Thanks to all that voted in our previous poll "How confident is your outlook for the local industry in 2010?". It's quite extraordinary that most of you (some 72%) have a rather bleak view of the industry for this year, with only 13% expecting a rebound from the previous year's gloom.
Our new poll is about Australian/New Zealand game developers and their passion and strive for their work.
In late 2006, the then-president of worldwide studios for Sony Computer Entertainment, Phil Harrison, arrived to attend the Australian Games Developers Conference (AGDC), and during an interview with Jason Hill for Livewire, made the following memorable comments about Australian game developers, and the 'lack of passion' he feels that the game development industry has here. Jason Hill for Livewire
(Phil) If you want to compete on the global stage you have to compare and compete effectively with the best of Europe, Japan and the US," he says. "I just haven't seen generally the huge creative passion to build something that's going to shake the Earth to its core. But I believe it has the determination to change.
It's certainly an interesting and sobering view of the local industry from someone on the outside looking in, particularly from a position that Phil Harrison had.
It was a comment that I thought would be interesting to bring up with then-Games Developer Association of Australia president, Tom Crago, shortly afterwards in an interview for tsumea.
Fueled by the comments in a recent and somewhat related news item, the topic of passion was brought up again but in a much more brutefully honest form, as one anonymous describes some insightful personal instances of attitudes within a local game studio...
My own experiences here in Australia have seen me work both with and within several of the larger studios and there is absolutely a pattern and a general laid back 'sheel be right' approach going on - until your the guy at the frontline bustin your balls to get something done, all the while the guy right next door watches youtube all day...
Too many 'vets' in comfortable positions, in routines of: paycheck, beer, family, house... so = move a few verts here, laugh a bit with some mates rinse repeat until knock off. Or comment out that line of code then spend 30 minutes talking about how sick that grenade lob was in call of duty at lunchtime rinse repeat unti knock off.
So what say you? I've made a poll on the site, but what are your thoughts? Is the local industry just not passionate enough? How common is this couldn't-care-less attitude in the industry? Please vote and comment at the following link...
One small gripe with the poll
One small gripe with the poll options, "We're much more professional than overseas developers". I don't think you should be using "professional" and "passionate" interchangeably. I would argue that there are a lot of very professional developers in australia, that have at least some passion for games (if not, why would you bother when you can make twice the $$ elsewhere), but may not be very passionate at all about the game they're working on, or the company they're working for. It is certainly possible to be very professional in your job, without needing to be particularly passionate about it.
Agreed
I would not say we're more professional, but I would give some thought to "more passionate".
It also depends what cross-section you look at when you vote. I mean, a lot of Australian indies which are popping up are showing a lot of passion, as are a lot of game devs who have recently found success. Then again a lot of what has fallen through has also probably decreased passion in a lot of experienced game devs here.
I'd love to eventually have a job where I can go home and have a beer at night and relax, but passion is in how hard you work, not just how much you work. Though somewhat interchangable.
Agreed
Poll has been adjusted
I consider myself passionate
I consider myself passionate about making game development a business and living. I’m currently running at a small loss [$ -150 a month. It’s easily fixed.] And take on side work just to be able to pay my expenses at the end of every month just so I can continue to develop games. I’m working to be able to work! That’s madness and only something someone does when they want to carve a living out of a profession that has very little employment value.
While I have worked with people who hold no passion for the industry, in my experience they are usually professional at their craft and very dependable workers. [Which for some dev studios I would argue is the attitude they’d rather you have. Some studios want passionate creative’s. Others just want worker bees.]
I would say from my own experience that people aren’t dispassionate as much as tired of drama and pessimistic of most all studios and projects. Many are sick of being assed-around or deceived in some form or another. Some people are sick of office politics and some have been burnt out by some ugly projects. I would think this sends a message out to the rest of the world of a development group who has a skilled raw talent pool to utilise, but suffers from a lack of human resource and business management. At least that's the idea I get. I could be wrong. :D
From people I’ve talked to at the IGDA. The average Australian game developer wants a stable, consistently paying job just doing the one thing they do best. That being code, art or design. He could care less for marketing, business, resource management and all the other sticky stuff that makes up the other half of developing games.
If there was truly no passion for this industry then it would make no sense to stay or participate in it as pay, benefits and job security are below most other coding, design and art jobs. The job of a game developer isn’t all that glamorous and I just hope those wanting into it so much understand the realism of the industry.
Define passion.
