Abstract
By analyzing and contextualizing different aspects of the Finnish game development scene, this article provides concrete examples of why we need cultural studies of game development and how game development cultures can be studied. The article follows a three-layer approach, first exploring some of the historical and political developments that have shaped forms of local game production. Second, a focus is placed on working cultures within the industry and attitudes toward crunch time, work–life balance, and workplace regulation. Third, everyday strategies of organizing creative work are analyzed to better understand game studio cultures. The lessons from this empirical study directly contribute to the larger scholarly discussions around game production and creative labor.
Highlights
When I started to interview Finnish game industry professionals several years ago, one of the things I always asked about was their weekly working hours
Based on informal discussions in local game developer meetings and other industry events, I knew that many game makers had a passionate relationship with their work and many
I was aware that year after year, international game industry surveys reported long hours and unpaid overtime as persistent issues for the video game industry
Summary
When I started to interview Finnish game industry professionals several years ago, one of the things I always asked about was their weekly working hours. While Finland is arguably a small node in the global circuits of game production, with over 200 studios and around 3000 employees, the Finnish game industry has produced several internationally recognized titles such as Rovio’s Angry Birds or Supercell’s Clash of Clans and has become a key node of the vibrant local start-up scene in the past decade. In this respect, the lessons taken from the Finnish game development culture are timely and will contribute to the larger scholarly discussions around game cultures and creative work. We move on to explore studio cultures, placing a focus on individual companies and developers, and the circumstances in which they contribute to creating everyday game development cultures
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
