Business, Technological, and Social Dimensions of Computer Games: Multidisciplinary Developments

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Maria Manuela Cruz-Cunha Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, Portugal

Vitor Hugo Costa Carvalho Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, Portugal

Paula Cristina Almeida Tavares Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, Portugal Senior Editorial Director: Kristin Klinger Director of Book Publications: Julia Mosemann Editorial Director: Lindsay Johnston Acquisitions Editor: Erika Carter Production Editor: Sean Woznicki Typesetters: Keith Glazewski, Natalie Pronio, Jennifer Romanchak, Milan Vracarich Jr. Print Coordinator: Jamie Snavely Cover Design: Nick Newcomer

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Business, technological, and social dimensions of computer games: multidisciplinary developments / Maria Manuela Cruz-Cunha, Vitor Hugo Carvalho and Paula Tavares, editors. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: “This book is a collection of the most recent developments in all areas of game development, encompassing planning, design, marketing, business management, and consumer behavior”--Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-1-60960-567-4 (hbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-60960-568-1 (ebook) 1. Video games industry. 2. Video games--Design. 3. Video games--Social aspects. I. Cruz-Cunha, Maria Manuela, 1964- II. Carvalho, Vitor Hugo, 1979- III. Tavares, Paula, 1973- HD9993.E452B87 2011 338.4’77978--dc22 2011012885

British Cataloguing in Publication Data A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.

All work contributed to this book is new, previously-unpublished material. The views expressed in this book are those of the authors, but not necessarily of the publisher. 220

Chapter 14 Emotional Journeys in Game Design Teams

Patrick Stacey Imperial College London, UK

Joe Nandhakumar University of Warwick, UK

AbstrAct There is little research into the emotional dimension of creative industry personnel, such as computer game designers, and how emotions relate to their creative practices and work-related events. Such socioemotional work is the focus of this chapter. There is a practice-centered relevance to this topic too – it is reported that there exists a poor quality of life in many global game studios. Given our deficient knowledge of emotions in computer game development, and the practical resonance of this topic, our key research question is: What emotions, creative practices and work-related events characterize emotional journeys in computer game design teams, and how do these characteristics inter-relate? To explore and answer this research question, we draw on an in-depth field study of a computer games studio in Singapore. The chapter offers a theory of emotion-mediated improvisation as a coping model for the tumultuous emotional journeys that game developers endure.

introDuction linear one.” (Amabile et al, 2005:p.367) Despite the voluminous research that connects positive It is widely held in the creativity literature that emotions to creativity (e.g. Amabile et al, 2005; being ‘well’ and feeling ‘good’ is fundamental Bartel and Saavedra, 2000; Vosburg, 1998; George to being creative: “The results indicate that and Zhou, 2007), there is little research into the positive affect relates positively to creativity in emotions of creative industry personnel, such as organizations and that the relationship is a simple computer game designers. There are studies of the social practices of designers (e.g. Cross 1994) DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-567-4.ch014 but little or no understanding of their emotions

and how these relate to their creative practices The rest of the chapter is structured as follows: and work-related events. Such socioemotional Firstly, we impart a framework for theorizing about work life is the locus of this chapter. There is the emotions, creative practices and events that a practice-centered relevance to this topic too; characterize emotional, well-being journeys in in 2004 emotional quality of life (QoL) became computer game design teams, and their inter-play. an important topic in discourses on computer In doing so, we show the pertinence of drawing game development. That year the International on Giddens’ stratification model of the agent as a Game Developers Association (IGDA) released means of conceptualizing the links between these the results of its first global survey, which found characteristics. We also refer to literatures concern- poor QoL in global game studios on account of ing software development and demonstrate that impossible deadlines, peer pressures and lack of such approaches fail to take account of develop- concern and support for the family unit, leading to ers’ inner-life. Secondly, we present data drawn early departures to rival industries. In April 2009 from an in-depth field study of a computer games Develop Magazine conducted a similar survey of studio in Singapore, which highlight the above QoL which supported the ‘impossible deadlines’ three characteristics of such journeys. Thirdly, facet which respondents referred to as ‘crunch’, we analyze the data using the Giddensian lens, or “the industry’s dirty secret.” 1 Furthermore, and, fourthly offer a theory of emotion-mediated management “sociopathy” was highlighted, i.e. improvisation as a coping model for the tumultuous producers and others exhibiting anti-social behav- emotional journeys that game developers endure. ior towards their team members with little regard for their feelings or emotional well-being. And yet, research posits that being ‘well’ and feeling theoreticAL frAMeWork ‘good’ is fundamental to being creative. Focusing on this topic is therefore timely for both scholar- We commence this section by referring to lit- ship and practice. eratures concerning software development, to Given our deficient knowledge of emotions demonstrate that there are few frameworks in the in computer game development, our key research field of IS that address the emotional journeys and question is: What emotions, creative practices needs of developers. and events characterize emotional journeys in computer game design teams, and how do these related is Development research characteristics inter-relate? This is important given the concern over emotional well-being in computer Traditionally, structured software methodologies game studios around the world2, and its potential have been advocated as a means of making the threat to the economic contribution the computer development process smoother and controlled games industry makes. For example, according (Nandhakumar and Avison 1999). However, to the UK’s National Endowment for Science, they offer limited guidance when unexpected, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), the industry emoting challenges emerge during the software contributes £1 billion to the GDP - equivalent to development process. Agile methods such as the size of the UK’s film industry. Therefore, our eXtreme Programming (XP) (Beck 1999) and research has potentially useful implications for the Rational Unified Process (RUP) (Kruchten, game industry organizations, i.e. means by which 1996) have been proposed as more responsive they can improve their emotional well-being, approaches to software development. However, enhance their creative efficacy and protect their it is debatable just how distinct from traditional economic well-being too. approaches some of these really are (Paulk 2001).

