Poll: Why Make Games?

[azncutthroat]

What should be the incentive for game developers?
Profit? (Money)
Glory? (Fame)
Craft? (Personal fulfillment/achievement)
Art? (Medium of expression)

While for many gamers the motivation is something of a trivial issue so long as they get their games, motivation directly affects the games.

Personally, I think game developers should be motivated, foremost, by craft and second, glory. And I would just the same abide by such ethics.

If I were to become a game developer, I would want to create a game that I know I can find pride and joy in. It would be a nice plus if people found it entertaining and be appreciative of my . Money seems a bit trivial, in comparison to other gains. Not to mention all the copypasta and generics that come as a result.

Edited for missing content (damn start button on laptop).

 

[Pimppeter2]

Glory and then profit.

That's how good games are made.

 

[Dexiro]

For me it's definatly craft.

Just being able to make a game and look back at it thinking "heh i made that".
Then it gets even better when other people play your games. I don't care if only 3 people in the whole world play it, if 1 person tells me they enjoyed it then mission accomplished

Art and fame come into it too, but not as incentives.
Money shouldn't play a part in it at all, if anything it's just a byproduct.

 

[azncutthroat]

Glory and then profit.

That's how good games are made.

Care to clarify on the definition of "good", or your opinion of a good game?

 

[Johnnyallstar]

A little bit of all of those. It's a mix of pushing an idea through an art media while trying to make a living.

 

[Tharwen]

Craft would produce more adventurous and unique games, but realistically can't motivate people to finish games like money does.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Glory and then profit.

That's how good games are made.

Care to clarify on the definition of "good", or your opinion of a good game?

Like I need a reason to promote my reviews [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.183580-Gentlemen-I-present-The-Legend-of-Zelda-Ocarina-of-Time]

Nintendo made that game for the glory. And if you think its for the craft then it is simply silly. Glory is the driving force for the worlds greatest accomplishments.

 

[azncutthroat]

Glory and then profit.

That's how good games are made.

Care to clarify on the definition of "good", or your opinion of a good game?

Like I need a reason to promote my reviews [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.183580-Gentlemen-I-present-The-Legend-of-Zelda-Ocarina-of-Time]

Nintendo made that game for the glory. And if you think its for the craft then it is simply silly. Glory is the driving force for the worlds greatest accomplishments.

You seem to base your answer on the reality of the situation; would your answer be different if we were talking in an "ideal world"?

 

[Pimppeter2]

Glory and then profit.

That's how good games are made.

Care to clarify on the definition of "good", or your opinion of a good game?

Like I need a reason to promote my reviews [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.183580-Gentlemen-I-present-The-Legend-of-Zelda-Ocarina-of-Time]

Nintendo made that game for the glory. And if you think its for the craft then it is simply silly. Glory is the driving force for the worlds greatest accomplishments.

You seem to base your answer on the reality of the situation; would your answer be different if we were talking in an "ideal world"?

No, because the best games are made for the incentive of creating the best product out there. If every game was trying to be the best it could be, then it would be best for all of us.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

It should be a mix of all of those. Ultimately, you want profit, to continue to make games. You need it for craft to make better games. You need recognition to make more profit. And you need art to make your game stand out from the crowd.

In order, though, it should be:
1. Craft
2. Profit
3. Glory
4. Art

In real life, more often than not, it goes:[footnote]At least that's how it appears to be. This may not apply to all developers.[/footnote]
1. Profit
2. Glory
3. Profit
4. What were the other two?

 

[SonicKoala]

Why write music? Why paint pictures? Why make films?

I really think that it comes down to a combination of craft and art. The people who make games are artists in every sense of the word, and that is simply what they enjoy doing. You know how in the opening credits of LittleBigPlanet, it talks about how every person is just brimming with creative energy?

Although I don't think this applies to all people (scratch that, I KNOW it doesn't), I think that this does apply to game developers. These are just very talented and creative individuals who I'm sure feel very fulfilled by their chosen profession. I think for the truly gifted ones, the profit is simply a plus, an afterthought which didn't motivate them initially. I'd like to point out that I don't think that "glory" factors into it at all - unless you're really nerdy about it, the majority of people can only name, at most, one or two people that worked on a couple games they liked.

 

[BloodBowler]

I think trying to whittle down motivation for making video games would be naive as hell. If it wasn't there would be a lot more descriptive words to choose from. But it is here and I will roll with it.

First motivation should be profit.
Second motivation should be craft.

Glory should NEVER EVER come into the equation.

The idea of profit is the main driving force behind any game, obtaining a high expenserofit ratio is what keeps game developers going. The relationship between profit and craft SHOULD be fairly simple:

The best way to obtain profit is to be good at crafting your work. (Make a good game).

Unfortunately this is not always the case. However I stand by my original pairing of motivations. Craft is the result of skill, experience, talent and learning among many other things. Being able to make a good game requires an obscene amount of hard work. Not just from one person but from a multitude of people.

Money allows for creation and creation on a mass scale. Just because profit may be your driving force does not make your games evil, it doesn't make them any worse than they would be without it, it just makes them financially motivated.

 

[Dexiro]

I'd say Craft comes into play even for large companies (although not too large).

