I’m convinced now that there is no story so earth-shattering, so horrifying, so diligently researched and expertly told that we could Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle our way to a better games industry.
I disagree, but I also recognize the fundamental lede buried in this lengthy gripe piece: the law is not just. The industry isn’t going to change from the top down, because the fundamental core of the games industry is the same rot that plagues every industry. There’s a club of rich good ol’ boys at the top whose rampant sexism and ultra-capitalism still pervades many economies, and they’re able to successfully lobby the politicians that should regulate them.
But I disagree that it’s ultimately fruitless. There may be no singular story that fixes things, but continued effort to bring that stuff to light has influenced people’s decisions to buy into certain games or publishers. It’s resulted in lawsuits that at least give some justice to the victims. It’s resulted in new indie studios with good work cultures who make amazing games.
So I agree the problem still exists, but the “sunlight” they talk about isn’t a panacea—it’s one of many collective steps towards building a better industry.
I think the author (Brendan Sinclair) probably agrees with exactly what you’re saying - the piece is a discussion of the question, and Brendan discusses some of his more open-ended thoughts in the section that comes after the paywall cut. His central focus seems to be on the question of why the execs at the top never face accountability for these exposed failures of leadership. It isn’t to say that no good comes from these investigative pieces, but just exploring this specific aspect of it.
That said, I also agree with you that this particular article struck me as rambly.
The way to fix it is for developers not to sell out. When your small studio’s game blows up, you’re left with a choice. Do you care about art and making quality games, or do you care about making money and appeasing corporations in exchange for empty promises?
Are you going to leave you work in the hands of its creators, or are you going to hand it off to someone whose entire path in life is centered around squeezing as much money as possible out of every product with no concern for its quality or integrity?