221 Emotional Journeys in Game Design Teams

Some Agile authors express desires which are Development approaches in computer games reminiscent of methodology authors: “we want and software generally do not therefore take ac- to do everything we must do to have a stable, count of the emotional aspect of development. predictable software development.” (Beck, 1999); Beyond studies of methods, there are only a Agile is not anti-methodology (Highsmith 2002). handful of studies on emotion in ISD, which we However, when the process breaks down, due now turn to. to a developer resigning for instance, a plan is of little use and arguably developers are left to emotions, Moods and inner-Life join-the-dots and improvise. To understand how they improvise necessitates detailed interpretive Little scholarly attention has been afforded to the field studies of IS development (ISD), such as concept of emotion in ISD (throughout this paper the ones by Curtis, Krasner et al. (1988), Jones we assume emotion has an equivalent meaning to and Walsham (1992) and Brown, Stacey et al. moods, and inner-life). This is surprising given (2008). Such studies address ISD as a situated the numerous studies that have drawn attention social process (Hirschheim, Klein et al. 1995), to the political and conflictual nature of the ISD bringing into focus the “everyday life” of software process, such as Robey and Markus (1984), Wastell developers and the emergent social and political (1996), and Sawyer (2001). Exceptions to the rule challenges developers face. are: Wang and Ahmed (2002), Ciborra (2002) and An abundance of software development con- Nelson (2005), however only Nelson’s contains texts have already been studied such as executive empirical data. But, what are emotions anyway? information systems (Nandhakumar and Jones Emotions are reactions to a certain situation, based 1997), defense systems (Humphrey et al. 1991), on a person’s interpretation (Wang and Ahmed, financial systems (Guinan et al. 1998), web 2002:p1291). This concurs with appraisal theory as browsers (Cusumano and Yoffie 1999) and student expounded in the psychology literature: “the basic information systems (Newman and Noble 1990). idea then is that our emotional reactions depend not By comparison, computer games development on the specific characteristics of stimulus events, has thus far received limited attention, with the but rather on the way that we interpret and evaluate exception of Baba and Tschang (2001), Holmström what is happening to us (appraisal)” (Parkinson (2001) and Tschang (2007). Furthermore, current et al., 2005:p.6). Emotions therefore tend to have research themes in the computer games field focus an identifiable cause or object to which they are on specific activities in the process, particularly attached, such as the actions of others in a social game design. This stream of research discusses a setting (Callahan and McCollum, 2002; Scherer variety of design techniques, like scenarios, body et al., 1986). For instance, when we are playing storming, paper prototyping, rapid prototyping, computer games, play is emotional: “[play is] a theatrical techniques of improvisation (Clanton, free and voluntary activity, a source of joy and 1998; Bjork et al., 2002; Johnson and Wiles, amusement” (Huizinga, 1970:p26). And joy is “a 2003), simulation (Kaneva and Sugiyama, 1998), sense of pleasure plus the urge toward exuberance cuisinart (Rouse III, 1999), and play environments and contact-seeking” (Frijda, 1988:p351). There- such as mixed reality (Cheok et al., 2002). A fore, emotion is directly related to human social second stream of game research is artificial intel- action and they inter-play. For instance: “The root ligence, which tries to improve the intelligence of the [emotional] problem often lies with long- of the computer-opponent to enrich single-player standing and deeply embedded ground rules or gaming (Schaeffer and Jaap van den Herik, 2002). habits that govern the group. We call those rules [social] norms” (Goleman et al., 2002:p223). Or,

