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Should game developers unionize?
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Barnes
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  • With the rise of game and tech industries in California, there are some parallels that are drawn between these and the film/arts industries (photographers, theatre/stage actors, etc.). The film industry has some of the most prominent unions in the United States, wielding signficant bargaining and political power (leading to command of the entire country for former Screen Actors' Guild president Ronald Reagan, for instance). Should game developers and other creatives in technology companies try the same system, and form unions in their own right?

    I came across this article discussing the possibility. I'd like to know your thoughts.

    This may also invoke similar discussion regarding unions in general, and minimum wage laws in the US.
    1 person likes this post: taulover
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  • I'm generally in favor of unionization anyway, so it's kind of a no-brainer to me.
    The child part of my brain is screeching 'BUT THEY'LL MAKE YOUR GAMES SLOWER' - but on the other hand, without the spectre of crunch hanging over their heads, QA would probably be better because there's less incentive to just shove it out the door so the metaphorical beatings can stop for a while. I'm certainly more than happy with not having a new Assassin's Creed or whatever every year if they're all made to the same standards as Origins was - and moreover I think that taking some of the disproportionate power out of megalithic publisher's hands like EA or Ubi and putting it into the hands of their employees means we might see a bigger emphasis on what's fun rather than what's profitable.

    That's assuming, of course, that they're not merely negotiating fair pay, hours, and conditions (which should still be minimum standards) - I just think that for creative fields it kind of makes sense to have members of the union have some level of ultimate creative control - or at least no 'we're cancelling all single player experiences to do games as a service because there's so much money there' situations like we had with Visceral.
    5 people like this post: Barnes, taulover, Imaginative Kane, Gerrick, Michi
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