"If we accept precarity in the video game industry, or any other industry, as immutable or just a quirk of the 'culture,' we all lose. Game development does not have a culture of instability. It has a culture of exploitation."
For starters, everything in their statement is gross? Which makes sense because there was no way to frame it as a good thing for players.
But also, the fact that it’s a game, and games are for playing, is abstracted out into our recreation time being an “untapped” revenue stream for them — despite the fact that we’re talking about games that are, generally speaking, already paid for.
The crossed purposes is tangible in this statement.
@massivelyop A bit like a serial killer saying they want to have another go at murdering you, but they promise not to use a cheese grater or claw hammer.
Video games, LeBron James, tattoos, and copyright law, in one story? The internet is really spoiling us today. @polygon reports on a long-drawn-out case in which tattoo artist Jimmy Hayden is suing Take-Two Interactive Software, makers of the NBA 2K video games, over the use of tattoos he made for LeBron James that were reproduced in games from 2016 to 2020. Hayden's attorney argues that Take-Two "painstakingly copied" the designs. Take-Two's team says that James' tattoos are a very small part of NBA 2K, and that James has licensed his own likeness to Take-Two, so a ruling in favor of Hayden would mean James would have to ask Hayden for permission to license his own being. Here are all the details, plus background on other cases in which tattoo artists have sued video game companies. What do you think?
@overholt@dancingtreefrog@dfrancis We learn so much in the fediverse! Seems like that particular law applies only to Europe and under certain conditions, but interesting to see that there is a precedent!
@CultureDesk@overholt@dancingtreefrog@dfrancis Here is an overview of Artist's Resale Right ("droit de suite") and the jurisdictions where it applies. It was a hot topic a few years ago when technologies to support it gained mainstream attention.
@massivelyop It's called "paying the subscription" or "buying the game". Same BS when I was working doing backend work for a company that made graphics applications. The UI developers were superstars. The people making their work possible got nothing. I quit that company.
@massivelyop The heck. If I really liked something I'll get the deluxe version, or dlc, or gift a copy to a friend, or another game that studio made...
Possibility Space, an indie game studio that launched in 2021 with the goal of creating a AAA title, has been shut down abruptly. In an email to staff, CEO Jeff Strain blamed an employee leak about the studio's major title to a Kotaku reporter. This, Strain said, led to an unnamed publisher expressing "low confidence" about funding the studio, and the cancelation of the title by mutual agreement. Engadget attempts to make sense of the sequence of events here.
Giving this a boost over here in case any devs are not on other platforms!
Applications are open for #GameDevsOfColorExpo Any boost would be appreciated!
Original post credit: Catt Small @ GDC (at)catt.design (Bsky)
Rockstar Games has asked its staff to return to the office five days a week, starting in April. The Edinburgh-based company says this relates to completing development on GTA 6 “at the level of quality and polish we know it requires,” and to mitigate security breaches. GTA 6, which is not due to ship until 2025, experienced leaks in September 2022 and December 2023. IGN reports that Rockstar developers are accusing the company of "broken promises," and are concerned about crunch as well as overall impacts to health and wellbeing.
@Beeks@ComfyGuy We assumed, but wondered if he'd like to really get into detail about what he meant. Seemed like a very 2014 attitude. P.S. we think it should have been "cue" rather than "que" (Olé!)
Electronic Arts is to cut 5% of its workforce, according to a note to staff from CEO Andrew Wilson. That translates to around 670 of the 13,400-strong workforce. @GIbiz's @BrendanSinclair has more details on the company's restructuring plan, which also includes closing offices and sunsetting certain live games. Wilson said in his note that the company is "moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry."