Debunking video-game industry myths

Working in the video-game industry isn’t all fun and games. That isn’t to say there’s no fun to be had, and there are certainly games being played.

But there’s more to it than that.

“One of the largest misconceptions is that we play games all day,” said Kelly Zmak, president of Radical Entertainment, which developed Crash of the Titans and Scarface: The World Is Yours.

Zmak, who spoke with the Georgia Straight by phone from his Vancouver office, will give a talk about such myths at the Vancity Theatre on Saturday (February 7). His presentation is part of the sold-out Industry Speaker Day this weekend at the Vancouver Film School’s third annual Game Design Expo, an event that will draw developers, students, and gamers.

Zmak hopes his talk will shed light on how the industry really works, while having some fun at its expense. He explained, laughing, that it’s not just kids who imagine a video-game career with stars in their eyes. He said that some adults don’t realize just how difficult working in the industry can be.

“We say that our industry starts at ”˜hard’ and goes up from there,” Zmak said.

On the other hand, Ubisoft creative director Clint Hocking, who will deliver the day’s keynote presentation, said that one big misconception about the video-game industry is that people are expected to work 14-hour days.

“A lot of people were coming in and fucking around for six hours and then working eight hours, and then complaining they were burnt out all the time,” Hocking explained by phone from his Montreal office.

As developers get older, they spend more time working and less time goofing off, according to him. Hocking said that, while there are periods during a game’s production cycle when longer hours are necessary, “We’re not killing ourselves anymore.”

It’s not just outsiders who buy into the myths about working in the video-game industry. Zmak said there’s a belief within the developer community that independent studios enjoy more creative freedom and scheduling flexibility, and that all a person needs to achieve success is a great idea.

“That’s the furthest [thing] from reality,” he said. “Creating an original intellectual property is the hardest thing to do in our industry.”

Nevertheless, Zmak argued that the myths are useful—and even necessary. “We want to believe them. I want to believe that two guys can go out and start a new game company. Because that’s good for us. I would never discourage them from doing it. Because if guys like that didn’t go out to do it, nobody would ever succeed.”