Ten Things That Don't Suck About the Game Industry

"One of the International Game Developers Association's many roles is to deal with all the crap that's going on in the game development community, from defending developers' right to creative expression to pushing studios for better work-life balance. ... But another aspect of my job, one that I often neglect, is to be an industry evangelist - to promote all that's cool and wonderful about games and game development."

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Its nice to read something that isn't all doom and gloom, aspiring to enter the games industry (at 28, with unrelated Chemistry Degree and slightly more relevant Doctorate in computational chemistry) has somewhat waned after reading about developers experience.

I like gloom and doom. To me this article was fluff. Improvement - evolution - only come via criticism. Stop trying to make the industry feel good - make it get better!

Beery:
I like gloom and doom. To me this article was fluff. Improvement - evolution - only come via criticism. Stop trying to make the industry feel good - make it get better!

You suck. Go write better posts.

/irony

Criticism doesn't mean "pointing out the bad", not solely... that's not criticism, that's fault finding and it's toxic. It's the petulant whining you find on Internet forums, full of sour and often conflicting declarations over what "sucks" and why. That doesn't help anybody do anything.

Criticism means finding the good as well as the bad, weighing the two in balance, and deciding overall whether the balance is adequate or not. It also looks at why what is good turned out to be good, and what is bad turned out to be bad. It looks at mechanisms that contributed and detracted, sees how (or why) they're there, and makes considered judgements; whether the bad ones are unavoidable, mitigatable, or should be pitched.... whether the good ones are affordable, repeatable, or flukes.

Simple nay-saying isn't criticism, it's tantrum.

-- Steve

Democratization of Development Tools

That part I disagree on to some extent. The movie industry still offers opportunities for lower budgets to strike the big screen, and even get sold at a good price when they're on the DVD shelves.
People look like people, no matter the budget.
I don't see this happening at all with games. I see a big gap that keeps widening.

I'm 20. I'm just entering my third year of computer science. I have intended for 15 years now, in that naive, childish way, to "make video games". That goal's evolved somewhat: I want to enter the industry as a developer, and through hard work, unique accomplishments, and pitches to the higher-ups, become a designer/director. Hard ladder to climb, but I don't care, because reading articles like this make me smile and when I feel good about the games industry I feel good about me and where I'm gonna be ten years from now.

You hear that world? Here's an eleventh thing that doesn't suck: We, the Developers, who live and love gaming! Screw the crunch, screw the burn-out. We rise above it to make the best damn entertainment on the planet.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this article. I have little to no chance of being a game designer but I hope to one day to help market videogames and stories like this make me really excited for the future of gaming. Gaming isn't just about meeting deadlines, its ENJOYING what you do and what you create along the way.

yes video games are good

Arbre:

Democratization of Development Tools

I don't see this happening at all with games. I see a big gap that keeps widening.

Then you're not looking hard enough. Indie games have about the relative proliferation that indie films have with the rest of hollywood. Granted, it's lesser than indie films, but it's still very present.

Nice to see a positive article, what with all the bashing of the industry lately.

Screw the crunch, screw the burn-out. We rise above it to make the best damn entertainment on the planet.

that's why they're there in the first place ;)