2022
Hammar, Emil Lundedal
International Solidarity Between Game Workers in the Global North and Global South: Reflections on The Challenges Posed by Labor Aristocracy Journal Article
In: gamenvironments, vol. 17, 2022, ISSN: 2364-382X.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game developer, Game development, Games, Games industry, Gamevironments, Imperialism, Labor, Labor aristocracy, Labor conditions, Political economy, Production studies, Unionization, Unions, Workers
@article{Hammar2022,
title = {International Solidarity Between Game Workers in the Global North and Global South: Reflections on The Challenges Posed by Labor Aristocracy},
author = {Emil Lundedal Hammar},
url = {https://doi.org/10.48783/gameviron.v17i17.195
https://journals.suub.uni-bremen.de/index.php/gamevironments/article/view/195},
doi = {10.48783/gameviron.v17i17.195},
issn = {2364-382X},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-12-22},
urldate = {2022-12-22},
issuetitle = {Social justice},
journal = {gamenvironments},
volume = {17},
abstract = {This article advances the research on unionization and collective organizing in the games industry by highlighting potential future challenges of international solidarity as identified by the Marxist concept of labor aristocracy. While much of organizing and unionization in the games industry are in their nascent stages by focusing primarily on the national question and the nature of work in the games industry, the nature of global supply chains, and free flow of capital emphasizes the importance of global perspectives on how game workers can organize. Primarily, this article is concerned with the material effects of 21st century imperialism on collective organization, where the Marxist concept of labor aristocracy identifies the privileged strata of game workers in imperialist countries who benefit from exploitative international relations between core and periphery economies through higher wages, positions of power, and affordable access to commodities. As a result, these groups of game workers should, according to the implications of labor aristocracy, hold a material investment into maintaining the exploitation of game workers in the periphery. This means that the current social movements to organize and unionize in the games industry potentially encounters the challenge of international solidarity with workers whose exploitation those in the imperialist countries benefit from. This article identifies such challenges through interviews and an online survey with game workers, organizers, union representatives, and leaders of international organizations. The findings reveal the international character of game work and the challenges of national legislation; the importance and challenge of building solidarity between game workers in the core and periphery; and finally, the potential strategies for unions and organizers to cultivate international solidarity. Thus, the article clears a forward path for both production research in game studies and labor organizing in the Western games industry through a global perspective on international material relations and historical materialism.},
keywords = {Game developer, Game development, Games, Games industry, Gamevironments, Imperialism, Labor, Labor aristocracy, Labor conditions, Political economy, Production studies, Unionization, Unions, Workers},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article advances the research on unionization and collective organizing in the games industry by highlighting potential future challenges of international solidarity as identified by the Marxist concept of labor aristocracy. While much of organizing and unionization in the games industry are in their nascent stages by focusing primarily on the national question and the nature of work in the games industry, the nature of global supply chains, and free flow of capital emphasizes the importance of global perspectives on how game workers can organize. Primarily, this article is concerned with the material effects of 21st century imperialism on collective organization, where the Marxist concept of labor aristocracy identifies the privileged strata of game workers in imperialist countries who benefit from exploitative international relations between core and periphery economies through higher wages, positions of power, and affordable access to commodities. As a result, these groups of game workers should, according to the implications of labor aristocracy, hold a material investment into maintaining the exploitation of game workers in the periphery. This means that the current social movements to organize and unionize in the games industry potentially encounters the challenge of international solidarity with workers whose exploitation those in the imperialist countries benefit from. This article identifies such challenges through interviews and an online survey with game workers, organizers, union representatives, and leaders of international organizations. The findings reveal the international character of game work and the challenges of national legislation; the importance and challenge of building solidarity between game workers in the core and periphery; and finally, the potential strategies for unions and organizers to cultivate international solidarity. Thus, the article clears a forward path for both production research in game studies and labor organizing in the Western games industry through a global perspective on international material relations and historical materialism.
2021
Karhulahti, Veli-Matti
Want the Games Industry to Share Data? Share Yours Journal Article
In: Nature, vol. 592, iss. 26, pp. 26, 2021, ISSN: 0028-0836.
Links | Tags: Data, Games industry
@article{Karhulahti2021f,
title = {Want the Games Industry to Share Data? Share Yours},
author = {Veli-Matti Karhulahti},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00860-z},
doi = {10.1038/d41586-021-00860-z},
issn = {0028-0836},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-03-30},
journal = {Nature},
volume = {592},
issue = {26},
pages = {26},
keywords = {Data, Games industry},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2020
Sotamaa, Olli; Jørgensen, Kristine; Sandqvist, Ulf
Public Game Funding in the Nordic Region Journal Article
In: International Journal of Cultural Policy, vol. 26, iss. 5, pp. 617-632, 2020, ISSN: 1028-6632.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Cultural policy, Games industry, Innovation policy, Nordic countries, Welfare state
@article{Sotamaa2020,
title = {Public Game Funding in the Nordic Region},
author = {Olli Sotamaa and Kristine Jørgensen and Ulf Sandqvist},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202009016838},
doi = {10.1080/10286632.2019.1656203},
issn = {1028-6632},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-07-28},
journal = {International Journal of Cultural Policy},
volume = {26},
issue = {5},
pages = {617-632},
abstract = {In this paper, we explore the policies related to support structures surrounding national game industries, with focus on the three Nordic countries Finland, Norway and Sweden, and investigate what kind of context the Nordic welfare state model has provided for game development. The three cases illustrate how Nordic welfare state measures have interacted with the games industry over time. While the political ideals have been fairly similar, our study demonstrates how the objectives and practical means of state engagement have differed significantly. We argue that although the three countries all have support schemes of which game companies can take advantage, there are significant differences in the degree to which each individual country has organized government interventions and support. While the Finnish state has treated game development as an endeavour in business development, the regional Nordic game program and the Norwegian state has developed a cultural policy that primarily aims to protect the cultural heritage. The Swedish state has not established a tailormade policy directed towards game development but has a broad spectrum of general policies for supporting research and business development. We suggest that future research should investigate how the public funding is structured and how discourses are formulated around appeals for more public funding for the games industry.
},
keywords = {Cultural policy, Games industry, Innovation policy, Nordic countries, Welfare state},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this paper, we explore the policies related to support structures surrounding national game industries, with focus on the three Nordic countries Finland, Norway and Sweden, and investigate what kind of context the Nordic welfare state model has provided for game development. The three cases illustrate how Nordic welfare state measures have interacted with the games industry over time. While the political ideals have been fairly similar, our study demonstrates how the objectives and practical means of state engagement have differed significantly. We argue that although the three countries all have support schemes of which game companies can take advantage, there are significant differences in the degree to which each individual country has organized government interventions and support. While the Finnish state has treated game development as an endeavour in business development, the regional Nordic game program and the Norwegian state has developed a cultural policy that primarily aims to protect the cultural heritage. The Swedish state has not established a tailormade policy directed towards game development but has a broad spectrum of general policies for supporting research and business development. We suggest that future research should investigate how the public funding is structured and how discourses are formulated around appeals for more public funding for the games industry.