The idea of a singular creative genius does more harm than good
Like any creative industry, the games industry is full of truly passionate and ambitious people. Chief among them, of course, are famous artists who often take on the role of creative director or studio president, from the smallest among indie enthusiasts to the biggest among startups. sing AAA. I think in general people would agree that we not only want the most talented people in these positions, but also respectful and responsible bosses. Unfortunately, this isn’t usually the case for those in power – which we’re not surprised to learn that it happens with alarming frequency in the games industry, like other industries before it. there.
Last week, Chris Bratt from People make games released a 40-minute trailer around alleged workplace abuse at popular indie studios Mountains, Fullbright and Funomena – and publisher Annapurna refused to do anything about it. This is a well-researched, well-thought-out piece of work if you’re willing to skim through offensive content like descriptions of emotional harassment and abuse.
While much of the video explains the horrific experiences the employees of these beloved indie studios have endured behind closed doors, one point Bratt repeats over and over again is the alleged Annapurna being negligence after those experiences came to light. When employees of these studios asked publishers why they didn’t act when one person was clearly the source of the problem, they simply replied that sometimes making games requires a “strong personality”. In short, Annapurna is alleged to have bought into pornography in games, which is at least unfair. Having an authoritative personality and strong opinions is one thing, but completely abusing your employees is quite another.
History of auteur
Auteur is basically a person in charge of a project, usually a film director, whose creative vision comes first and is the only goal everyone else is aiming for, no matter the cost. Auteurs can also tend to have a reputation for being the most demanding and even outright abusive. For example, some of the famous auteurs in the film industry are Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino and Woody Allen.
As a concept, auteurship originated with the French film movement of the late 1940s, but the term “auteur theory” was not coined by American critic Andrew Sarris until 1962. By the 1970s , the Hollywood Renaissance was booming, and with it, studios were willing to give directors more time if they showed promising talent.
It makes sense, then, that as the games industry is trying to prove itself as an art form with equal legitimacy to filmmaking, it has drawn from many of its brother’s traits – including, Unfortunately, the idea of spaceship. Auteurs have been part of the mystique surrounding game development for many years, including Hideo Kojima, Ken Levine, David Cage, and Neil Druckmann in the AAA space.
We hear a lot more about times when something is amiss at the biggest studios in the game, because they’re much more configurable. Bratt points out something in his video that we can often overlook indie studios because of their smaller teams or rewarding content, assuming there’s certainly nothing wrong there. But those capable of harming others will take that opportunity to do so no matter where they are. Bratt also mentions the struggles of smaller studios in this case, because people often worry that if a founder leaves, it will affect the rest of their small team as well.
Small teams, big “personalities”
Ken Wong, Steve Gaynor, and Robin Hunicke, the indie developers discussed in the People Make Games video, also fall into this category. Often times, especially for indie studios, the people who are continuing the abuse are the same people who have already established the studio, which makes it even more difficult to remove them if they cause problems because they has become synonymous with the brand.
Look, I’m all for someone to be a strong leader and see their artistic vision to the end, if, and that’s a great thing if they treat people with compassion. respect and dignity. It immediately becomes a problem when an auteur in the game starts abusing their powers, which is not a huge leap when they already have ultimate power to begin with. According to People Make Games, that’s exactly what happened at those smaller indie studios – the people in charge had good game-making skills, but no good people or management skills.
The reality is that the games and movies we make today are impossibly large undertakings, so it’s impossible to serialize a strong artistic vision to just one person. Every designer, artist, actor, composer, etc. is an integral part of bringing the final product to life, and attributes all of that to a skilled performer. can polish the hard work that others put in.
Look to the future
I get it, because that’s what I’ve fallen victim to myself – it’s easier and simpler when we think of one person as the genius mastermind behind it all, so a They are solely responsible for its success. For some reason, our monkey brains tend to think this way. But when we blindly confirm someone’s actions no matter what they do simply because they’re talented, it can get really dangerous very quickly. It’s possible to love someone’s work while keeping a distance from any form of idolatry or social ties, and that’s the healthiest option for everyone.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen a huge movement to protect employees from abusive situations at work, not just in the gaming industry but everywhere, which is extremely encouraging. rate for me. The abusers that once seemed untouchable are now responsible for them actso we’re making some progress, maybe as slowly as possible.
A worker’s right to a safe, comfortable, dignified work environment should always be preceded by someone’s misleading idea of what needs to be done to create a work of art. It’s time to stop worrying about trying to be the next movie industry and focus on healthy, sustainable ways of working in the long run. As fans, it’s our duty not to get caught up in the hype and to believe in the victim. And those in a position to prevent abusive situations from happening need to step up to the board. People are always interested in profit.
