Sounds about right. The friends I've had spend time in games industry have either left or transitioned to design consulting for all the same reasons cited. Ho

Sounds about right. The friends I've had spend time in games industry have either left or transitioned to design consulting for all the same reasons cited. However, I tend to think this problem is in the process of solving itself through the continued rise of "indie" game development and slow collapse of studio tiles [1]. There are all sorts of great outlets for people who are so inclined make and publish games that didn't exist even 5 years ago. Developers/designers don't have to buy into the established industry culture to make and consumers don't have to pay into it to play. 1: http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/1/3439738/the-state-of-games-state-of-aaa http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/1/3439738/the-state-of-games-...