222 Emotional Journeys in Game Design Teams

in structuration theory, the reproduction of social circumstances can we get a fresh understanding practices or the persistence of routines as offering of improvisation” (Ciborra 2002:p160). Indeed, their reflexive perpetrators a degree of ontological improvisation is situated and emergent (Ciborra security (Cassell, 1993). The inter-play between 2002), occurring at the meeting point of thought emotion and action is therefore not a one-way- and action, at a moment in time (Levi-Strauss, street; emotions are not just reactions, but they 1966; Orlikowski 1996; Ciborra 1999); it is are triggers for action too – they can unwittingly extemporaneous. This is particularly noticeable push us along a particular course (Fineman, 2003). during emergencies where capable individuals For example, negative moods like embarrassment and teams improvise life-saving solutions out can have positive effects by provoking people to of chaos (Ciborra 1999). Such solutions also repair broken relationships (Bagozzi, 2003). reflect the role of local conditions or social and In summary, studies demonstrate that emotion physical contexts in enabling and constraining both provokes and responds to human social ac- improvisation (Nandhakumar and Jones 1997). tion and events. And, that these characteristics of How and whether contexts enable or constrain emotional journeys are mediated by interpretations partly depends on the capability of improvising or evaluations of occurrences, as per appraisal “agents” in the situation; some may feel there is theory (see Figure 1). nothing they can do whereas others may leverage We now discuss further another characteristic context for action. Just because things have been of emotional journeys: action. In this chapter we “so” does not mean they should continue as such, are particularly interested in one kind of action: “the seed of change is there in every act which improvisation. contributes towards the reproduction of any ‘or- dered’ form of social life” (Giddens 1993:p108). improvisation and Agency In social theory this concept is examined within human agency. For Giddens, this has much to do Perhaps one of the greatest advocates for studying with an agent’s capability or power to take action the link between emotions/moods and action is in a situation. For instance, when one’s emotional Ciborra. He said: “What is missing from the situ- ‘state’ is challenged by the dynamics of computer ated action literature is precisely an enquiry into game work. In this chapter then, we think of and the situation of the actor, specifically his moods. analyze improvisation in terms of human agency. Only by bringing back into the picture the situa- Specifically – we draw on the elements of Giddens’ tion of the actor, those fleeting personal circum- Stratification Model of the Agent to conceptualize stances (captured by the term ‘mood’; in Latin, how developers respond to emotional challenges. affectio), and not only the emerging environmental Ciborra might say that this model is only useful up to a point, since it has been criticized for omitting emotions and moods in explaining an Figure 1. Appraisal perspective of emotions agent’s capability to act (Bailyn 2002). Giddens merely acknowledges that an agent’s emotions are connected to their motivation to act: “The connection of motivation to the affec- tive elements of personality is a direct one, and is recognized in everyday usage; motives often have ‘names’ – fear, jealousy, vanity, etc.” (Cas- sell, 1993:p92). However, he does not develop this further nor incorporate it into his stratifica-

223 Emotional Journeys in Game Design Teams

Figure 2. Giddens’ Stratification Model of the Agent (Giddens, 1984)

tion model of the agent. We therefore address The research approach adopted in this study this deficiency in this chapter by showing how is interpretive (Walsham 1993) involving a col- the model can be extended with emotion and the lection of detailed, qualitative data on the game related appraisal theory concept of interpretation. development process in its context. We conducted Therefore an extended stratification model of the twenty-four interviews with developers at a small agent is offered as a means of conceptualizing the game studio in Singapore called CGS (a pseud- emotional journeys of computer game developers. onym) to try to understand their development process and the unforeseen challenges they face. CGS was founded in March 2003 with a develop- reseArch setting ment team of twenty staff or so. Even though the AnD ApproAch company’s main operations are in Singapore, it has developed numerous games in association with We conducted an in-depth field study of a com- studios in France, Italy and Ireland, and distrib- puter games studio in Singapore. We decided to uted them throughout Europe. When we visited pursue a case study in Singapore because the their premises the meeting room was filled with games industry is still taking shape there. The antique Indonesian furniture and mythical games carving out of this industry is a response to the merchandise hung on the walls. In the engineers’ economic and social crises Singapore has faced, office the walls seemed to reflect their female fan- such as Asian Financial Crisis (1997) and SARS tasies, and there were various physical games like (2003). Three agencies are involved in cultivating table football, and basketball in the artists’ office; this industry; the Media Development Authority a working environment that seemed conducive (MDA), the Infocomm Development Authority to long hours of work. The company focused on (IDA) and the Singapore Economic Development producing computer games for mobile phones Board (SEDB). The MDA established the Media21 although they had produced a small number for initiative, “to increase the GDP contribution of the PC format too. the media cluster from the current 1.56 per cent to 3 per cent…[and] nurture home-grown media Data collection and Analysis enterprises”. The SEDB persuaded internationally renowned games companies to setup fully This study employed interviews as the primary operational offices in Singapore, such as Lucasfilm means of data collection. Between January 2004 (US), Koei (Japan) and Genki (Japan). The IDA and September 2005 we conducted twenty four focused on the deployment and distribution of semi-structured interviews, which were really online games through initiatives such as Games guided conversations, i.e. at times the interviewee Bazaar. was given or took the “reins” of the conversation

