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Wouldn't one solution to this problem be telecommuting combined with contract based model. You put a team together for a project, work the project, and let ever

by x0054 12y ago

Wouldn't one solution to this problem be telecommuting combined with contract based model. You put a team together for a project, work the project, and let every one know up front that this is a temporary gig, not a permanent job. Like in the movie industry. But the twist is, you embrace a telecommuting model, allowing developers to move from project to project without having to move from house to house. This would also make it much easier to rehire people who worked for you before, providing continuity to the games, and increasing level of code reuse. I know it's not a steady job, but perhaps it's a fair compromise. Also, this would allow the video game industry to keep older talent, as developers would be able to have a more flexible schedule and live in more family friendly suburban neighborhoods. Just an idea....

ehurrell 12y ago
That does seem like it has a lot of potential to tackle this, though it would probably make game development less attractive (the illusion of a steady job is better than 'well in 9 months you'll be looking for work'). Game dev is hugely attractive of course, so it could conceivably take the hit. One possible problem with this is what's already been happening with contract CG people in the movie industry. Their work is becoming increasingly devalued so there's a race to the bottom in terms of charging, such that situations like Ang Lee's Life of Pi, where he said something to the effect that he felt he paid too much for CG (I can't remember offhand the exact quote) and the CG people were barely making ends meet. They also aren't being acknowledged at awards, which for some can be a disincentive.
matthewmacleod 12y ago
I'm really surprised that's not the case. Contracting would be great for this sort of thing.
kevingadd 12y ago
Remote contractors are heavily leveraged in the game industry. It's not a solution; it usually makes things worse.
- yen223 12y ago
  I can't see how game devs can work remotely in any practical sense. It can't be easy pushing gigabytes of assets down the Internet.
  - bryanlarsen 12y ago
    Keep the data on the internet instead of working locally, using tools such as http://clara.io http://clara.io.

by x0054 12y ago

ehurrell 12y ago

That does seem like it has a lot of potential to tackle this, though it would probably make game development less attractive (the illusion of a steady job is better than 'well in 9 months you'll be looking for work'). Game dev is hugely attractive of course, so it could conceivably take the hit. One possible problem with this is what's already been happening with contract CG people in the movie industry. Their work is becoming increasingly devalued so there's a race to the bottom in terms of charging, such that situations like Ang Lee's Life of Pi, where he said something to the effect that he felt he paid too much for CG (I can't remember offhand the exact quote) and the CG people were barely making ends meet. They also aren't being acknowledged at awards, which for some can be a disincentive.

matthewmacleod 12y ago

I'm really surprised that's not the case. Contracting would be great for this sort of thing.

kevingadd 12y ago

Remote contractors are heavily leveraged in the game industry. It's not a solution; it usually makes things worse.

yen223 12y ago
I can't see how game devs can work remotely in any practical sense. It can't be easy pushing gigabytes of assets down the Internet.
- bryanlarsen 12y ago
  Keep the data on the internet instead of working locally, using tools such as http://clara.io http://clara.io.