Sorry to pick on the poll again but, its pretty hard to say how passionate someone really is. And I can guess that others might have the wrong idea of my level of passion also. This poll seems like it would just show us what we think of each other. Is that really a good question to ask?
I know how I feel about MY level of passion... wouldn't that be a more useful and accurate poll?
Whats the passion context anyway? for example:
Vet: "What console do you have at home?"
newbie: "I'm a PC gamer."
Vet (thinking): gtfo.
Do you consider newbie to be 'passionate', even if (heaven forbid!) he doesn't own a console? He's really good at modelling and texturing, but he's never played Final Fantasy?! or Prince of Persia? or God of War???
The number of times I come across this bullshit at work is pretty interesting. I think its pretty important to make a distinction:
Gamer passion = loves games.
Developer passion = loves MAKING games.
In my mind, games passion alone pretty useless, and tends to result in unoriginal work. Developer passion is really good, but there are dangers of too much focus in optimising/building rather than the end product. I think a good developer should have a bit of both. This seems obvious when you think about it, but it is often overlooked by devs with elite gamer egos, and of course the momentarily naive.
In answering this poll, which one are you thinking of? Or is it another thing entirely?
Well, the poll asks if
Well, the poll asks if developers are passionate about their work, not passionate about playing games, so that already answers that.
Whether the poll asks a person to make a judgement on the rest of the industry as a whole, or just on their own feelings is interesting, although i wonder if it was a pool of developers own feelings, would the results of the poll be skewed largely in favour of "very passionate", simply because developers who are passionate about making games are more likely to visit this website than those who aren't?
The options also seem a
The options also seem a little extreme.
I mean, what do you vote for if you t hink that Austrlaian developers are passionate enough, but lag behind some of the major players?
"Absolutely not. There's no passion or strive",
or
"Generally, we are no different to our overseas counterparts" ?
I know Internet polls aren't academically recognised, but there does seem to be some unintentional push polling in the way the responses are phrased.
Developer passion
It would be developer passion.
While Phil Harrison's comments used the word passion, the remarks from the original poster about lazyness is what sparked the poll. Are devs proud of their work, constantly seeking improvement, and striving to do the *absolute* best possible? Or is it at the opposite side of the spectrum and just about putting the hours required and then beer o' clock?
The passion that Phil Harrison refers to, I think, is about not settling for mediocre or "just ok". He says it in a nice way that developers here need to lift their efforts to compete with the type of quality outputted from various other leading game-dev nations.
Quality output = budget
Quality output = budget input.
BS. Budget is just one
BS. Budget is just one factor. You can do a lot with a small budget. And a big budget won't guarentee quality.
No idea.
Forget passion, 50% don't play games.
I've worked in the AU industry for a few years now and in different studios and I'm alarmed at the amount of people in this industry that don't actually play games. At all. I could say that about 50% of the devs of any studio (especially the larger studios) are either:
a) Not interested in games at all, they consider themselves "artists", "animators", and "programmers" and never "game developers". They are interested in their particular skills ONLY and are sometimes hired for their "experience" working in film/animation/etc. They reckon if they are really fucking good at what they do (which they very well could be) then doing game development should be great, they can say they make games at the end of the day.
b) Semi-interested in games and consider themselves knowledgeable because of the 2-3 games MAX they play each year, typical games include mmos, shooters and/or RTS games. (I've even come across a couple of designers who didn't regularly play games or played only a combination of WoW and/or an online shooter usually 2-3 years old). They will often contribute to complex game decisions and offer their "ideas" which stem from a very limited pool of game knowledge.
Of course, there is always the other 50% that DO play games and DO care about the medium and keep up to date and generally know what is good and what is shit. The problem is, when you combine the two you get very uneven products, something i personally think AU suffers from. While everyone has good intentions some people should simply NOT be in game development. And if they want to be, they should damn well invest time and learn and evolve with it.
So this argument about passion is irrelevant. I know many passionate AU developers. It also has nothing to do with laziness. Australian aren't the only ones using Youtube during work. I guarantee you any big name studio has the same situation. The difference is that a AAA overseas developer of 100 people will have 80-90 of them be actual "gamers" instead of just 50. And that's why they make better games, cause they understand games better, not cause they work more hours.
my 2c
As long as they are not the leads.
Theres heaps of programmer and art tasks that can be delegated to non-gamers. I think its fine to have these guys in the team, so long as they are placed properly.
It's when these non-gamers are in lead positions or decision making roles that it is a problem - like when level artists are asked to design levels (HOLY SHIT!!!). It usually means there is a problem in the hiring/management process, or the leads in charge of these guys are not being responsible.
