Most creative mediums
from movies
to books
to pro-wrestling
generate celebrities
These people become so well-known
that fans will pay just to see what they create
but this really hasn't happened for games all that much
Most players
don't buy a new game
because of the games director or lead designer
In fact with a few notable exceptions
most players
probably have no idea
who the creative heads
of today's most popular games are
but
should they?
The video game industry is now bigger than the film industry
and game designer has become a more desirable dream job
than rockstar for a lot of teenagers,
but the creators of games
remain relatively obscure
Seriously
think of how many film directors you can name
now think of how many game designers?
Probably less, right?
Of course the audience for this show might be a little skewed
and there are well-known
Designers within the industry
that diehard fans know who they are,
but their name recognition
usually doesn't extend outside the medium
rarely
Do you see game designers
on the talk show circuit in the way you might find film directors or famous authors
In fact instructors at game schools
even tell their students
they're not going to get famous in the business.
Why not?
Well, first off
video game development
is incredibly collaborative
even in film,
which is very team focused
There's usually still
one main person who's creative vision is public-facing
we go to see a
Spielberg film or a Ridley Scott film
because we have a good idea of the type of movie that we're getting
even if the writer
editor composer and
cinematographer are all different people
the film industry tends to put the spotlight on one individual
because they want to cultivate that culture of Fame
but in the video game industry
The idea of a director or executive producer
isn't as defined
artists
designers
programmers and
Sometimes the marketing department
all have a huge part in determining a game's look and feel
and of course
games rely so much on
Testing and iteration during development
that it's not uncommon for a game to change visions completely during production
Back when games had smaller teams
one person could own a game
But it's less feasible
for one person to say
that a game is theirs anymore
Even in Indies
and it could be
that the game industry
wants to keep it that way
without
celebrities
fans know the studios and companies instead
and this gives them a lot of control
if you know rock star or Square Enix
Rather than who designs the latest Red Dead or Final Fantasy?
That means
you're more likely
to buy the next game from those studios
even if the people behind the core design of those games
you loved leave
and since studios know that
it also means that they don't have to bend as much to development teams demands and
Honestly, it doesn't look like this is going to change anytime soon
But would the game industry benefit from elevating developers to celebrity status?
Well, it's been proven by other industries that celebrities can help sell products
the game industry itself has admitted the advantage of star power to a certain extent by bringing in Hollywood talent for game roles and
commercials
it puts a human face on a product that draws people in but developers with that same recognition would also
Profoundly change the balance of power within the industry because of some famous
Individual on the development team threatening to walk could really tank sales that individual would have a lot more
leveraging power when dealing with publishers on what they got to produce and
that could lead to more projects with bigger budget backing fueled by
Artistic vision rather than market analysis with all of the enormous benefits and risks that entails
Celebrities would also drive up game budgets
In fact a huge part of the reason Hollywood movies have gotten so expensive is because the big stars can demand enormous salaries
For instance Johnny Depp was paid 55 million to reprise his role as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides
Back in 2011 while only 18 million less than a third of that went to the entire
895 person production staff combined and I'm not even gonna tell you what Zoey's salary is of
Course the revenue brought in by that person's involvement may very well be worth the cost but higher budgets also mean higher risk
Additionally this could mean more low-quality games being propped up by a famous developer only brought in for name recognition
Or ego driven projects propelled by a single famous individual who can no longer be checked
I'm still looking at you Johnny rather than by the needs of the game and
The more an industry depends on celebrities the deeper it gets stuck in doing so
Every game might need a big name attached to it to get funding the same way just about every Hollywood film nowadays relies on
big-name stars or a respected director
Also unlike film TV literature or music game development doesn't stop when the game launches anymore
Of course, you'll often see the actors promoting their film after a production wraps, which is also a full-time job in and of itself
But when a game ships we often still need all hands on deck for patches or to create ongoing
Content therefore game industry celebrities couldn't be out doing promotion in the same way for very long
Making games can feel like a thankless task
Because most players hardly know the studio much less the names of the people who make their favourite games and maybe that's a good thing
Because it could keep us from being overshadowed by celebrity culture and having projects at least more projects than already are
dominated by a single ego
But on the other hand
It serves as another way to keep all the leverage in the hands of the publishers and the studio heads
Rather than the development teams and keeps people from being acknowledged for years of their hard work
So with all that said would it be better to have game celebrities?
well
I'm betting that someone someday is going to cross over into the mainstream and achieve that level of Fame and then for better or worse
We'll find out but until then what do you all think?
Please keep the conversation going via your all-star commenting below. We'll see you next week
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