Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job • Hacker News Board

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#401

Post by Balgair » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:16 PM UTC

lurquer wrote: post #323

Balgair wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For an example of unionization and certification issues that deal with this, look at the medical field. There are many more people that want to be doctors than there are spots in med schools (US-centric view point here). The AMA artificially keeps the enrollment numbers at med-schools low, so as to drive demand for doctors in general and therefore, increase their wages. The AMA is well aware of the current shortage o…

A more accurate term for what is 'required' is a Guild. Medicine and Law are the last two examples in the US. It is a crime to practice law or medicine without a license. And, for the most part, the amount of licenses dispensed each year is left up to the practitioners' professional association. In short, you'd want to make it illegal to program for pay (or to distribute free software) without being a member of the g…

Another example is the Professional Engineer (PE).

Bridges don't just get designed and built. A PE is usually required to sign off that these structures are safe and usable. Little Fischer-Price playhouses aren't the same as the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Though not a guild in all but name, the PE acts just the same.

In fact, there is guild-like behavior in a lot of professions, come to think of it.

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#402

Post by jayar95 » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:20 PM UTC

tathougies wrote: post #386

hannasanarion wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of countries where all employers are required to give certain notice, and you can't suddenly fire someone. It is outrageous that your ability to eat and pay rent can be taken away with zero notice in America.

Your ability to eat and pay rent should not be dependent on your income as a game developer. You know there are some professions where the pay is so low that yes, people really need to live paycheck to paycheck. Game developers do not, sorry.

That's kind of a blanket statement don't you think?

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#403

Post by dalore » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:20 PM UTC

derefr wrote: post #171

CM30 wrote: post #97

> For many kids who grew up with controllers in their hands, being a game developer is a dream job, so when it comes to talent, supply is higher than demand This is basically the reason for low wages in quite a few 'passion' driven industries. If a job is something enough people want to do, then talent is cheap and plentiful and companies can provide low wages and poor conditions that for every person who quits, ten…

> the only practical solution is for people to stop taking on terrible jobs because of some sense of 'passion' So the “practical” solution is to change human nature? That doesn’t sound right. It’d be like saying that the practical solution to human trafficking is for people to stop visiting prostitutes; or that the solution to gangs’ drug income is for people to stop buying drugs. In all these cases, you can quash su…

I'd say a better solution would be to universal income, or a freedom fund of sorts. So people can be free to go and do their passion jobs, be it making music or writing games.

Game development companies might become more like a collective where the developers who are all on universal income pool together and treated as equals. One can dream.

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#404

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:23 PM UTC

lurquer wrote: post #323

Balgair wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For an example of unionization and certification issues that deal with this, look at the medical field. There are many more people that want to be doctors than there are spots in med schools (US-centric view point here). The AMA artificially keeps the enrollment numbers at med-schools low, so as to drive demand for doctors in general and therefore, increase their wages. The AMA is well aware of the current shortage o…

A more accurate term for what is 'required' is a Guild. Medicine and Law are the last two examples in the US. It is a crime to practice law or medicine without a license. And, for the most part, the amount of licenses dispensed each year is left up to the practitioners' professional association. In short, you'd want to make it illegal to program for pay (or to distribute free software) without being a member of the g…

[deleted]

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#405

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:28 PM UTC

SilasX wrote: post #346

themoonbus wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The job of the guild / union isn't to give everyone a job who wants one, though. It's to ensure that people who have a job are treated fairly.

Yes, but that's important to know if you're proposing unionization in the hopes that it will make it so that every qualified person who wants to work in game development is paid fairly. Like with acting, only a small fraction of people will find such jobs, even with unionization.

[deleted]

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#406

Post by WalterBright » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:33 PM UTC

CM30 wrote: post #97

> For many kids who grew up with controllers in their hands, being a game developer is a dream job, so when it comes to talent, supply is higher than demand This is basically the reason for low wages in quite a few 'passion' driven industries. If a job is something enough people want to do, then talent is cheap and plentiful and companies can provide low wages and poor conditions that for every person who quits, ten…

> teaching wages

On the other hand, the retirement and health care packages for public school teachers is quite generous

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#407

Post by WalterBright » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:35 PM UTC

CM30 wrote: post #97

> For many kids who grew up with controllers in their hands, being a game developer is a dream job, so when it comes to talent, supply is higher than demand This is basically the reason for low wages in quite a few 'passion' driven industries. If a job is something enough people want to do, then talent is cheap and plentiful and companies can provide low wages and poor conditions that for every person who quits, ten…

Pay for pilots is also poor. I've seen the sentiment from fighter pilots many times: "I can't believe they're paying me to fly!"

Being a pilot is not only a dream job, it's high status.

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#408

Post by rurp » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:38 PM UTC

slg wrote: post #397

sokoloff wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I walk by a window and don't break it, am I taking work away from glaziers?

That is stronger language than I would use, but yes you declined an opportunity to increase the demand for glaziers. I imagine your are trying to allude to the glazier's fallacy [1]. However that is only a fallacy from the perspective of the entire economy. An extra dollar spent on a glazier is going to benefit the glazier. The problem for the economy at large is that the dollar might have otherwise been spent on the…

It's not like humans have a finite amount of wants and needs; if that were the case we would have stopped progressing thousands of years ago after agriculture was developed.

Creating open source solutions to common problems doesn't eliminate work, it frees people up to work on new problems.

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#409

Post by thfuran » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:45 PM UTC

slg wrote: post #397

sokoloff wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I walk by a window and don't break it, am I taking work away from glaziers?

That is stronger language than I would use, but yes you declined an opportunity to increase the demand for glaziers. I imagine your are trying to allude to the glazier's fallacy [1]. However that is only a fallacy from the perspective of the entire economy. An extra dollar spent on a glazier is going to benefit the glazier. The problem for the economy at large is that the dollar might have otherwise been spent on the…

Or maybe it just means the software developers are paid to do things other than reinvent the wheel.

Re: Making Video Games Is Not a Dream Job

#410

Post by AWildC182 » Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 7:45 PM UTC

tathougies wrote: post #386

hannasanarion wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of countries where all employers are required to give certain notice, and you can't suddenly fire someone. It is outrageous that your ability to eat and pay rent can be taken away with zero notice in America.

Your ability to eat and pay rent should not be dependent on your income as a game developer. You know there are some professions where the pay is so low that yes, people really need to live paycheck to paycheck. Game developers do not, sorry.

For what it's worth, you shouldn't have to end statements with 'sorry'. I this kind of context it typically implies that you're making the statement with the intent to belittle someone.