The company's vision as a whole might lose some of the passion involved with creating games because that's a lot of people who might not share the same opinions.

When it comes down to the individuals who are given a task though, some will want to put all they can into it. They aren't thinking "durp, better hurry up so i get money", they want to make their work a somewhat special contribution to the game.

Doesn't apply to every developer but that's the way i see it

I don't think money is ever ever ever the driving factor. You guys might imagine it as just another job, but i don't think anyone has joined the gaming industry purely for the money.

 

[Wizco]

I think trying to whittle down motivation for making video games would be naive as hell. If it wasn't there would be a lot more descriptive words to choose from. But it is here and I will roll with it.

First motivation should be profit.
Second motivation should be craft.

Glory should NEVER EVER come into the equation.

The idea of profit is the main driving force behind any game, obtaining a high expenserofit ratio is what keeps game developers going. The relationship between profit and craft SHOULD be fairly simple:

The best way to obtain profit is to be good at crafting your work. (Make a good game).

Unfortunately this is not always the case. However I stand by my original pairing of motivations. Craft is the result of skill, experience, talent and learning among many other things. Being able to make a good game requires an obscene amount of hard work. Not just from one person but from a multitude of people.

Money allows for creation and creation on a mass scale. Just because profit may be your driving force does not make your games evil, it doesn't make them any worse than they would be without it, it just makes them financially motivated.

I can see what you mean, but I think in an ideal world the first reason SHOULD be craft and only then profit. I capped should, because this is - of course - not an ideal world and without profit certain games would stop being made. The question was 'should' and not 'is', so this certainly defines the answer to the question.
That said, I don't really think ICO, Okami or Psychonauts were really highly profitable games, yet they displayed wonderful craftmanship.
Perhaps the world is not as bleak as I feared.
That is why I voted for craft.

 

[azncutthroat]

It should be a mix of all of those. Ultimately, you want profit, to continue to make games. You need it for craft to make better games. You need recognition to make more profit. And you need art to make your game stand out from the crowd.

In order, though, it should be:
1. Craft
2. Profit
3. Glory
4. Art

In real life, more often than not, it goes:[footnote]At least that's how it appears to be. This may not apply to all developers.[/footnote]
1. Profit
2. Glory
3. Profit
4. What were the other two?

Your explanation of the need for each is perfect.

Yeah, in a perfect world, game developers would have all four motivations in mind. Unfortunately, most game developers tend to over-emphasize one motivation such as industry giants like EA and Activision, who focus primarily on profit.

 

[azncutthroat]

Glory and then profit.

That's how good games are made.

Care to clarify on the definition of "good", or your opinion of a good game?

Like I need a reason to promote my reviews [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.183580-Gentlemen-I-present-The-Legend-of-Zelda-Ocarina-of-Time]

Nintendo made that game for the glory. And if you think its for the craft then it is simply silly. Glory is the driving force for the worlds greatest accomplishments.

You seem to base your answer on the reality of the situation; would your answer be different if we were talking in an "ideal world"?

No, because the best games are made for the incentive of creating the best product out there. If every game was trying to be the best it could be, then it would be best for all of us.

While I disagree, I can certainly understand where you're coming from. Humans are very social creatures, and what person wouldn't like to be praised?

My personal beef with glory as the main motivation it that it tends to lead to a popularity contest (where quality becomes irrelavent) and ultimately fanboyism.

 

[BloodBowler]

A brainwave occurs.

Focusing on profit allows mega-companies to bring us games on a mass scale. Successful companies can make successful games, unsuccessful companies go broke.

Without profit a lot of companies go under very, very quickly. Whatever their main motivation was, money was always high on the list. It had to be.

No profit? No EA, No Ubisoft, No Activision, No Rockstar, No Valve, No Nintendo. Kiss 90% of good games you ever knew goodbye.

Companies that aren't motivated by profit go bust. Companies that are motivated solely by profit make bad knock off games that sell very poorly, then go even more bust by failing to recoup expenses.

Motivation isn't singular but rather a harmonious balance. Except glory. Glory makes crazy people.

 

[Tuddle]

For the MONEY! The color of green.

 

[spartan773]

i say all 4 and more...

 

[azncutthroat]

A brainwave occurs.

Focusing on profit allows mega-companies to bring us games on a mass scale. Successful companies can make successful games, unsuccessful companies go broke.

Without profit a lot of companies go under very, very quickly. Whatever their main motivation was, money was always high on the list. It had to be.

No profit? No EA, No Ubisoft, No Activision, No Rockstar, No Valve, No Nintendo. Kiss 90% of good games you ever knew goodbye.

Companies that aren't motivated by profit go bust. Companies that are motivated solely by profit make bad knock off games that sell very poorly, then go even more bust by failing to recoup expenses.

Motivation isn't singular but rather a harmonious balance. Except glory. Glory makes crazy people.

Unfortunately, like I've said before, game developers tend to focus on one motivation. Sure, game developers most, if not all, of these motivations somewhere in mind. But few, if any, game developers manage to achieve a harmonious mix. Everyone has different opinions of games are or should be.

Are games simply a business/industry, ergo wealth-creation machines no different than corporations?
Are games ones passion in life, and should be crafted towards perfection?

These are differences that directly affect games, and ultimately ones preferences.