How time flows making games: An ethnographic analysis of experiences of temporality in an indie videogame studio

Article Economics

From Crunch to Grind: Adopting Servitization in Project-Based Creative Work

Johanna Weststar et al.

Summary: This study critiques the impact of servitization on workers in the digital game industry through in-depth interviews at a game development studio. The findings reveal that the human cost of servitization is often overshadowed by financial considerations. The study suggests that servitization increases the indeterminacy of labor and intensifies labor through additional control imperatives, impacting the creative process and outputs.

WORK EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIETY (2023)

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Article Communication

The cruel optimism of good crunch: How game industry discourses perpetuate unsustainable labor practices

Amanda C. Cote et al.

Summary: This article discusses the issue of crunch in the video game industry and highlights the industry's flawed distinction between different types of crunch. The author argues that accepting any form of crunch hinders innovation in game production and traps developers in an unsustainable cycle. The article encourages developers to rethink their labor practices.

NEW MEDIA & SOCIETY (2023)

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Article Cultural Studies

The Missing Producer: Rethinking indie cultural production in terms of entrepreneurship, relational labour, and sustainability

Jennifer R. Whitson et al.

Summary: This article examines the labor and entrepreneurial practices of indie game developers in cultural industries, highlighting the challenges they face in managing production processes without producers. It also explores how the valorization of growth in cultural entrepreneurship discourses may lead developers to mimic industry practices, conflicting with their desire for small, sustainable, and creatively autonomous game development teams. Ultimately, the article aims to help make sense of cultural production and its potential futures through interviews with indie developers.

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CULTURAL STUDIES (2021)

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Article Communication

'Weekends became something other people did': Understanding and intervening in the habitus of video game crunch

Amanda C. Cote et al.

Summary: The study found that many game developers view crunch as inevitable due to the nature of the industry as unmanageable, an anti-corporate ethos, and a stereotypical identity based on passion and perfectionism. These factors, coupled with project-based nature of the industry and cultures of passion and secrecy, help perpetuate exploitative labor practices. However, habits can change over time, providing opportunities for intervention to establish a healthier, more sustainable work environment in the gaming industry.

CONVERGENCE-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH INTO NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES (2021)

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Article Cultural Studies

The Cultural Field of Video Game Production in Australia

Brendan Keogh

Summary: Video game production occurs in various contexts, scales, and reasons beyond the big studios and publishers in North America, Western Europe, and Japan. The concept of the video game field, as a cultural space locally situated and influenced by economic, cultural, and social forces, offers a way to understand how game makers navigate economic stability and creative autonomy.

GAMES AND CULTURE (2021)

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Article Engineering, Multidisciplinary