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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Cultural production and politics of the digital games industry: The case of independent game production Orlando Guevara-Villalobos PhD in Sociology The University of Edinburgh 2013 1 Declaration In accordance with University regulations, I hereby declare that: 1. This thesis has been composed solely by myself; 2. This thesis is entirely my own work; and 3. This thesis has not been submitted in part or whole for any other degree or personal qualification Orlando Guevara-Villalobos 2 Abstract This thesis sheds light on the social relationships, work practices and identities that shape the small scale sector of independent game production. Harnessing elements of the Production of Culture and Cultural Industries/Work perspectives, it aims to clarify the specifics of independent game production and its relationship with the large-scale sector of the industry. Drawing on a multi-sided ethnography, the thesis captures gamework practices, motivations, ideas and conventions deployed in a diverse range of online and physical spaces where independent developers interact. Given the complex relationships and messiness found in the industry, the results of the thesis initially clarify general aspects, characterising both the corporate structure of the games industry and its independent sector. It then examines the cultures that LQIRUP LQGHSHQGHQW ZRUN DV ZHOO DV HPHUJHQW µLQGLH¶ SUD[HV $IWHU D KLVWRULFDO review of the digital games industry, the thesis addresses how the corporate structure of the industry has created a viable game producing field, with a highly rationalised but not unproblematic process of game production. The independent sector is then analysed in relation to this material culture. The thesis discusses the technologic affordances, structural relationships, market approach and organisational forms supporting the production of independent games. It also examines the motivations, ethics and general culture informing independent developers work, as well as the emergence of independent networked scenes as social spaces where creative, organisational, technical and cultural aspects of independent game production are shaped. The analysis of empirical evidence reveals how the uneven struggle to control or access the means for game production, distribution and reproduction, in both retail and digital distribution business models, shapes the material conditions of the small scale sector game production. The thesis highlights the relationship between SURGXFWLRQ LQGHSHQGHQW GHYHORSHUV¶ SUHIHUHQFHV DQG WKHLU LGHQWLW\ DV µLQGLHV¶ DV central in understanding how this novel sector of the games industry is being structured. By understanding both the structure and informal practices of independent production, this research offers novel insights in this under-researched area, insights that reveal the intricacies of processes of social change and cultural diversification within the digital games industry as a whole. 3 Acknowledgements This thesis owes a great debt to all the people who both directly and indirectly have provided me with their support and help throughout this process. In particular, I would like to thank my supervisors Nick Prior and Kate Orton-Johnson for their constant support, guidance, as well as dedicated and thorough feedback throughout this research experience. I am also very grateful to all my research participants. This work has been possible thanks to their selfless contribution and availability amidst their busy schedules and heavy workload. I can only wish them all success in their present enterprises, hoping they will reach the economic stability needed to keep exploring professionally the digital games medium. I am also very thankful to the School of Sociology of the University of Costa Rica for believing in me. Without their institutional and financial support my PhD would have been a long term and probably unattainable dream. Thanks to all my friends and colleagues to whom I have shared my research and existential anxieties throughout this PhD. Many of the ideas and reflections featuring in this thesis were further elaborated over a pint and a shared pack of crisps. Especially, I would like to thank Evi, my colleague, drinking pal, personal editor and partner in life, who has been by my side supporting me in every single aspect of this work that today sees its completion. I would also like to give thanks to my family, who have always been there for me, even when thousand miles separate us from each other. In particular my parents, whose life of sacrifice and perseverance have been my motivation to keep going even in the bleakest moments of this process. 4 Table of Contents Declaration 2 Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 Table of Contents 5 List of diagrams, tables and textboxes 9 List of Acronyms 10 INTRODUCTION 12 i. What is a digital game? 15 ii. New economy, cultural industries and digital games 16 iii. Autonomy in the digital games industry 19 iv. Research questions 20 v. Theoretical underpinnings 21 vi. Structure of the thesis 28 CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW 35 1.1 Digital games as culturally produced goods 36 1.1.1 Industry structure and political dynamics 36 1.1.2 Market variants to the industry 41 1.2 Independent digital game production 42 1.3 Labour, subjectivity and exploitation in digital games 46 1.3.1 The labour process of game making 47 1.3.2 Labour subjectivity and exploitation 51 1.4 Players matter: consumption as cultures of production 55 1.5 Conclusion 59 CHAPTER 2. RESEARCH DESIGN 61 2.1 Research questions 61 2.2 About the ethnographic approach to this research 65 2.3 Conducting fieldwork 69 2.3.1 Deploying methodological techniques and collecting data 71 2.3.1.1 Semi-structured interviews 72 2.3.1.2 Sampling, Access and Recruiting Research Participants 75 2.3.1.3 Documentary research of Weblog Analysis 77 2.3.1.4 Documentary research of trade press information and 80 corporate/institutional reports 2.3.1.5 Unstructured participant observation 83 5 2.4 Data management and analysis through NViVO 8 85 2.5 Ethical considerations 87 CHAPTER 3. DIGITAL PLAY INDUSTRIALISED: A BRIEF HISTORY OF 89 THE DIGITAL GAMES INDUSTRY 3.1 The foundations of the modern industry I: The console industry before 91 the crisis of 1983 3.2 The foundations of the modern industry II: Personal computing as a 94 serious hobby 3.3 The shaping of the modern industry (1985-1994) 96 3.3.1 A thriving computer game culture 97 3.3.2 Reviving the console market, setting up new trajectories 99 3.4 Corporate dreams: conquering the living room (1995-2001) 103 3.4.1 The rise of Sony and the fall of SEGA 103 3.4.2 Setting new horizons 106 3.5 Beyond the limits: The world as a player 108 3.5.1 Three can survive the game 109 3.5.2 Rearranging the neighbourhood: a new balance of power 112 3.5.3 Media convergence and the diversification of game production 115 and consumption $IWHUZRUG$MRXUQH\WKURXJKSOD\DQGSRZHU« 118 CHAPTER 4. DEVELOPING DIGITAL GAMES IN THE LARGER 122 INDUSTRY 4.1 Contextualising technology in the digital game industry 123 4.2 Structure and distribution of power within the industry 127 4.2.1 Hardware Manufacturers 129 4.2.2 Publishers 130 4.2.3 Game developers 131 4.2.4 Middleware and game services 132 4.2.5 Distributors and retailers 133 4.3 Organisational structures 134 4.3.1 Work organisation and functions 135 4.3.2 Decision making and work dynamics 137 4.4 Building markets 140 4.4.1 Development as a function of sociotechnical market relations 141 4.4.2 The producer-consumer coupling: players as co-producers 143 4.5 Work and culture in game development 146 CHAPTER 5. THE INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION OF DIGITAL GAMES 152 5.1 Industry restructuration through Digital Distribution: the possibility of 154 independent game production 5.1.1 The digital turn 154 5.1.2 Changing the structure: new and old actors 155 5.1.3 Renegotiating power within the industry? 159 6 5.1.3.1 The new old publisher-developer model. 160 5.1.3.2 Apple: The platform is the message 161 µ2UJDQLVDWLRQ«:KRFDUHVDERXWLW"¶ 164 5.2.1 Fragmentation and flexibilisation in the industry 165 5.2.2 Flexible organisation or just being independent? 167 5.2.3 Networked development and collaboration 170 5.3 Addressing independent markets: Attracting players and building 174 niches 5.3.1 Cultural dynamics of niche carving 175 5.3.2 Developer-player relationships: building intimacy 178 µ,DPWKHFRQWUROOHU¶WHFKQRORJ\DWZRUN 182 5.4.1 Managing technology 183 5.4.2 Indie production and the politics of software architecture 186 5.4.3 Finding the indie way across technology divides: New technology 187 markets and free/open source CHAPTER 6. LOOKING FOR INDEPENDENCE: IDENTITY AND 193 INDEPENDENT GAME PRODUCTION 6.1 Occupational Biographies 194 )URP XQGHUOLQJ WR PDVWHUPLQG¶ ,QGHSHQGHQW ZRUN DV re- 195 appropriation 6.1.2 Indie natives: game development in participatory cultures 197 6.2 Understanding the meaning of independence 199 6.2.1 The spirit of indie labour 200 6.2.2 Autonomy, art and commerce 205 6.3 The independent developer professional and his/her woes 211 6.3.1 [Net]Working as an iron cage 212 6.3.2 Copying and updating: the multi-skilled worker 214 6.3.2.1 Learning 215 6.3.2.2 Updating 216 CHAPTER 7.