The New Spirit of Capitalism in the Game Industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 789-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Whitson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Production ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Development Data ◽  
Game Industry ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Game Developers

This article draws from ethnographic work in the game industry to challenge claims that digital platforms “democratize” cultural production by supporting small teams. I show how game developers exemplify the New Spirit of Capitalism in their search for creative autonomy outside of the risk-averse blockbuster console industry. Their risk of cultural production is ostensibly reduced by tools that leverage big data. By following one studio making free-to-play mobile games, I test the celebratory claims of democratization against the reality of implementing these now-essential analytics tools. The studio’s experiences demonstrate how mobile production for digital platforms intensifies game labor rather than facilitating its democratization in any straightforward way. It restricts creative autonomy, exacerbates the burden of risk on developers, and reinforces existing market and gender inequities. Rather than creatively liberating developers and expanding access to game development, data-driven design for digital platforms introduces new gatekeepers and literacies of exclusion.

scholarly journals The Political Economy of Cultural Memory in the Videogames Industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-84
Author(s):  
Emil Lundedal Hammar
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Game Studies ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Videogame Industry ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Game Developers

Abstract Following the materialist approaches to contemporary digital memory- making, this article explores how unequal access to memory production in videogames is determined along economic and cultural lines. Based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with different European, Asian and North American historical game developers, I make the case for how materialist and cultural aspects of videogame development reinforce existing mnemonic hegemony and in turn how this mnemonic hegemony determines access to the production of memory- making potentials that players of videogames activate and negotiate. My interview findings illustrate how individual workers do not necessarily intend to reproduce received systems of power and hegemony, and instead how certain cultural and material relations tacitly motivate and/or marginalise workers in the videogame industries to reproduce hegemonic power relations in cultural memory across race, class and gender. Finally, I develop the argument that access to cultural production networks such as the games industry constitutes important factors that need to be taken seriously in research on cultural memory and game studies. Thus, my article investigates global power relationships, political economy, colonial legacies and cultural hegemony within the videogame industry, and how these are instantiated in individual instances of game developers.

scholarly journals By two: A two-dimensional mobile game model for novice developers

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1336
Author(s):  
Abdallah Qusef ◽  
Abdallah Ayasreh ◽  
Adnan Shaout ◽  
Muhanna Muhanna
Keyword(s):  
Game Design ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Mobile Game ◽  
Game Features ◽  
Game Industry ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Game Developers ◽  
Beta Testing ◽  
Selection Of

The objective of this research was to discuss the processes and challenges encountered in the creation of mobile games for both Android and iOS platforms, which would help the novice game developers to enter the big world of mobile game industry. We highlighted each phase of the mobile game development. These involved suggestions on efficient brainstorming of ideas, proper selection of game engine, game design, number and type of pages, creation of levels, and distribution of complexity across the game level. In addition, other factors were considered such as the creation of User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) as well as definition of the screen object’s sizes and positions that would be suitable in all mobile devices. The importance of agile cycles of alpha and beta testing was also discussed, particularly its influence on the enhancement of game features. However, a successful game is recognized based on its earnings. Hence, a guide on how to properly market the game was also included. A model game called “By Two” was used in this study to illustrate and explain the steps in detail.

scholarly journals Data-driven gameplay experience balancing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pejman Mirza-Babaei
Keyword(s):  
Development Process ◽  
Potential Problem ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Evaluation Methodologies ◽  
Player Experience ◽  
Game Developers ◽  
Data Visualizations

The overall aim of developing a game that is fun to play is often hard to achieve due to the complexities of the game development process. An accurate understanding of player behavior and their gameplay experiences can help identify and resolve any potential problem areas before release. In this keynote, I will use commercial case studies and academic research projects to provide a summary of my work in developing new evaluation methodologies, tools and data visualizations for games UX evaluation. I will discuss approaches and provide guidelines on how game developers and researchers can benefit from gameplay data to optimize player experience.

EXPLORATION VS. EXPLOITATION AND HOW VIDEO GAME DEVELOPERS ARE ABLE TO COMBINE THE TWO

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (06) ◽  
pp. 1650045
Author(s):  
BJÖRN REMNELAND WIKHAMN ◽  
ALEXANDER STYHRE ◽  
JAN LJUNGBERG ◽  
ANNA MARIA SZCZEPANSKA
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Creative Work ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Video Game Industry ◽  
Video Game Development ◽  
Game Industry ◽  
Game Developers ◽  
Suitable Case

This paper reports an in-depth qualitative study about innovation work in the Swedish video game industry. More specifically, it focuses on how video game developers are building ambidextrous capabilities to simultaneously addressing explorative and exploitative activities. The Swedish video game industry is a particularly suitable case to analyze ambidexterity, due to it’s extreme market success and continuous ability to adapt to shifts in technologies and demands. Based on the empirical data, three ambidextrous capabilities are pointed out as particularly valuable for video game developers; (1) the ability to separate between a creative work climate and the effectiveness in project organizing; (2) the balancing of inward and outward ideation influences, and (3) the diversity in operational means and knowledge paired with shared goals and motivations, derived from the love of video games and video game development.

scholarly journals Business Intelligence Challenges for Independent Game Publishing

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Yanhui Su ◽  
Per Backlund ◽  
Henrik Engström
Keyword(s):  
Business Intelligence ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Industry Research ◽  
Game Industry ◽  
Analyse Data ◽  
Game Developers ◽  
Game Analytics

With the continuous development of the game industry, research in the game field is also deepening. Many interdisciplinary areas of knowledge and theory have been used to promote the development of the game industry. Business intelligence technologies have been applied to game development for game design and game optimization. However, few systematic research efforts have focused on the field of game publishing, particularly with regard to independent (indie) game publishing. In this paper, we analyse data collected from a set of interviews with small indie game developers. The results indicate that most of the indie game developers have already used business intelligence for game self-publishing, although three main challenges have been identified: first, how to conduct marketing promotion and improve the return on investment (ROI); second, how to collect game publishing data; and third, how to analyse the data in order to guide game self-publishing. Our interviews also reveal that the business model applied to a game significantly impacts the role of game analytics. The study expands and advances the research on how game analytics can be used for game publishing, particularly for indie game self-publishing.

scholarly journals Towards a “Filipino” Video Game: Teaching Filipino Culture and Identity for Video Game Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoffer Mitch C. Cerda
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Video Game Development ◽  
Game Industry ◽  
Filipino Culture ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Game Developers

This paper uses the author’s experiences of teaching the Filipino module of a multidisciplinary video game development class as a case study in teaching Filipino culture and identity as an element of video game development. A preliminary definition of “Filipino video game” as having Filipino narratives and subject matter, made by Filipino video game developers, and catering to a Filipino audience, is proposed. The realities and limitations of video game development and the video game market in the Philippines is also discussed to show how the dominance of Western video game industry, in terms of the dominance of outsource work for Filipino video game developers and the dominance of non-Filipino video games played by Filipino players, has hindered the development of original Filipino video games. Using four Filipino video games as primary texts discussed in class, students were exposed to Filipinomade video games, and shown how these games use Filipino history, culture, and politics as source material for their narrative and design. Issues of how video games can be used to selfexoticization, and the use of propaganda is discussed, and also how video games can be used to confront and reimagine Filipinoness. The paper ends with a discussion of a student-made game titled Alibatas, a game that aims to teach baybayin, a neglected native writing system in the Philippines as a demonstration of how students can make a Filipino video game. The paper then shows the importance of student-made games, and the role that the academe plays in the critical understanding of Filipino video games, and in defining Filipino culture and identity.

Artificial Intelligence in Games Evolution

2011 ◽  
pp. 98-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murillo Guimarães Carneiro
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Final Goal ◽  
Game Industry ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Game Developers

The growth of the game industry shows a great market to be conquered. However the gaming business now has consumers more demanding and hungry for quality games, not just graphics, but also related to more gameplay and challenge. This chapter provides an overview over a large area that is increasingly explored by game developers, the artificial intelligence (AI). The main goal is to highlight the main reasons that make the great investors fascinated to use AI techniques in games. Indeed, a new paradigm of game began to be defined and introducing it is also the mission of this chapter. As a final goal is intended that this material can be a source of learning and encouragement for beginners on game development and even for the curious and amateurs about the subject.

scholarly journals Voodoo software and boundary objects in game development: How developers collaborate and conflict with game engines and art tools

