Game Production Studies (1) (Games and Play)

By: Olli Sotamaa and Jan Švelch

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Synopsis: Video games have entered the cultural mainstream and now rival established forms of entertainment such as film or television in terms of economic profits. As careers in video game development become more common, so do the stories about precarious working conditions and structural inequalities within the industry. In Game Production Studies, an international group of researchers takes a closer look at the everyday realities of video game production, ranging from commercial studios to independent creators. Across sixteen chapters, the authors deal with issues related to labour, production routines, or monetization, as well as local specificities. As the first edited collection dedicated solely to video game production, this volume provides a timely resource for anyone interested in how games are made and at what cost. The contributors present case studies from Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, and the US among other countries. Considering how fast the video game production networks are evolving, the collection provides both timely discussion of new trends and phenomena such as boutique publishers, in-game monetization regulation, or game jam natives and also historical probes into particular industries, which address the wider socio-historical context of these changes.