this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2024
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Yeah, but I have to feel sympathy for the devs here. Definitely need a game Dev Union strike like the writers strike did, I think. Though that's difficult to pull off.
Speaking as someone who's worked inside a couple "AAA" studios, sympathy to a union has definitely increased in the past decade. It's no coincidence that bonuses and profit sharing (a major part of compensation) have plummeted over that same time. As much as fans hate unambitious and venal design choices in recent games I assure them that devs hate them just as much or even more, since they ruin years of work. We have steadily decreasing feedback into these choices and are expected more and more to stick to our corner pushing pixels and writing code. Morale is probably the lowest I've ever experienced and mandatory RTO adds insult to injury.
The various QA Union success stories have lots of support on the dev side. However many people believe it's impossible somehow, or that they personally would get laid off or have their job outsourced if there is even a hint of organizing. Especially the past 12 months, the bloodbath has workers terrified. Everyone is trying to keep their heads down as much as possible. I unfortunately don't see this ending well unless funding loosens up and people can start small studios again. There was a wave of this during Covid but those studios are all dying now. It's seriously depressing. I'm a refugee from the VFX world and I feel like I'm watching the sequel.
I definitely prefer the world in which we have unions and better worker rights, but I am starting to be aware of that world's drawbacks.
Take a look at the great pyramids of Egypt. Take a look at classic anime, filled with intensely detailed high-framerate animation. These are fantastic works that, in some way, are made possible by people that are working far, far longer than a healthy work day for probably mediocre compensation. It's almost lead to a zeitgeist where many games have not reached the height of the 360/PS3 era due to a mass of brain drain in development - thousands of really talented developers focusing on their life plan rather than passions.
In a utopia, one day we'd have high-paying employers that can truly willingly rally the greatest minds, but I think too many studios and publishers are growth/profit-minded to really get there.
"Worker's rights suck because only extreme capitalist exploitation can create true art, like the video game I am entitled to play now now noww" - this fool right here
There’s awesome art made under fair working conditions, but I can’t imagine how you’d put together the kind that needs ludicrous hours. The kind that involves hundreds of thousands of hand drawn frames all in the same art style.
When it needs both creativity and intense devotion, it no longer becomes a 9-5 thing, even if you’re your own boss. Some people do that voluntarily but end up with carpal tunnel, sleep issues, etc. That has even been the case with a lot of Japanese creators I’ve seen.
honestly, if it's forced under the threat of destitution, then fuck that kind of "art"
I generally agree with that, and yet we have a lot of it around that people lament being "not perfect" or demand more of faster; so there's societal pressure to keep it up. It also feels terrible to have appreciated something amazing, but then afterwards learn its creation process essentially involved boiling kittens or something.
If it takes slavery to make a pyramid or an anime that I enjoy then I don't need either of them. And no one should feel differently but that's just my opinion.
I completely agree with that, which is why the first thing I said is I prefer a world where we don't have those.
I can still admit the pyramids are nice to look at - but if I'm reminded of the kind of human cost put into creating them, I'd rather not have them.
I got that as well but my point was lack of wonders like pyramid and some media doesn't even count as a drawback if we can abolish slavery, which still exist in a different form and name. They simply aren't on the same balance.
I don't really follow what "on the same balance" means; I guess it's simply that the benefit far, far outweighs the negative? Or, that the negative should never be mentioned because it implies benefits behind something horrible?
I can marginally understand the latter. It's a bit like trying to praise a piece of artwork on its own (because it's a really amazing piece, and it could even inspire other people) while trying to set aside that its artist was a terrible person who deserves no recognition.
Part of the reason I bring it up is, I'd like to hear more vocalizations on whether these things should exist. Under a certain forward-thinking mindset, it could be that neither GTA 6 or Elder Scrolls 6 ever comes out - or they cost $100 and take 10 years, to adequately pay the developers and give them healthy time off. The math is never straightforward, of course, but it's something of a thought experiment to get people to think about what they care about most.
Former actually, as you said pretty much every good thing had some negatives, it's all a trade off on one way or another. But if it was between art and slavery, one outweigh the other heavily. And I feel the same for games as well, I don't mind waiting and paying a higher price if I have to.
Current anime is still largely made by underpaid and overworked animators, that really isn't what changed...