon to sociology/anthropology jargon and studies.
March 12, 2017
Great overview on culture of software development in the games industry.
Interesting structure which is only distracting for the first chapter or so.
Interesting structure which is only distracting for the first chapter or so.
April 20, 2015
This is a remarkably important book about the games industry. I will update this review as I collate some of my thoughts, but at a start:
The secrecy surrounding tech and information in the industry has led to a lot of the negative aspects of it, including diversity issues, crunch, churn and global equity.
The secrecy surrounding tech and information in the industry has led to a lot of the negative aspects of it, including diversity issues, crunch, churn and global equity.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews