The Stresses and Strains in Computer Game Development
In spite of some popular beliefs, the people who make video console games are not working in a carefree environment. Video game firms and their staff have to address a considerable number of internal and external issues. These issues, unavoidably, lead directly to various disorders and mental issues. In extreme cases, they may even develop initial symptoms of arthritis.
For major computer game corporations, or those that already have strong footholds in the sector, the stress can come from performance anxiety. Pressure is exerted on these corporations to up the ante since they currently have a name for quality and fun in terms of computer game design. Game-players became accustomed to the high standards of prior game offerings and, naturally, they expect an increased level of quality from new versions or the newest games. This recurring requirement for something new and better, mixed with the often unstable nature of the modern business environment causes performance anxiety from the video game developers to the humble programmers, even up to the producers who make the rules in game development.
For other companies, it isn't the company's reputation that is at risk. Their own stressor is the drive to to outdo their own previous offerings. Outdoing their own product is simply their obsession. An outstanding example of this is Blizzard, the creator and publisher of the "Warcraft" and "Starcraft" games. Both games were renowned for making the maximum of technology existing at the time, as well as being some of the best games in the Real-time Strategy (RTS) category. In South Korea, "Starcraft" is still played heavily despite being having been released over ten years ago. Buckling under the pressure, some unnamed workers have said that if Blizzard management did not implement an open time frame for releasing sequels to the above games (theoretically, to guarantee quality), most staff would have suffered from intense cases of performance anxiety. This has led to Blizzard, as a company , gaining a reputation for taking almost ten years to provide a follow-up to one of their titles due to problem with their team learning how to deal with anxiety and the pressure.
Of course, it's not simply the mind that's worked and drained by being in the computer game industry. The body is just as large a target for numerous problems, as the mind is. After all , games still need to be designed, the ideas need to be developed, and the beta releases have to be driven thru a rigorous quality testing process.
For the visible and auditory facet of the games, the most probable problem would probably be muscle pain and migraine headaches. Some have reported indications of arthritis. Artwork for computer console games goes thru multiple processes, and it's not wholly bizarre for artists to get asked to rush through the art idea for the game. For smaller corporations, a few artists might be given strict deadlines for the concept art of more than one project. The fast pace of drawing makes them susceptible to muscle agony, while the constant thinking and visual analysis could cause migraines.
Another section of the company that can have muscle discomfort would be the programming team. Games have to be coded, with every piece of art and each bit of storyline converted into a language the computers and gaming consoles can understand. Most folks are unaware of precisely how much goes into even a straightforward computer game like "Tetris" much less some of the 80-hour long epics produced by SquareEnix, a major Japanese game developer. This is further complicated when there are countless possible interactions in the game's context, starting from character creation options to how particular in-game abilities interact with each other. Now, top that off with a strict deadline and you are all set to see programmers subjected to signs of arthritis, potentially with headaches as the harsh cherry on top.
Migraine headaches are also far from alien when it comes to the quality control teams, who are tasked with playing the beta versions of the games. Beta versions are unreleased, unfinished versions of the game that require intensive testing to work out if everything works. Except for that, the quality team must also check on the other game elements, for example difficulty or the plot. Since the beta versions are incomplete, there are naturally a considerable number of graphical failings, some of which have been known to cause headaches.
For millions of gameplayers around the world, they enjoy the virtual worlds without even knowing the large pressure and lots of headaches that came in designing their fave video games. For most youngsters, playing computer games is pure fun. But for the game-makers, developing video games isn't play time at all.
For major computer game corporations, or those that already have strong footholds in the sector, the stress can come from performance anxiety. Pressure is exerted on these corporations to up the ante since they currently have a name for quality and fun in terms of computer game design. Game-players became accustomed to the high standards of prior game offerings and, naturally, they expect an increased level of quality from new versions or the newest games. This recurring requirement for something new and better, mixed with the often unstable nature of the modern business environment causes performance anxiety from the video game developers to the humble programmers, even up to the producers who make the rules in game development.
For other companies, it isn't the company's reputation that is at risk. Their own stressor is the drive to to outdo their own previous offerings. Outdoing their own product is simply their obsession. An outstanding example of this is Blizzard, the creator and publisher of the "Warcraft" and "Starcraft" games. Both games were renowned for making the maximum of technology existing at the time, as well as being some of the best games in the Real-time Strategy (RTS) category. In South Korea, "Starcraft" is still played heavily despite being having been released over ten years ago. Buckling under the pressure, some unnamed workers have said that if Blizzard management did not implement an open time frame for releasing sequels to the above games (theoretically, to guarantee quality), most staff would have suffered from intense cases of performance anxiety. This has led to Blizzard, as a company , gaining a reputation for taking almost ten years to provide a follow-up to one of their titles due to problem with their team learning how to deal with anxiety and the pressure.
Of course, it's not simply the mind that's worked and drained by being in the computer game industry. The body is just as large a target for numerous problems, as the mind is. After all , games still need to be designed, the ideas need to be developed, and the beta releases have to be driven thru a rigorous quality testing process.
For the visible and auditory facet of the games, the most probable problem would probably be muscle pain and migraine headaches. Some have reported indications of arthritis. Artwork for computer console games goes thru multiple processes, and it's not wholly bizarre for artists to get asked to rush through the art idea for the game. For smaller corporations, a few artists might be given strict deadlines for the concept art of more than one project. The fast pace of drawing makes them susceptible to muscle agony, while the constant thinking and visual analysis could cause migraines.
Another section of the company that can have muscle discomfort would be the programming team. Games have to be coded, with every piece of art and each bit of storyline converted into a language the computers and gaming consoles can understand. Most folks are unaware of precisely how much goes into even a straightforward computer game like "Tetris" much less some of the 80-hour long epics produced by SquareEnix, a major Japanese game developer. This is further complicated when there are countless possible interactions in the game's context, starting from character creation options to how particular in-game abilities interact with each other. Now, top that off with a strict deadline and you are all set to see programmers subjected to signs of arthritis, potentially with headaches as the harsh cherry on top.
Migraine headaches are also far from alien when it comes to the quality control teams, who are tasked with playing the beta versions of the games. Beta versions are unreleased, unfinished versions of the game that require intensive testing to work out if everything works. Except for that, the quality team must also check on the other game elements, for example difficulty or the plot. Since the beta versions are incomplete, there are naturally a considerable number of graphical failings, some of which have been known to cause headaches.
For millions of gameplayers around the world, they enjoy the virtual worlds without even knowing the large pressure and lots of headaches that came in designing their fave video games. For most youngsters, playing computer games is pure fun. But for the game-makers, developing video games isn't play time at all.
About the Author:
I'm a long time computer game fan and enjoy the latest console games as well as more serious software like the best PC flight simulator available at the flight sim store.