"The problem is, when you combine the two you get very uneven products" To me, this is the leads fault.
It doesn't always have to be an exclusive club :) Don't get me wrong, sometimes it REALLY does, but not always. Depends on how the studio is run imo.
I'm with Phil Harrison all
I'm with Phil Harrison all the way, you have to realize something - if someone can call those kinds of shots from the outside who gets this impression after meeting with a few folks – you’re mad to write it off as a – ‘whatever’
It sticks out, It stinks like a bad smell, its so fucking obvious to a passionate professional like Phil, and I think honestly he was being nice. As of course he needs to be.
For the record I am the same anonymous poster who’s been quoted by Souri up there in the original post who dealt out that brutal opinion.
I’m drawing upon almost 8 years of industry experience, working both in-house and as a freelancer with top AAA game developers from the UK, USA and Canada. I have quite a few titles under my belt and I consider myself very much a game industry NOOB. I don’t want a lead job, I don’t want an art directors job, though I’ve been officially offered both here. It only makes me feel sick inside that even me, someone who’s relatively new could be in such a pivotal role.
There IS a problem here and I honestly believe it centers on that 'sheel be right' attitude that’s embedded in the top tier management. I’ve been exposed to this NEARLY every place and project I've worked at or with in Australia to a LARGE extent (and that’s a few places now) yet when dealing with an AAA US or UK companies… it’s a whole world of difference – down to simply the way they talk and how professionally they approach the business of game development. Very results oriented ie Don’t perform ? why? can it be fixed? fix it! – is it fixed yet? No? Your gone.
To clarify one thing about what I’m about to say, and who I’m about to aim this at: By ‘Top Tier Management’ I’m not including Lead Audio guy, Lead environment Artist or Lead Character Artist type roles, I’m more talking Art Director, Technical Director, Producer, Project Manager and even CEO and their cohorts of middle management etc.
So here goes.
‘sheel be right’? It fucking won’t be right – those in top tier management / leadership positions you are yet to prove me wrong and I’m pointing my finger DIRECTLY at YOU.
YOU DO NOT realize the potential of your subordinates.
YOU DO NOT fuel the creativity of your team.
YOU DO NOT inspire your teams with your brilliance.
YOU DO NOT lead by shining example.
YOU DO believe your ideas are better than your subordinates because of your title.
YOU ARE an expert at delegating ridiculous time wasting tasks that are lowering the morale and wasting the valuable production time of your officers instead of doing them yourself.
YOU ARE an expert at making final decisions to which you have absolutely no idea of what the consequences are.
YOU NEED TO BE THE SHINING EXAMPLE.
DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THIS?!?!
Against all odds, against every naysayer, you need to inspire your team to do greater things. Your entire team is looking up to you – you have the power to fucking stop this 6 out of 10 games crap and propel your team into the worldwide acclaim AAA 90 % + Metacritic books.
Without these ‘shining examples’, these ‘PASSIONATE PROFESSIONALS’, we will not grow into an AAA game development country.
Its is very VERY different to be passionate about your work, and passionate about games in general, than it is to be a PASSIONATE PROFESSIONAL in life.
A passionate game developer that loves their work, but goes home at the end of the day and has absolutely nothing to do with his job outside of the 8 hours IS NOT A PASSIONATE PROFESSIONAL. A good number of AU game devers I know fit into this category.
A passionate game developer who plays a lot of games, and talks a lot about games but doesn’t actually do a lot of production at work is NOT A PASSIONATE PROFESSIONAL. Most of the rest of AU Game developers I know fit into this category.
There are so few exceptions to this, it’s absolutely shocking – mainly because the exceptions have left these shores or have plans to in the very near future to places where their craft and approach to life is nurtured and they are equally rewarded and supported for their efforts, by like minded individuals.
A passionate professional is someone who’s life revolves around what they are doing, in the game development arena, this is someone who has made game development their lives, and when its stopped ( ie holiday or weekend ) it doesn’t actually stop… they do more… play every game they can, listen to pod-casts while relaxing by the pool, read articles, absorb information, learn new techniques, implement new things, learning completely new skill sets, challenging themselves mentally, constantly sharpening their game development weapons, which ultimately and often inadvertently are used to inspire and instill belief in others to make the improbable, possible.
They do not do this because they have to, they do it because they enjoy it, they love it – its not work at all – its just how they function.
They do not stop, they do not get comfortable – they fuck up, they make mistakes they learn from those, they have the same crap lives as everyone else, they just choose to utilize the time they have in a way that maximizes the time they get to spend doing something they enjoy most.
