Ben Gonshaw: Digital Media Theorist & Game Design Consultant
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SHOULDN'T GRUMBLE

3rd April 2005

Few would disagree that what started as passionate dedication has become enforced labour. This can be seen at a global level in the transformation of the medium from bedroom hobby to mass-market industrialisation. Sadly this pattern is also repeated by each individual as they make their journey through the industry, from their start as a wide-eyed newcomer, glad to be part of 3:00am crunches, to their destination as a jaded senior staff member, wishing they could spend more time with the family.   However, never forget that for most people in the games industry, life, well, working life at least, is a breeze. Cold drinks on tap, free take-out, healthcare, pension plans, the perks are extensive and almost universal.

Many jobs can contain monotonous tasks, as games do, and many jobs can constitute long hours, as games certainly do. However, few industries serve their staff with such comfortable and well-appointed offices, generous facilities like rooms full of games to play, and wrap the whole package up in a relatively relaxed ethos.   There are only two things that can cripple this atmosphere: cynicism and cynical calculating colleagues. What it comes down to, and really what any task, undertaking or situation in life comes down to, is attitude. The jobs don’t really change that much, the development cycle remains essentially the same between projects, but the way that individuals approach their job makes all the difference.   Impassioned and happy people are a joy to work with and they lift office life into a different realm where the jobs are fun, the repetitive tasks become zen-meditation when you get in the copy/paste zone and everything is geared towards creating a powerful gaming experience. On the other hand, when there is in-fighting and disillusionment, planning the project feels like treading water, mundane tasks drain the life out of you and even the fun parts are ignored and staff just end up going through the motions as meat husks.

The strange thing is that none of the tasks are any different at all, the only difference is in the minds of those performing them. Happiness can bubble up and infectiously sweep the team along to joyous success. On the other hand, subversive elements and naysayers can poison the well all too easily. I would like to think that people create devco’s in order to make great games and to create a mini-family, a happy bunch of people who give their all towards creating the best games that they possibly can. This requires a group of individuals whose purpose is also to create great games. When you find people who simply want to further their own position and who are only interested in power, their self-aggrandisement can act as that poison, driving the others in their team to ruin. To put it bluntly, these childish people still believe that they are the most important thing on this earth and that any amount of trickery, deception and debasement is justified in their pursuit of a bigger paycheck and being able to boss around ten extra people.

So there are two major evils and two types of people that can destroy a team and take down entire projects with friendly fire: thoes who don't realise how good they have it and those trying to get on up at any(one's) expense. As someone within a team, your job is to spot these people and steer well clear. In all but the most extreme cases, the poison can only be spread through direct contact. Keep away from the rogue elements and you too can remain happy and committed.

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