Video Game Workers and Lack of Organization

What does the A in STEAM stand for?

Arts. The propagation of STEAM over STEM basically was born out of the fact that many colleges and universities felt pressure over the last few decades to put increasing funding towards STEM programs as a means of increasing their prestige. This boost in funding was often done at the cost of cutting funding to non-STEM departments, so the attempt to put in "Arts" is often an admittedly desperate attempt by many of those defunded departments to get on the STEM gravy train.

There is something to be said about broadening the scope of knowledge and subject that is provided through tertiary education, especially for STEM which often can feel like glorified job training rather than a comprehensive education. Trying to continue pushing STEM or any subsequent variant of STEM is not the way to fix that problem though.

Video game enthusiasts are some of the most spineless consumers around and it's only natural that those growing up to get out of the festering shitheap that is Steam or Sony will be indoctrinated into having no self-respect for themselves as developers.

my dad works in the tech industry and he blames the anti-union shit being pushed when the industry was first growing (80's/90's), the libertarian shit that is prevalent with techies and the fact that tech work attracts tons of actual autists who tend to buy into the libertarian shit because muh logic and reason

forgot to remove shitpost flag

Name one salaried profession since Hollywood that's unionized

The prospect of stock options seems to be particular cuckbait

Writers.

Huh, I have a member in my family, and I never knew the NWU was only founded in 1981.

Okay then, point and match.

Film, television, and radio workers (most notably writers) definitely have higher rates of union involvement than video game workers.

As I implied, those all happened back before unions collapsed in the early 1970s.

As someone who works in the industry, I can say it might also have to do with the fact that startup costs for new projects are relatively low compared to starting a new business for say, mining. Basically, if you don't like where you're working, it's expected you can just walk out and join another project you like better somewhere else, even if it's far away. There is a surprisingly high amount of mobility in this industry once you have 5-10 years of experience.

This way, the companies who treat their employees the best (Valve, Supergiant Games, Bethesda, Bungie) have lower turnover rates, and their employees are so happy they'd never want to strike. Places that might treat their employees not so nicely like EA and Rockstar will drive the unhappy ones out of the industry or off to found their own companies, but there's always someone willing to replace you in this industry for low pay because they want to break into the business and make contacts or make ends meet.

So yeah, honestly I don't see any unionization happening in the game industry anyime soon. It's not compatible with the "culture", for lack of a better term.

Very informative post, thanks. Is there any way the working conditions in the industry actually can improve?

didn't video game voice actors for a union or something a while back?

*form

Yes, but that was aligned with the Hollywood guilds, rather than the game industry itself. This caused further friction since VA's are a common conduit of Hollywood-ness alien to computer games industry, especially as extensive voice acting has a mechanical influence on the structure of games to make them less interactive and more like linear old media.

they're fake workers made of plastic by some kid in taiwan

This is fucking autistic as hell

that kid is a fucking classcuck traitor polluting our jerb markedz. Starve Taiwan.

Uh? Care to elaborate?

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It doesn't matter. It's the game industry but its also the animation industry. As a part of the animation industry it'll keep going down the toilet until animators get their shit together an unionize. The problem with that is that the voice actors and mo cap actors and basically all of the filler (non-essential) workers will be unionized first because it's just a rather fucked industry in all.

Some point in the future the games industry will probably organize but it'll probably only be after a couple more crashes and half a $grand consoles with games that cost billions to make.

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i'm guessing these aren't the ones that sound like bipolar squeaky chairs

Because dispite your efforts at infiltration most of us are still normal people not Marxists.
If we don't like our pay and conditions we ask for a raise or find a different job or set up our own companies.
Also after gamergate you would be hard pressed to find a more redpilled workforce. Don't take the majorities silence as a sign that they are with you.

Preach. At the last game awards Nolan North said all the animators, sound designers and writers contribute more to games than he does. Meanwhile a game releases and everyone is fired like sperm in a porn shoot.

This just validates what I've been saying forever. The games industry is its own worse enemy.