THIS IS CLEARLY NOT FOR EVERYONE!!!! But these people are the leaders we need, in order to change our biggest studios into AAA powerhouses.
These people are present in Naughty Dog, These people are present in Valve, these people are present in ID Software, these people are present in any AAA game developer you feel like inserting here.
Why are we not doing so good down here in au ?
Your answer is – Are the Passionate Professionals I’ve described above present in the studio you are working at, and are they in Top Tier Leadership Roles? – There’s your answer. You may know an artist who thinks like this… but what’s he going to do when his voice cant be heard? Most likely you’ll see that guy leaving AU shores very soon….
And for those who continue to harp on and NOT blame top tier leadership – You aren’t playing with a full deck. It starts from the top down, always does, always has and always will. It doesn’t mater if the guy at the top has absolutely no idea what a game is – BUT if he is a passionate professional about business and has the money, he will know to instill trust in his commanding officers, and that they will get the job done, or be held accountable. If not ? well you have AU Game Development.
Again:
A commanding officer, who earns the respect of his troops through hardship, leading by example, training and giving them support to flourish as individuals who also learns and grows with them as one of the troops will be able to inspire and lead that team to greatness, and instill belief even in the face of impossibility.
A commanding officer, who places himself above his team because of his title, does not set high standards for himself and relies on scheming and making the most of political gain, yet expects high standards from his team will always and forever be the commander of a low quality army.
At the end of the day, hell who am I kidding I’m sure right now anyone who’s actually bothered to read this far will have already said…. Bah thats absolutely ridiculous… We don’t need people like that, in a few years weel have grown into people like that, we will have gotten more experience a few more titles under our belts - just need to keep at it I.E
‘Sheel Be Right!’
I'll agree that very few that
I'll agree that very few that i've met in the aus game industry fall under your definition of "Passionate Professional". Personally I would consider myself passionate, and professional, but I do enjoy a variety of other activities outside of work. Perhaps the lack of "passionate professionals" has its roots in australian culture, although maybe nothing to do with the "she'll be right" attitude (which does exist). Simply most australians grow up pretty lucky. From a young age most kids are exposed to all kinds of different experiences, music, sports, friends, games, movies, clubs, pubs, whatever. Isolating yourself to do the same thing constantly just wouldn't even occur to most. They don't get enough mental stimulation from such single-mindedness. I'm no fancy big city psychologist, but i wonder if it takes a special kind of isolated, boring childhood to develop such single-mindedness? Perhaps such upbringings are more common in other countries (or simply about the same but per-capita etc.?)
I think you've taken the post
I think you've taken the post above a bit too literal. I don't think what he/she is saying is "You have to have no life but live and breathe games 24/7". What is said is that a passionate professional's mind will always be ticking. You're at the beach and having fun but you're brain wanders to ideas/solutions. Its 2 am in the morning and you can't get to sleep cause you NEED to find a fucking solution to this nagging game dev problem you had the other day. You're on a trip abroad soaking up new experiences and you see something and say "shit i could use that, that's given me some ideas!". Or it could be simply you're taking a dump and TADA FUCKING SOLUTION pops into your head as the other pops out!
It doesn't mean you have to have had a boring childhood or be mentally disabled to be a passionate professional. In fact I'd imagine the most creative people in the industry are the ones that have had strange/exciting lives and not traditional ones.
Also, since when was it fucking frowned upon for game devs to play games and be excited about games? Wtf kind of twilight zone world do some people live in?
contempt for our profession
Some interesting points in your long post. However, someone like the one you mention, may very well not entirely do it because he/she "loves" it, but, because they have no choice about it. Interactive design is my thing. When I'm not working on a project, I'm thinking up of new ones. Reading articles about it or something related to it; I'm playing games, hell, I'm "consuming" media. I don't have a choice in the matter; it's the way I'm "hard-wired." I did have a less "outgoing" childhood where it was up to me to make up my own fun; not exactly interesting, unless you think "abusive" is interesting.
Anyway, games were it for me; at the very top of the means of my escape.
BTW: it really gives me the shits when people always mention art or code positions / professions, yet always, never mention those to do with design. I'm NOT an ARTIST, I'm NOT a CODER. I'm a DESIGNER! Failure to recognize us, is a sign of your lack of respect for the work we do and your contempt for our profession. No wonder Phil found Oz to be lacking in "passion" ;).
Then dude, take the damn
Then dude, take the damn positions you are offered.