224 Emotional Journeys in Game Design Teams

as they talked about games projects they had been We used nVivo (a Computer-aided Qualitative involved with. However, given these were semi- Data Analysis Software) to help organize and structured interviews, we prepared an interview analyze the data. guide prior to each conversation so as to ensure For the analysis we drew on Giddens’ stratifi- our key topics of interest were explored. We asked cation model of the agent as a lens, the elements each interviewee to talk about past projects, to of which were used as analytical codes. Initially recount them as stories so we could understand we coded textual “chunks” – words, phrases, what had happened. We then asked them to talk sentences, passages – simply as events and ac- about unexpected events which occurred during tions, i.e. the interviewees’ descriptions of what the lifetime of the project, and how they dealt they did in the stories they recounted to us. We with them. By getting inside the world of those then “unpacked” the actions into the elements of generating it (Rosen 1991), particularly through Giddens’ stratification model of the agent, e.g. face to face contact (Lofland 1995) we overcame reflexive monitoring, rationalization, and moti- the problem of possibly modified, and therefore vation. Giddens’ Structuration theory (Giddens unrepresentative actor behavior that is common 1984), which incorporates his ideas on human in cross-sectional studies. People cannot behave agency, has been widely used in the field of IS in a modified manner for long because, “they and is valuable in understanding IS phenomena are limited by culture, custom, natural impulses, (Jones and Karsten 2003). We were therefore habits, and longstanding patterns of interaction” confident this approach would yield interesting (Ellis, 1995:p93). Moreover, this is an apposite research results. means of researching emotion, even though In addition, the moods of the interviewees were a popular approach to researching emotion is too “loud” and too recurrent to ignore. This was through quantitative means (e.g. Diener, 2000; noticeable both during and after the transcription Nelson, 2005). However, Nelson (2005) admits process, i.e. from hearing and “reading” the voices that the valencing of interviewee emotions ac- of the interviewees. For example, the passage “you cording to organizational situations, placed limits better get someone local right? You can get him on her research, and calls for more observation of out and meet him up so can have a better expla- emotions in action (p7). Bearing this in mind we nation or communication, rather than overseas, looked for ‘emotional clues’. We did this by not- because how are you going to contact him if he ing responses to actions and practices recounted really disappears?”; the interviewee was obviously in terms of how the interviewees expressed worried about working in a team where some of themselves, such as seeming frustrated. Although the members were based overseas. We began to I preferred not to provoke them, sometimes I did ask how an event made them feel, noting the meanings they assigned to those actions (as per Table 1. The interviewees appraisal theory), practices and events. Alf John Gayle Table 1 exhibits the people interviewed and Managing Project Manager/ Artist their position at CGS. Director Programmer In her early twenties We adopted an interpretive approach to col- In his mid In his late twen- thirties ties lecting and analyzing the interview data; we at- Mac Andy Mike tempted to understand game development chal- CG Program- Programmer Programmer lenges by trying to make sense of the meanings mer cum artist In his late twen- In his early twenties that each interviewee expressed with respect to In his late ties the development process and emergent events. twenties

