Goodbye Games
This week it became apparent that upcoming business was reaching a worst case scenario situation at my employer. The bottom line is that the Australian games industry gets by on sort of spill business from the world’s publishers, and with publishers cutting back to the extent that there’s a whole load of studios going bust in the home countries of the publishers, the case for them outsourcing projects abroad is a bit of a tall order. At least if you don’t want to see your decisions directly results in the destruction of local jobs.
I get that, so I’m not bitter about the fact that this has happened. The Australian games industry really should have done more to become more than a spill capacity workshop and be more of a generator of original games product. That said I am bitter about how the publishers had no problems at all using up the very last of our capacity generating extrodinarily well produced pitches with playable demos, art and all that jazz when really, we never had a chance. We’ve even got so far as knowing that we were the best guys for the job, recommended in the aquisitions process, only to get vetoed by a senior figure. Obviously some guy mates with a local studio.
So there you have it, I’m redundant just in time for Christmas. As previous posts hinted at, this isn’t a stressful occurance because I’ve got other interests I want to pursue. I also reckon my employer will stay in business and I’m looking set to do some contract work in helping to pitch for business which is pretty much a dream casual job for someone in ful-tme study. I’m very grateful for that.
I feel a little introspective about games though. I grew up with people of my generation playing games in the 8-bit era, but really it was the technical aspect of computers that I was most involved in and I only got dragged into games when the Amiga died and I had clung on past the use-by because I loved it so much. Course then along came multiplayer gaming and I was deep in that as far as you can go and I was lucky enough to work right at the heart of it when it was exciting and radical new stuff was happening all the time.
The games industry will bounce back but not before a too-late catestrophic realisation that 2011 is looking like a bare cupboard. Kind of bad timing for main line games because small handheld and digital distribution are not only the new golden boys but they’re going to look like the only gig in town after next year.
Paradoxically two days after being officially redundant, on an otherwise relaxing Sunday, I’ve got to head into the city for Australia’s games industry trade show that starts today. That’s going to be to be a sombre affair to say the least. For my part I’m going to a “games in health” forum which is about the medical use of videogames in rehabilitation and so on. I’ll be glad of the distraction from glum game developers while new markets and new approaches is where I see my interests moving towards as well, games as well. It’s a big world out there, there’s more people online in China than the population of the US. That’s a brave new world I want to be a part of.
On the other hand my part in the games industry proper should be out with a big bang tonight, Epic are putting on a party in the evening and last year in Brisbane in lived up to it’s name. I think there’s one thing that the Australian games industry will be in agreement on, right about now we could all use a drink.