You are obviously passionate enough. By refusing it, you are simply allowing someone who is not you (i.e, not their first choice) who can only have less passion and be exactly what you hate.
Step up to the plate and lead by example. Its not like you won't still develop.
See it from the other side........
Quoting from above:
"There IS a problem here and I honestly believe it centers on that 'sheel be right' attitude that’s embedded in the top tier management."
YOU DO NOT realize the potential of your subordinates.
YOU DO NOT fuel the creativity of your team.
YOU DO NOT inspire your teams with your brilliance.
YOU DO NOT lead by shining example.
YOU DO believe your ideas are better than your subordinates because of your title.
YOU ARE an expert at delegating ridiculous time wasting tasks that are lowering the morale and wasting the valuable production time of your officers instead of doing them yourself.
YOU ARE an expert at making final decisions to which you have absolutely no idea of what the consequences are."
Wow. Well, I can't speak for all companies in Australia, but there are companies in Australia where Top Tier management are NOT like the above. Whereever you've worked where the above was true - well, I feel for you.
However, I am agreeing with you, and will point out that compared to other industries, I do feel that in general (no, not ALL), the artists, programmers, designers etc in this industry are lazy. Yes, they turn up to work. But that's it. They go home and do whatever.
If you want to excel, you have to go the extra mile. Self-train, study, practice, etc. You have to - there's no choice if you want to produce the highest quality of work in a competitive market. I personally feel that self-improvement and commitment is strongly lacking in the industry here. Too much whining about the industry, not enough doing. (Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it's truth).
I pray for the day the studios here are run like film studios, where all staff are contracted for the term of the project. That way, top tier management can easily shed the lazy and inefficient from the team, rather than be bogged down by employment laws that restrain them from doing so. That way, if the contractor doesn't 'cut it' - ring the next one. This will be a great thing for the industry - it will encourage competitiveness, and force those who want to work in this industry to stay on top of and seek to improve their skills. These people will be rewarded rather than be bogged down carrying the lazy ones through a project.
"THIS IS CLEARLY NOT FOR EVERYONE!!!! But these people are the leaders we need, in order to change our biggest studios into AAA powerhouses."
Great! Find me the money and I'll create a AAA powerhouse for you.
The REALITY of the industry in Australia (again, don't want to speak to generally, but for the most part....) is that studios are at the mercy of ridicicuously small budgets and tight deadlines that leave no room for agiliity in design, experiementation, and creative discovery. I'd like to see some of these professional US counterparts work with a 1 million dollar budget for 6 months and see what they come up with.
We're only as good as the budgets and schedules allow us to be. Australian studios get thrown most of the crap, discount games that the US and UK studios don't want to do. That's the reality. It's not a case of "She'll be right", it's a case of "We are tight" by the publishers/financiers.
P.S.
I want to point out in relation to my post above, that I DON'T expect people should work 24/7 either!
We are VERY lucky in Australia to have a good grasp and attitude towards lifestyle and balance. (Better than in the US). We value our families, friends and our health. 16 hour workdays etc are not acceptable.
But, self-improvement can lead to more efficient practices in our work. Improving your craft, whatever it is, should not just be about what you create, but how efficiently you can create it. (This is not just time, but 'error' free if you like).
don't Austyralians work more
don't Austyralians work more hours than the rest of the developed world?
Again this is the same
Again this is the same classic mentality Ive found here:
Find you the money and youll make a AAA powerhouse in australia ? Come on seriously ?
If you were the solid businessmen, the solid leader that could push an AAA developer through from inception to granduer - you wouldnt be making comments like this. You would be out there trying to find a way, and not giving up until you had, or you would at least be talking to people who have done it and reaping as much information from them as you could... not making comments about asking someone from do it for you.
Look at The CEO of Trion World Network in the US - bet you havent heard of it ? He secured upward of 75 Million US dollars of investment for a brand new company with NO previous game titles. In a dying US economy he found that money, I believe the second largest round of private investment for a game developer in the history of games so far.
The money is there - I dont want to hear this crap about no budgets and things are tight, they are tight because you allow them to be tight.
I agree with so many of the
I agree with so many of the comments here but one brought up ill feeling in me:
"A passionate game developer that loves their work, but goes home at the end of the day and has absolutely nothing to do with his job outside of the 8 hours IS NOT A PASSIONATE PROFESSIONAL."