225 Emotional Journeys in Game Design Teams

differentiate between emotions/moods, such as Jacky’s, Alf did not want to give up, particularly “anxiety”, “desperation” and “giving up” whilst since he had already made a commitment to MDA. examining their association with other codes that Alf persevered and had to decide whether to come related to elements of agency such as reflexive up with a completely new game idea or continue monitoring. The theory developed in this study with what he had so far but alter the storyline. therefore represents bottom-up conceptualization, He decided to do the latter and the game Beyond although during the process we referred to our Event Horizon began to take shape. On reflection, framework too, as per Strauss and Corbin (1998). Alf said he was glad that there had been a part- ing of ways because it became clearer and easier to maneuver. As things started moving again, cAse Description his senior 3D artist was poached by a US game company. After this second setback Alf decided We present four narratives relating to four chal- to coordinate the art team himself, which he de- lenges the developers faced during the lifetime of scribed as “a nightmare”. However, he mobilized their games projects. It was not always possible an “army” of freelance 2D and 3D artists. In the for all interviewees to discuss the same project end the project was deemed a success; they were however due to the mobility of staff at CGS. For invited to Austin, Texas in the US to pitch to a confidentiality reasons, all the interviewees have publishing company. been given pseudonyms. An image-Artist’s personal tragedy jacky and team Walk out Gayle had to work with an image artist during When the Media Development Authority of Singa- a mobile role-playing game project. The image pore (MDA) advertised its funding scheme in the artist was in his late thirties and based in the US. press, Alf, an entrepreneur and founder of CGS, She relied on email to communicate and share pitched his game idea to them and successfully artwork with him. This led to confusion when garnered their funding. He and his team began the image artist did not e-deliver his work by the to work on the concept for the game for which agreed date. After a protracted period of silence, MDA gave them five months. On the team was it emerged that he had been hospitalized due to a Jacky, who was also the chairman of the Animé heart attack. This broke the rhythm and momentum Club and had his own artists who were already of development at CGS, “the thing is they cannot working on a futuristic animation series. Alf give us a direct reply, they cannot give us a prompt suggested merging their ideas but Jacky did not reply”, she said, using “they” to refer to overseas want to since he had his own animation team and artists generally as we discussed this event. She concept already. Jacky shared these ideas with Alf was frustrated in spite of the unfortunate nature and they decided that Jacky would work on an of the reason for the breakdown, even though animation series whilst Alf would produce a PC the image artist subsequently introduced CGS game based on these ideas. After a month or so to a substitute artist to continue his work. Alf’s into the production phase they began discussing response to the personal tragedy event was more how to share the intellectual property. Alf was nuanced. When it occurred, he felt desperate and surprised when this led to a disagreement and stressed because the image artist had been leading Jacky renouncing their partnership and Jacky’s the art direction on the project. However, this also staff “walking out”. Although this was a serious pushed him to become more ambitious in his tal- blow to the project since the game ideas were ent search; he contacted internationally acclaimed

226 Emotional Journeys in Game Design Teams

Dungeons and Dragons designer Todd Lockwood, requirements. Given the opportunity to have his as well as renowned cartoonists at Marvel comics work seen by Microsoft seemed a motivating fac- and DC comics. Todd Lockwood introduced Alf tor for him however, and rather changed his tune. to a substitute artist (this was different to Gayle’s story who had told us that it was the infirmed artist the Lead programmer Leaves that introduced the replacement artist). Richard left CGS after delivering a Kung Fu fight- A Date with Microsoft ing game, at which point Mac became depressed and retreated from teamwork. He said he was not Andy talked us through the development of a mo- sure what was going on, that his work was “pretty bile war game he had almost finished. This was a independent” of everything else, and that he was contract game, i.e. a customer in Ireland had asked not acquainted with the actual work flow within for the game, so the concept was already set. Alf, the projects anymore. Mac also talked about how the game designer, came up with a rough draft of roles used to be organized at CGS when Richard a design document that outlined what the game was still around, “we delegated certain roles so would look like, the game play, the graphics and we know what actually each other is doing.” the storyline. Andy had a quick look at the docu- Richard’s departure had left him feeling fed-up ment to get a rough understanding of what was because aspects of the development process such required, and then asked the client if there was as documentation had broken down: “I mean, like anything on the market similar to what he wanted. now, I’m just drawing these days and I’m really Andy said that if there was an existing game on not concerned about the other aspects anymore the market, then he could use this as a template (sardonically put).”, and “I don’t care what hap- and gain a better understanding of what the client pens”. Richard’s exit affected John differently. As wanted. So, instead of having a scenario after a opposed to retreating, he had been thrown in with few months of, “this is not what I want, this is full programming responsibility for three upcom- not the look I want.”, and having to start all over ing projects. This was “not something enjoyable”, again, he tried to prevent misunderstanding and he said, with respect to high rate of work he was clarify the vision for the game as early as pos- experiencing. However, despite the initial stress sible. Andy said he had been in this situation too he expressed to us, he found the first project, many times before. Having settled these issues developed for a Korean car company, enjoyable; and made some headway after one month into he thought it was a “rush” in the sense of rising the production phase, Alf told him the client now to the challenge. Given he only had one month needed a working demo completed in a few weeks. to develop the racing game with the assistance of The client had been given the opportunity to meet two artists, he evaluated game engines that would with Microsoft’s Mobile Division in Ireland and spring-board development. A few years ago he they wanted to show them the demo. So instead had already come across one called Torque. At of finishing in three months Andy now rushed to that time he did not know what to do with it so implement some of the bells and whistles, such he just put it aside but kept it in view. He liked as sound effects, within two months. Andy told Torque as the source code was provided for the us how much he disliked midway changes and he engine, so if anything broke down or there were had gone to great lengths to avoid any surprises. features he wanted to implement which were not He had not anticipated and did not welcome this currently available he could do so. Most of the kind of surprise however; the bringing forward time however, he made use of the scripts that came of the deadline as opposed to a change in the along with the starter-kit. Various bugs associated

