Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
1–10 of 86 posts
Re: Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
#2Twenty years in games now and am 42 and I think things are really getting better. Granted I've not been in the open job market for over a decade, moving through my network rather than applying directly for jobs. Work-life balance is much better than it used to be as is pay, in particular working remote has been a godsend for my own sanity. The article read a little starry eyed for the days of crunch and low-pay and whilst the camaraderie was there I have absolutely no desire to go back to working ridiculous hours.
I'm definitely over massive studios though and love working in smaller teams. It's much nicer to have more direct impact on the end product as well as working together in a smaller close nit unit where most people are wearing multiple hats.
Re: Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
#3gaming studios are full of people who are squarely in the target market for the product they're developing. this has downsides but in many ways is a huge edge, so in a sense ageism seems more justifiable in games than elsewhere as a close proxy for audience understanding
Re: Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
#4Cliff Bleszinksi's thoughts on the games industry should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt. The sorts of development he, in particular, describes has been recognised as destructive, and is increasingly uncommon at AAA studios that operate at the highest levels.
IIRC his time in the industry ended after he ran his studio into the ground by making an overwatch clone with boring characters, then trying to pivot to a Fortnite clone before the money finally ran out. I don't consider him a credible source for what is required to create successful games, and I wish he would step out of the spotlight to leave room for newer voices.
Re: Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
#5gaming studios are full of people who are squarely in the target market for the product they're developing. this has downsides but in many ways is a huge edge, so in a sense ageism seems more justifiable in games than elsewhere as a close proxy for audience understanding
i should make it a point to play games made by old people-- i'd probably like them more.
Re: Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
#6gaming studios are full of people who are squarely in the target market for the product they're developing. this has downsides but in many ways is a huge edge, so in a sense ageism seems more justifiable in games than elsewhere as a close proxy for audience understanding
that's an interesting idea. are games special? does this same idea apply to movies?
Re: Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
#7Twenty years in games now and am 42 and I think things are really getting better. Granted I've not been in the open job market for over a decade, moving through my network rather than applying directly for jobs. Work-life balance is much better than it used to be as is pay, in particular working remote has been a godsend for my own sanity. The article read a little starry eyed for the days of crunch and low-pay and w…
> moving through my network rather than applying directly for jobs.
This seems to be the biggest differentiator between folks who are struggling to find work and those who are finding roles just fine. This is a horrible time to be applying directly for roles through HR portals. But I haven't noticed a large difference in opportunities popping up through "professional" networks.
Re: Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
#8gaming studios are full of people who are squarely in the target market for the product they're developing. this has downsides but in many ways is a huge edge, so in a sense ageism seems more justifiable in games than elsewhere as a close proxy for audience understanding
The average age of a 'gamer' is actually a lot higher than you might think. 35-44 according to this:
https://venturebeat.com/business/esa-ceo-64-of-u-s-adults-ar...
Re: Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
#9Cliff Bleszinksi's thoughts on the games industry should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt. The sorts of development he, in particular, describes has been recognised as destructive, and is increasingly uncommon at AAA studios that operate at the highest levels. IIRC his time in the industry ended after he ran his studio into the ground by making an overwatch clone with boring characters, then trying to pivot to…
I think this is an unnecessary ad hominem attack against him, even if what you are saying is true. TFA says that Cliff B is almost out of gaming these days, and everything he says in the article makes sense.
PS: I worked many years in the game industry at AAA level.
Re: Industry veterans get candid on ageism in gaming
#10gaming studios are full of people who are squarely in the target market for the product they're developing. this has downsides but in many ways is a huge edge, so in a sense ageism seems more justifiable in games than elsewhere as a close proxy for audience understanding
The average age of a 'gamer' is actually a lot higher than you might think. 35-44 according to this: https://venturebeat.com/business/esa-ceo-64-of-u-s-adults-ar...
That's older than the median age of a human being. Granted, people don't tend to play games before the age of about 7, but that still seems suspect.