The video game industry is easily one of the fastest-growing and most profitable industries in the world. It represents so much of what developed nations strive to achieve with regards to the composition of their respective economies – it is a, for the most part, a very knowledge-based industry. The popularity of the video game itself has grown at an almost exponential rate since the latter half of the twentieth century. Naturally, a generation of Saturday morning video gamers has grown into a sprawling cohort of university-educated engineers, programmers, artists, and designers who are all keen to develop games to meet the demands of a twenty first century market. This article will briefly discuss the demands on today’s video game industry workers and how publishers have positively responded – by creating welcoming work environments that become small communities in themselves.

The demands on these employees are not light; there should be no false impression that video game development is a field without deadlines and stress. It is in fact, quite the opposite. They often work very long hours in a high stress environment. It is certainly not a field for everyone – the stresses of the job were famously described in the blog entry ‘EA: The Human Story.’ But for those who are truly passionate about their commitment to developing games, it can be a very rewarding and satisfying career path.

Video game developers have recognized that their industry is not for the faint of heart – it takes dedication and passion. As time goes on, these developers are increasingly choosing to create work environments that cater to the happiness and satisfaction of their most important resource – employees.

For example, some of the larger studios in the industry have chosen to locate their offices not in bustling financial districts or sprawling corporate parks, but rather trendy-yet-cozy neighbourhoods that are still within some of the world’s largest cities. Some go a step further and locate themselves in historical buildings with great architectural value; giving employees a work environment that has a story itself, just like the games they are creating.

Then, they can go one to provide a great deal of perks for employees to complete their responsibilities. More specifically, one of the largest developers paid for an employee’s boating and sailing lessons in order to ensure that an authentically rendered naval scene could be created out of it.

These are simply a few examples of the way an industry has responded to criticisms; however, the lessons that were taught are not constrained to the video game industry. Any business in any sector should know the value of their employees. Without people, a business would grind to a halt. It is necessary to take a step back and look at how you are treating your workers – is it fair? What can be done to improve their work environment for their benefit? At the end of the day, increased worker satisfaction will often inevitably lead to productivity, regardless of the industry.

Reference: EA: The Human Story