Maybe it's because I'm an Australian, and therefore must be just like all these lazy 'sheel be right guys.' But it just rubs me the wrong way I just can't forcibly agree with the ideal that I must destroy the rest of my life for the sake of what gives my life meaning. The previous may sound odd, but it is more of what the Australian way of life feels to me. We love making games, but we also love playing games, and having a beer and hanging out with mates.
If it was me that Harrison was talking to, I would have replied, "What? You saying that we don't like/don't have passion for making games? Or that we don't have a passion that makes us blindly work through massive hours with low/no pay on pointless shovelware games?" Of course I hope he would then reiterate on the points brought up by the aforementioned 'Anonymous.' In which case I would agree that too many of the companies here did not work on their passion.
For me games is not my job or my hobby or a simple past-time. It's me. I make games. I don't want to be known as a professional, but simply as that guy who makes good games.
But maybe that's why I'm not in the industry yet, because I'm a lazy Australian yobbo who has no passion.
Going by the content of your
Going by the content of your post, you ARE a hobbyist. At best, you are an ok professional developer. If you want to be a top-class professional musician it consumes your entire life. If you want to be a top-class professional in sport it consumes your entire life. If you want to be a top-class chef it consumes your entire life. This is no different. If we want to make top-class games in this country this is the standard we have to set. You won't be known as the guy who makes good games, you'll be known as the guy who makes games.
2006 was 4 years ago...
....and a lot has happened in this industry since then. I wonder what Phil would say now. Passion or rhetoric. Rocket or failure to launch. Or would he simply be nice and make us feel good without actually saying that Australia really isn't that significant a player on the world stage right now other than being a cool place to work or visit. Pardon the pun - we really do need to pick up our game.
Some of you have taken my
Some of you have taken my post too literally, and also some of you have taken it upon yourselves to assume im talking about the average worker bee class - like an artist, designer or programmer etc
Youve got it . Im not saying you ALL need to be passionate professionals, that would be rediculous. I am saying within the leadership heirarchy if your looking to propell your studio into the AAA world wide acclaim arena - these are the kinds of people you need to propell your army of worker bees into that arena.
A Passionate Pro - has underneath him a small group of officers ( lead designer, lead artist, lead audio etc etc etc ) the passionate pro inspires his officers, who in turn inspire their troops - thats how it works, if every person around you right now was charged up and going nuts on the project you are working on - and you were the only one relaxing and watching youtube, reading this article when you should be charging with your troops... your should feel left out.. threatened, vulnerable... you dont deserve to be there - get out and let someone who IS willing to charge, take your place.
A chink in that chain needs to be delt with swiftly - because a lazy boss wont inspire the team to create shadow of the collosus, and at the same time a passionate professional junior artist whose voice cannot and will not be heard can not inspire the team to create shadow of the collosus.
Its all about the man above you - your superiors are responsible, but not held accountable for the damage they have done and continue to do.
If you are a worker bee, and consider yourslef a passionate pro - i really feel for you, its not a nice place to be in, but there are like minded folks out there, youll find them in good time.
it's all about the man above
it's all about the man above you?
yes, blame the guy above you if you're lazy or your code is full of bugs. Hot potato anyone?
There have been quite a few
There have been quite a few games that have received terrible marks not because of coding problems or bugs, but largely due to uninspired and undaring, boring design. Hellboy and Clone Wars: Republic Heroes are two examples of this. They both appear to have had large teams and budgets, and were relatively solid products, however they were boring as all hell.
Yes, there are very few
Yes, there are very few (any?) good designers in Australia.
Bullshit. I disagree. In my
Bullshit. I disagree. In my career in Oz, I've met plenty of excellent, creative, dedicated designers with original ideas and talent to burn. Waay, waaaay more good than bad.
Your reply is exactly the
Your reply is exactly the attitude I've come to expect from the average game developer here.
Absolutely it is ALL about your senior officer, your lazyness and bad code shouldnt be tolerated. It should and hopefully would be culled, immediately. Either by finding a solution, or by firing you, and replacing you with someone who isnt lazy. Rinse repeat. This isnt rocket science, but aparently... it is.
If your code sucks, why where you hired ? If you continue to check in crap code, and be lazy wtf are you still doing with a job ? ... ahhh thats right its AU and you are friends or even family with the boss or folks in high places... or wait everyones so nice and chummy with everyone else that they cant bare to fire your ass, so you continue to be lazy and get away with it.
If your superior is not inspiring you, nurturing your growth and hopefully helping you to grow as a game developer, chances are, the man above him is not inspiring him either... which leads me back to the reason why it absolutely must start from the top and filter down.
It baffles me why this is such a complex ideal to wrap your heads around.