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with the engine arose during the course of project, An image-Artist’s personal tragedy but through trial and error and “hacking” he and his team were able to surmount them. When Gayle learned about the image-artist’s heart attack and his subsequent departure from CGS, she experienced a loss of ontological security. AnALYsis She attributed the consequences of the personal tragedy to a reliance on talent from overseas, The above provided a set of narratives relating the very thought of which seemed to make her to unforeseen development situations. We now anxious, “you better get someone local right? provide an initial ‘reading’ or analysis of the case You can get him out and meet him up so can data by drawing on the language of Giddens’ have a better explanation or communication, stratification model of the agent. rather than overseas” Even before this episode, she was experiencing ontological insecurity since jacky and team Walk out Alf brokered the emails between Gayle and the image artist. Alf as broker meant she had to trust Jacky and his team’s departure from CGS led to him to relay the emails to and fro, thereby intro- the breakdown of established routines, and resulted ducing another level of uncertainty and anxiety in the incumbents losing their sense of security, into her working practices. The ambiguous nature or using Giddens’ phrase, a loss of ontological of the unit of monitoring made it challenging for security. However, Alf’s rationalization for getting Gayle to track social interactions, i.e. the image the project “back on track” was two-fold; he had artist seemed to be at times “online” and at others a sense of duty to since the Media Development “offline”, detached. She coped with her frustra- Authority was funding the project, and also the tion and insecurity by perhaps rationalizing that project excited him. His motivation for steering she needed to be somewhat more independent; a back the project was therefore linked to his feel- desire for freedom. So she adjusted her reflexive ings of excitement, loyalty and obligation. These monitoring and began looking for inspiration and feelings provoked him to adjust his reflexive direction elsewhere. She decided to consult other monitoring so as to identify and draw on new rules mobile games, Dungeons and Dragons, mythical and resources that would support his improvisa- novels and Magic the Gathering playing cards, tions, i.e. modifications to the game’s story and all of which featured designs similar in tone to concept, which were originally provided by Jacky. what the image artist had set. She improvised as Faced with another unexpected challenge - the a means of coping with the unexpected. Whilst resignation of the lead 3D artist and some of his the unexpected event had initially made Alf also colleagues - Alf took over the reins of lead artist. feel anxious and uncertain, at the same time it Through his continuous monitoring of contexts evoked a reaction to overcome the challenge it had of human resources he assembled a new team of created. He did not let things be “so” but turned artists. He would not give up. His capability to act around his mood of feeling threatened, to treat it and to overcome was related not just to his ability as a test of character which perhaps fed-back to to monitor and mobilize his contexts however, his reflexive monitoring of himself - elsewhere but to his emotional attachment to the project; known as one’s “ego”. his motivation was emotional.

