Issues Raised by Games

Comments on two of the many issues faced by todays gaming industry:

EA: The Human Story
http://www.igda.org/articles/easpouse_qol.php
November 10th, 2004.

Since this is a fairly old article, one would hope that the issue has been looked at and possibly improved...
The article is written by the wife of a guy who works at EA (Electronic Arts) Games, and details the ridiculous conditions their employees are forced to endure. The author explains that during the production of a game the production team is put through three levels of 'crunch' times, forcing them to work 48 hours then 72 hours then almost 90 hours a week. Each period would go on for months at a time, even though the project was not behind, but in fact right on schedual.

One can imagine the strain on a person to concentrate at a computer for thirteen hours at a time everday of the week making slow progress on the same project for months and months. But the really appalling thing is EA's human resources policy that if their employees don't like their conditions they can pack up and leave - no consideration, no compassion, nothing.

This makes you reconsider the irritating, impatient, demanding people we become when the latest game release date is announced but just isn't good enough for us consumers. I can now make my brother feel guilty as he complains about the time between sequels or the waiting period for the latest special edition game due to be released 'sometime' this summer. We should take a step back and think about the amount of hours each individual has to put in to create the entertainment we take for granted. The special features that show the game guys happily slicking away on their screens and showing off the latest technology is likely not an accurate representation of the mayhem and exhaustion the teams at companies such as EA experience.

Next time I'm waiting for an EA game, I'll spare a thought for the nerds slaving away to deliver their best work, and perhaps not be so critical of the smallest details that for whatever reason should be somehow better.

Report: Video Games Do Not Accurately Represent Minorities
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=24625
July 29, 2009

This more current article especially hits home with me, as I am clearly a girl, and from a background of racial minority...

Stereotypes in games are perhaps the most irritating and disappointing aspect of any story, particularly when they are repeated over and over year after year with seemingly no review. It is ridiculously difficult to find a game that has a female lead or playable female characters, hence why The Longest Journey and its sequal Dreamfall are amongst my personal favourites. While customisable characters are the 'in' thing, the basis for these characters are always male, caucasian, blah blah boring!!!! Fable 2 is perhaps the first game that took a stab at making an ENTIRELY customisable character, but then it sometimes feels like Fable 1 meets the sims.

This article points out the lack of racial diversity in games - an obvious issue that has successfully made the leap from real life into the game world. Minorities in the real world, particularly hispanics, are also minorities in the world of game characters. One may assume that the original intention was to create base characters to satisfy the highest percentage of gamers. As the article points out though, "Latino children play more video games than white children," and thus the issue of race is once again brought up. Customisation is likely the easiest and most direct solution to this problem, short of having a character from every race readily available for playing or at least interacting with.

But seriously, game designers need to realise that not all latinos are tough guys out to prove themselves, not all black guys talk like Mr. T and not all women have huge boobs and long fingernails. Perhaps then we could all move forward and find satisfaction in our entertainment.