The Games Industry

This is a fragmented article written from a 15-5-1 plan (see my other website, www.thequillguy.com, for a guide to this plan.) I copied, foolishly, a table into this blog, and only took the details of the plan and not itself overall structure. Therefore, the paragraphs do not develop an overarching point, but they might be an interesting read in themselves:

Some of my pupils, and I, spend a lot of time gaming, and a lot of time at school. But the school curriculum does not acknowledge gaming. While literature is studied and esteemed, and rightly so, gaming is (for reasons I discussed before) still in its infancy as an art-form of credibility. And that itself is perhaps right, too (at least for the current time.) But while subject teachers of ICT are compelled to teach decontextualised application use rather than contextualise them in projects for real audiences, then students will increasingly be switched off from the possibilities of ICT.



Learning becomes (at times) necessarily dull, arduous and involves taking steps backwards - but it requires an element of enjoyment to spark curiosity. Games are, usually, enjoyable. Usually (perhaps a little too often) this is due to the ludic-manipulations of behavioural psychologists. That is, gamers return because they enjoy the achievements that games can give them more than the uncertain and (seemingly pointless) frustrations of school/work life. However, learning urges the person to strive for improvement: bigger, better, more (refined.) Some gaming doesn't seek for improvement, or at least the improvement of the gamer is, how to define it... not applicable for much more than the game.

By that I mean that games like World of Warcraft do not improve every player. That is not entirely accurate: I imagine there is an improvement in some players' communication skills under pressure (because imagine if you had to battle through a monster-infested dungeon for hours only to have the entire game risking upon organising yourself accurate within fifteen seconds intervals and with thirty other people.) Reflexes and memory are also practised. However, considering the hours pumped into the game (1600+ I hear by some players), I wonder if it could be more a catalyst for self-improvement?

Self-improvement is the cover of the game. WoW involves, essentially, a bunch of numbers (your hero, with their stats) attacking other numbers (monsters, with their stats) until they drop numbers (in the form of better weapons.) This formula is repeated until you use the biggest numbers to defeat the biggest numbers so you have the biggest numbers of them all. But how far are the players themselves improved? And are they bothered? I am.

This example, like gaming, hints at how gaming is increasingly becoming part of mainstream consciousness. COD and WoW are lambasted by some gamers. But they are responsible for how many gaming is more a mainstream hobby and, for some, a legitimate creative career.

Yet I looked recently at employment in the Games Industry with mixed feelings. With the projects I run - and my minor modding experience - I wonder what it would be like for those trying to establish themselves in such a profession. This was inspired by several students in my tutor group who have the mix of creativity and determination that I imagine is necessary to succeed. Two factors warn against such a career, though. The first is that compared to other art sector jobs the status of such a position is low. But I guess that isn't a consideration for the artist. And it is a project-based job, rather than a mapped career.