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A Date with Microsoft to exercise his agency anymore, he seemed inert and his reflexive monitoring of his contexts had Andy had gone to great lengths to prevent any broken down. His way of coping with the unfore- technical surprises during the course of the war seen was to retreat altogether from teamwork. game project. His continuous reflexive monitoring On the other hand, John responded differently. of working contexts over time had taught him to Since he shared the lead programmer’s skill set, do so, given the number of frustrating projects John took over Richard’s programming respon- he had been involved with. Also, his monitoring sibilities. John became stressed at the thought of of other contexts such as the games industry had increased workload and perhaps the possibility given him a stock of knowledge of games which of failure drove him to turn his mood into one of he mobilized in order to reach agreement with the determination and single-mindedness. To cope he customer over the details of the game. However, exercised his agency by improvising through rules when his overseas client created a business oppor- and resources. For example, instead of program- tunity with Microsoft, this unexpected occurrence ming from scratch he made use of an established evoked feelings of frustration in him. However, he game engine “Torque”, and the phrase “keep it rationalized his mood with the idea of Microsoft, simple stupid” as guiding principle. The rules and a “deity” of software development, reviewing his resources that underpinned his capability as an work. This inspired him into a flurry of impromptu agent were perhaps acquired though his continu- activity including calling on resources to lend “pol- ous monitoring of his contexts; he had first come ish” to his work, i.e. he began to focus on the bells across the Torque game engine a few years ago. and whistles of game. For example, he contacted Unlike Mac, John’s reflexive monitoring of others Arthurian Legend’s musician in Italy to courier a and his contexts heightened. CD of samples. However, embedding sound into the game unintentionally presented problems for integrating the findings him. Through trial and error he resolved these “bugs” and drawing on skills of bricolage put To begin the gradual process of theorizing through together a working demo of the game. Again, the gradual bottom-up abstraction, we now strip appeal of “something greater” had made Andy down the interpretations of the above narratives shift gear and put aside the scripts of action he and draw together the elements common to each, had created which he intended to lend order and in terms of; who was affected by the event, the stability to his project. event itself, the emotions, the event provoked in those affected and the subsequent impromptu acts the Lead programmer Leaves of those affected. We assemble these in table 2. We now assign a descriptive code to (i) “event”, The unexpected resignation of Richard led to (ii) “moods provoked” and (iii) “acts provoked” a break down in the working procedures of the (the columns in table 2) to interpret their essential developers as he had been largely responsible meaning: (i) the events seem to have staff or for their upkeep. His had set an example to the stakeholder resignation in common, with the others in the team. However, in his absence, exception of “a date with Microsoft”, which we these practices were not sustained at any level in interpret as an opportunity, (ii) these events pro- the organization, including management. John voked negative moods of anxiety and frustration, and Andy mused that Alf probably did not have however in most cases these turned around into time to follow the procedures. The resignation positive moods of single-mindedness, or desire event affected Mac’s mood; he was not willing for independence or freedom, (iii) these moods

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Table 2. Consequences of unforeseen events

Who Event Moods provoked Acts provoked Id Alf Jacky and team walk out→ Anxiety, but turns to Modification of an existing game A1 Single-mindedness → concept Alf Jacky and team walk out→ Single-mindedness → Assumes leadership role, assembles A2 team Gayle Loss of Anxiety, but turns to single-mindedness Referring to visual materials, trying to A3 image artist → → become self-reliant Alf Loss of Desperation, but turns to single-mind- Global talent hunt, contacting global A4 image artist → edness → gatekeepers Andy A date with Microsoft → Frustration, but realizes an opportunity Reprioritizes game features for devel- A5 for recognition of his work, i.e. turns to opment self-actualizing. Mac Lead programmer’s resigna- Inertia, giving up → Retreat from team work to self A6 tion → John Lead programmer’s resigna- Stress, loss of enjoyment, but turns to Leveraging technological tools for A7 tion → Single-mindedness → productivity

in turn provoked a variety of improvisations - Discussion AnD iMpLicAtions experimenting, searching, leveraging, seizing and reprioritizing (refer to table 3). Some of these Section five demonstrated the unforeseen chal- smack of creativity, e.g. experimenting and search- lenges faced by agents in their game development ing. Drawing on this, we can broadly say that staff process, particularly relating to staff or stakeholder or stakeholder resignations initially provoked resignations, their moody responses, and how these moods of anxiety and frustration in the develop- constrained and enabled their improvisations, i.e. ers, but this then evoked a desire and mood for the process by which they regulated their emotions independence or freedom, which in turn provoked in a volatile context. Most in our study were able to creative improvisations. regulate their emotions effectively, to use negative emotions to provoke positive action (e.g. table 2, codes A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A7). This seemed to constitute part of their agency; their capability to act. We therefore extend Giddens’ stratification

Table 3. Typology of improvised acts

Id Acts provoked Type of impromptu act A1 Modification of an existing game concept Leveraging A2 Assumes leadership role, assembles team Seizing A3 Referring to visual materials, trying to become self-reliant Searching A4 Global talent hunt, contacting global gatekeepers Searching A5 Reprioritizes game features for development Reprioritizing A6 Retreat from team work to self Introspecting A7 Leveraging technological tools for productivity Leveraging