Oh kill yourself you stupid fucking cunt. Marxists never attempted to infiltrate the games industry, those were liberals and the evidence of them attempting to do it is shaky at best.

You know how horrible the average "gamer" is? The average video game worker is the working class equivalent. Blinded by ideology and absorbed by consumerism. Not to mention there are a ton of dumb faggots just waiting in line to go and work for video games, so it's easy to hire and fire people at-will.

And this idiot proves that. Man, we'd get the best games if socialism was introduced.

SimCommune would be awesome.

pathetic

I don't even like the Sims, but I'd be all over that.

People involved with video games of any kind are mindless consumers in general. They wouldn't care about any form of socialism or communism or any of it. They'd rather buy more limited edition DLC for their $60 shitfest.

Lmao, can people like this just fuck off, literally whatever hobby you enjoy has an element of consumer garbage to it, even if all you like to do is watch the clouds they'll try sell you special sunglasses and a book on cloud analysis.

If you buy video games, then you're a faggot.

How is it any different from anything else?

If you buy things, then you're a faggot.

Get out of my trashcan freegan waster

A major factor is how corrupt the industry is, which is in turn because the modern industry started in the early 80s, while Reaganism had an iron grip on American politics and culture. It was designed from the top down to be a way for faceless execs to coast on what many people thought was a passing fad.

Currently, however, it has a negative social stigma in most countries (which, popular to now-popular belief, is mostly unrelated to social justice), which means game developers are not seen as legitimate workers to many people. The only saving grace it has is esports where it's extremely more controversial for players and fans to be mistreated.

Doesn't mean you have to partake. I play video games but the only ones I play are free or torrented.

I listed what we do when we are "being fucked over", none of which require strikes or unions.

It's the same shit with different oppressed/oppressor groups.

Pay/hours worked ratio is worse than the average for most game programmers because more programmers want to get into the industry than there are jobs. Nothing to do with "not (being) seen as legitimate workers". Supply and demand.

Keep sucking that porky cock, cuck.

Pic related

"Being fucked over" refers not just to the simple ratio of dollers per hour worked, but to the sheer oppression faced by gamedevs. Ruthlessly long hours, constant cycles of "crunch time", little or no input on out-of-touch management/marketing/licensing/etc decisions, a total lack of respect from management, nonexistent job security, no long-term IP claim on the properties you worked hard to (often singlehandedly) create, little or no benefits, etc., etc.. Basically, the entire package deal of being treated like subhuman garbage in an inherently creative and meritocratic industry.

Because Steampunk and Industrial Revolution are settings that are rarely touched in the vidya.
Aside from modern day, it's either medieval fantasy or straight up space age science fiction.

This is what happens when you get your education from video games and internet memes.

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On a slightly unrelated note

The anime industry makes me sick. These industries which people are passionate about, like the already mentioned game industry, basically take advantage of the worker's willingness to push themselves and eat shit in order to do what they love.
There is a video about the making off of the little witch academia ovas and you can see how the people working there are miserable, but they still love what they do.

I'm afraid I can't accept "just be a spineless cuck" as a valid answer.

Dwarf Fortress is such a great game. I'm going to play it when I wake up from my nap. I legitimately wish I was a dwarf.

I wouldn't mind a book on cloud analysis.

Publishers have the power, not vidya companies.

Next E3 the biggest reveal will be unionized game developers, mark my words.

See, none of us are free of consumerism

The next big E3 reveal is the modern quarter eater. Buy the game then give them quarters for health in a game that is far less forgiving then the Gauntlet arcade game from 1985.

It's the same shit Musk does with SpaceX. People are enthusiastic about a project and are willing to pour themselves fully into it for its own sake? Sounds like an opportunity to widen the profit margins.

Underrated post.

Most programmers and related disciplines think they're above unions and can negotiate with Porky themselves.

workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/1025/how-should-i-properly-approach-my-boss-if-im-feeling-underpaid
workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/554/when-should-one-consider-unionizing-in-the-us

Ugh, it's a den of class cucks.

Really can't wait for Trump to stab them in the back on the work visa issue. Pajeet has a way of making even the most class cucked tech worker wake up.