This article is about a search for a new model of game development. It will not deliver a model ready to go, or even a formula for finding a new one. We know the object of our search exists because progress exists, but practitioners are more likely to find it than authors. However, the previous … Continue reading Innovation in Games: Looking for the Future
Innovation in Games: The Old Model
Gaming isn’t as innovative as it seems. People like to pay lip service to the idea of innovation rather than the reality. The reality is difficult to define, difficult to do, and often involves working counter to popular opinion. This article focuses on innovation in the past while another will address the future. Why might … Continue reading Innovation in Games: The Old Model
The Ideas Guys of Money
Everyone is an ideas guy when it comes to money. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a loose definition might be that an ideas guy is someone who comes up with lots of things to do, but offers nothing towards their implementation. Creative industries attract more ideas guys than most, but there are programmers whose … Continue reading The Ideas Guys of Money
The Unity We Asked For
Unity’s recent layoffs are the result of a shift in the company’s strategy. This strategy will mean fewer features and improvements to the engine than before, and, like the adjustments to the pricing change, it will favour large developers more. Unity has a product to sell, and that product has been fairly consistent throughout its … Continue reading The Unity We Asked For
Use Designers in Data Analysis
The last time inflation was unusually high, the economist Robert Lucas wrote a paper criticizing policy evaluation by performing statistical analysis on historical aggregates. It is now known as the Lucas Critique (not to be confused with the more common Lucas Critique concerning the Star Wars prequels). The paper (“Econometric Policy Evaluation: A Critique”) does … Continue reading Use Designers in Data Analysis
Money Trouble
Tech has seen waves of layoffs in 2023 and gaming is no exception. While the two might seem related, the stated reasons are quite different. Tech CEOs have not made it a secret that they feel emboldened by each other’s drives for efficiency, while announcements that tie layoffs to profit margins are the exception in … Continue reading Money Trouble
ATMing Writers
The MBAs are at it again. I, for one, am tired of suits creating problems that don't exist and devalue the work of writers. Games need good writing, and writing is a specialized skill that should be compensated. Hiring talent creates value well in excess of the extra cost over hiring an average writer. Yet … Continue reading ATMing Writers
Why is There a Productivity Problem in Gaming?
This article is a companion to its predecessor that described gaming's productivity problem but did not identify causes. Here we will focus on a subset of potential causes that are the most informative and deal with why we may be experiencing the problem now. The productivity problem is a natural consequence of the growth of … Continue reading Why is There a Productivity Problem in Gaming?
Discoverability as a Productivity Problem
Gamers are less willing to subsidize inefficiency in game production than they have been in the past. This is a product of independent gaming's success which has resulted in more developers being supported while simultaneously introducing more competition. This more competitive environment has been characterized through the discoverability problem, where games struggle to get attention … Continue reading Discoverability as a Productivity Problem
Unity Has Gone Too Far. Time to Go All the Way
Unity announced a price increase a couple days ago which has rightly enraged the developer community. While the seat price remains the same for all Unity licenses, the engine will now charge for unique installs of the Unity runtime once developers pass a certain revenue and install threshold. This unconscionable change strikes at the very … Continue reading Unity Has Gone Too Far. Time to Go All the Way
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