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model of the agent in to account for this emotional improvisation. The model (figure 1) also provides dimension of human agency (see Figure 1). a conceptualization of the detailed elements of the emotional journeys of game developers, which conceptualization broadly fall into three characteristics: emotion, action and events. Figure 3 is a conceptualization of the process by which agents regulate their moods; how they ratio- implications nalize and act upon them in a volatile context. We now offer an interpretation of this model. Starting This extended stratification model has implica- from the top of the model: as developers reflex- tions for our knowledge of how emotions mediate ively monitor their contexts they become aware the way game developers improvise through the of unforeseen events, such as staff or stakeholder unexpected; the process by which they regulate resignations. They then interpret (as per appraisal their moods in volatile contexts. According to our theory) and rationalize the meaning of the event conceptualization, rationalization and interpreta- in their context. As they do so this affects their tion play an important role in this process. Ac- motivation for action and produces negative cording to appraisal theory, in the words of Wang emotions of anxiety and frustration – these are and Ahmed (2002), emotions are reactions to a the unintended consequences of the actions or certain situation based on the person’s interpreta- unforeseen events that originate in the context. tion. Therefore, by modifying an interpretation Now we follow the model from the bottom back or the meaning of an event in context, we may to the top: these emotions become part of the un- positively influence the emotions of an agent and acknowledged conditions for a developer’s action the way they are harnessed for improvisation. or improvisation. In their practical consciousness This modifying of interpretation is evocative of the agent’s will or motivation to overcome nega- sensemaking: “sensemaking is about authoring tivity leads them to reinterpret and re-rationalize as well as reading” (Weick 1995:p7). By affect- the meaning of the (resignation) event in their ing the sensemaking process then, so we perhaps context, which in turn produces a positive mood can influence the mood response of developers of and desire for freedom. The developer then or the way they regulate their emotions. This has adjusts their reflexive monitoring and leads to a implications for our knowledge of approaches to number of improvisations such as experimenting, software development. It is not sufficient to have searching, leveraging, seizing and reprioritizing. approaches such as agile methods that emphasize These improvisations evoke creativity and learn- cooperation and embrace change (Beck 1999). We ing. This then is the process by which agents/ also need approaches that actively incorporate developers regulate their moods and cope with the sensemaking of change, of the unforeseen, so unexpected challenging events; emotion-mediated

Figure 3. Emotion-mediated improvisation: an extended stratification model

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as to influence moods, their regulation and their stratification model of the agent. Game develop- offspring improvisations. ers by-and-large exhibited capabilities to regulate Our findings and theory also have implica- their emotions in the face of volatile, disruptive tions for practicing managers in creative software events. By regulate, we mean the way game de- development. In order to effectively manage developers rationalize and act upon their emotions, velopers’ moods when faced with volatile contexts i.e. how they improvise when they encounter and and disruptive events, managers need to consider interpret unanticipated challenges. Briefly, our means of influencing developers’ interpretations conceptualization theorizes that through their of events. This is perhaps a matter of charismatic reflexive monitoring, game developers interpret leadership. Managers need to be able to reinterpret the meanings of unexpected events, which affects for themselves the negative moods produced by their motivation for action and produces negative such events as staff or stakeholder “walkouts”, emotions. These emotions constitute unacknowl- before then helping those under their charge edged conditions for action or improvisation, but make positive sense of them – help developers through an agent’s will or motivation to overcome to regulate their moods, so as to produce creative negativity, they re-interpret the meaning of the improvisations. This does not mean wiping out a event, which in turn produces a positive emotion negative response to an event, but rather leverag- and desire for ‘freedom’. This produces a number ing it and turning it into a positive one. This is of improvisations such as experimenting, search- consistent with Bagozzi (2003), who shows how ing, leveraging, seizing and reprioritizing. These negative moods can produce positive effects, improvisations evoke creativity and learning. such as embarrassment provoking efforts to repair Therefore, since emotions are reactions based on a relationships. Furthermore, during volatile times person’s interpretation, by modifying an interpre- developers should be encouraged to open up their tation or the meaning of an event in context, we social working contexts and continuously moni- may positively influence the emotions of the agent tor them instead of shrinking, so as to build their and the way they are harnessed for improvisation. stock of resources; resources of a material, tech- This modifying of interpretation is evocative of nological and social nature that may be invoked sensemaking (Weick 1995). By affecting the sen- at the appropriate time; being prepared; readi- semaking process (Brown, Stacey et al, 2008) we ness through reflexive monitoring. If developers can influence the mood response of developers or remain close to their screens however they may the process by which they regulate their emotional be assuming safety in blindness, particularly in journeys. The implication for our knowledge of SMEs such as CGS where the manager may be software development is that it is not sufficient to away and incumbents have to fend for themselves have approaches that emphasize cooperation and or improvise in his or her absence. In volatile embrace change (Beck 1999). Such approaches situations then, management should encourage should also actively incorporate sensemaking with searching, seizing, reprioritizing and leveraging respect to change and unforeseen events, so as to of resources (refer to table 3). influence the regulation of consequential negative moods, and subsequently leverage these moods for positive and creative improvisation. concLusion

This chapter has elucidated the emotional journeys of game developers by revealing their processes of socioemotional work by drawing on Giddens’

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