I fully believe that the businesses that treat their employees well will naturally attract the best and the brightest workers.  The Game Industry by virtue of its field attracts the best and brightest programmers, artists, designers and directors.  But because of this surplus of applications to work in the game industry, many game companies tend to exploit their workers and mill them to death.

This is so much an industry practice that the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) created a “non-binding” committee dedicated to providing that long work hours is actually counterproductive and that most game industry employees burn out within 5 years.

Whistle while you work...

If the majority of people working in the game industry is under 30, then 5 years is just about right.  60 hour work weeks are nothing to someone who is young, single and passionate about creating games.  But someone like myself who has a wife, 2 kids, and a house and yard, working more than 45 hours a week is already intolerable.  It’s not just burnout – but that the gaming industry does not support a quality of life condusive to families.

This means that the vast majority of workers in the game industry are unmarried and without children.  Is it then any surprise that the majority of AAA games are testosterone driven, blood-soaked, cleavage filled, single-male fantasies?

"Bikini Zombie Slayers" - Who thinks up this junk?

Perhaps this is also the reason why indie games exhibit more creativity than the usual fair of blood soaked T & A.  Not only are the people involved in creating the games passionate, but they are not being milled to death to meet tough deadlines.  And quite possibly, they have more in their life than just work.

The ability to breathe and take in the life around you is the essence of true creativity and inspiration.  Otherwise, the best you can create is venting your primal rage – usually in the form of sex, violence and sexual violence.