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 2315-2332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R Whitson
Keyword(s):  
Software Development ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Boundary Objects ◽  
Boundary Object ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Unity 3D ◽  
Game Engines ◽  
Game Developers

This article describes how game developers successfully ‘pull off’ game development, collaborating in the absence of consensus and working with recalcitrant and wilful technologies, shedding light on the games we play and those that make them, but also how we can be forced to work together by the platforms we choose to use. The concept of ‘boundary objects’ is exported from Science and Technology Studies (STS) to highlight the vital coordinating role of game development software. Rather than a mutely obedient tool, game software such as Unity 3D is depicted by developers as exhibiting magical, even agential, properties. It becomes ‘voodoo software’. This software acts as a boundary object, aligning game developers at points of technical breakdown. Voodoo software is tidied away in later accounts of game development, emphasizing how ethnographies of software development provide an anchor from which to investigate cultural production and co-creative practice.

Masculine Pleasures as Normalized Practices: Character Design in the Video Game Industry

2021 ◽  
pp. 155541202110347
Author(s):  
Jessica E. Tompkins ◽  
Nicole Martins
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New Media ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Video Game Industry ◽  
Character Design ◽  
Game Engines ◽  
Game Industry ◽  
Game Developers

Scholars have extensively studied video game labor practices (e.g., Bulut, E. (2015). Glamor above, precarity below: Immaterial labor in the video game industry. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 32(3), 193-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2015.1047880 , Bulut, E. (2020). White masculinity, creative desires, and production ideology in video game development. Games and Culture, 16, 1555412020939873; Banks, J. (2013). Co-creating videogames. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing; Kerr, A. (2010). The culture of gamework. In M. Deuze (Ed), Managing Media Work (pp. 225-236). London: Sage; O’Donnell (2009). The everyday lives of video game developers: Experimentally understanding underlying systems/structures. Transformative Works and Cultures, 2. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2009.0073 , O’Donnell (2014). Developer’s dilemma: The secret world of videogame creators. Cambridge, MA: MIT press; Johnson, R. S. (2013). Toward greater production diversity. Games and Culture, 8(136), 136-160. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412013481848 , Johnson, R. (2014). Hiding in plain sight: Reproducing masculine culture at a video game studio. Communication, Culture & Critique, 7, 578-594. https://doi.org/10.1111/cccr.12023 ); yet, few have exclusively examined the process of character design (e.g., Srauy, S. (2017). Professional norms and race in the North American video game industry. Games and Culture, 14, 478-497. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412017708936 ). Using a grounded theory analysis of 19 interviews with games designers and developers, this work complements existing research with insights on how gender and gendered interactions, technologies, audiences, market logics, and corporate culture integrate and influence character design practices. We found that technological affordances (e.g., game engines and related software; see Whitson, J. R. (2018). Voodoo software and boundary objects in game development: How developers collaborate and conflict with game engines and art tools. New Media & Society, 20, 2315-2332) converged with the masculine, heteronormative identities of game developers to shape normalized valued practices for character design, resulting in formulaic tropes that generally appealed to a masculine audience. Changes in status quo character design were attributed to diversity-conscious individuals, who operated within organizational practices privileging proven formulas over innovative designs.

scholarly journals Resilient Values in Game Industry Formation: Institutional Perspective to the Finnish Context

2021 ◽  
pp. 155541202110495
Author(s):  
Miikka J. Lehtonen ◽  
Katharina S. Schilli ◽  
J. Tuomas Harviainen
Keyword(s):  
Global Scale ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Local Formation ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Period 2 ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Game Industry ◽  
Over Time

With the proliferation of technologies and digital platforms, contemporary game development firms’ value propositions have become more complex. While on a global scale a considerable share of the game industry’s revenue is captured by a few dozen firms, we are also witnessing the emergence of local and regional hotspots. In this context, legitimacy is of utmost importance if new competitive advantages are to become institutionalized as an industry. This paper extends studies which have offered temporal snapshots to the regional or local formation of game industry by focusing on the Finnish context. The concept of resilient values is introduced as legitimizing how the game industry is shaped and how the values are interpreted to develop the industry further. Our findings suggest legitimacy is intertwined with resilient values, thus resulting in the industry evolving over time through three different stages: (1) incubation period, (2) growth phase, and (3) institutionalized legitimacy.

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