Here at EGD, our yearly cycle follows the academic calendar. We kicked off our first Career Program lecture about how terrible it is to work in games back in October 2023. As many of us know, there has been a nonstop wave of layoffs since September. Internship programs were canceled. Students are scared.
In the past few years, we have discussed layoffs, crunch, burnout, mental health, discrimination, harassment, and the many other issues that plague our industry at length. To many, it feels like we've learned absolutely nothing in the past 10 years (hello GamerGate 2). But there has been progress. Things are changing - albeit very slowly.
Why should you still pursue a career in games? The odds have been stacked against you, and when there are better working conditions, better pay, more stability, and less stress in other industries, it begs the question. Why do a thankless job where ignorant gamers harass you and make up conspiracy theories?
We are here because this is a passion industry. We love games so much that we wanted to make it our career. Because games have power. All game devs are gamers, but not all gamers are game devs. To all the gamers on the outside of the industry reading this, upset because games now have characters with different traits than themselves, I have a solution for you. Make games. Join us. Do what all of us who didn't see themselves in games did and make games about your experiences. EGD's motto is the care of the future of games is mine. No matter your place within gaming, we all contribute and have the power (and responsibility) to do right by games, the people that make them, and the people that play them. How we treat each other matters, and if we ever want our parents, governments, and other industries to take games (and ourselves) seriously, we need to grow up. So stop yelling at others, and if you have a vision of a game you want - make it yourself. We'll even teach you.
For all of the students in game dev programs right now, and especially those underrepresented, I don't blame you if you don't want to continue. Nobody should have to be a martyr - but if you think you have the determination to dive into this mess, I think you should. Because things only get better if we have people with the imagination, drive, and character to dream of a brighter tomorrow and pave the way for others to have it easier. We are here for you. ~ Kyra