作者：Vik Long

根据NPG Group，2012年美国电子游戏的总销售额为148亿美元。而在这一数额中，体感游戏的销售额却只有88.8亿美元（游戏邦注：自从2011年以来下降了21%）。与此同时，数字游戏的销售额却上升了16%。

这些数值只是关于磁盘和暗盒在数字游戏，手机游戏，社交游戏，休闲游戏，序列化游戏和扩展包的快速发展下急剧衰落的最新标志。当《愤怒的小鸟》获得来自互动艺术与科学学会（AIAS）所颁发的“年度最佳游戏”奖项时，我们便可以清楚地看到，在当今世界中即使是带有少量预算的小型工作室也能够取得巨大的成功。

Angry Birds（from entureBeat）

随着游戏类型和分销模式继续改变着，扩展着并分裂着，开发团队的属性也逐渐发生着变化。如今的团队变得越来越小，越独立且越灵活。而为了应对这种变化，游戏发行商们也开始改变他们应对并管理开发者团队的方式。以下内容是对于这种全新人才环境的综述，即包括开发者拥有更多权利，人才获取的竞争越来越激烈以及雇员忠实度变得更加重要。

游戏开发的新面孔

随着许多发行商的倒闭，如今的游戏产业面的是越来越多可用人才。去年，THQ就宣布破产。今年年初，迪士尼也关闭了旗下工作室LucasArts，从而将150名员工推向了就业市场。最近，艺电更是解雇了旗下10%的员工。而之所以会出现这些情况是因为在竞争压力下的发行商们疯狂地想要夺取最强大的开发商。

我们的下意识反应是，如果工作室遭遇倒闭，这定会导致大量人才被忽视。但是因为开发团队的灵活性变得更加重要，且更多发行商们也希望能够更加灵活地满足消费者的需求，所以许多开发者，制作人和美术人员都能够在合适的前提下轻松地实现自己的需求。也就是即使开发者丢了工作，他们也是占上风的。

今天的发行商只需要一个包含程序员，设计师和美术人员的小型团队，并面对手机设备和社交媒体创造出成功的小游戏，或制作新内容或关卡去延伸主机或PC游戏的寿命（以下载内容的形式表现出来）。

甚至是大型发行商也意识到转向手机游戏和社交游戏，以及选择密切，灵活和成本较低的团队的重要性。致力于小型项目的小型团队所面临的风险往往也较小。他们也能够与较少的预算以及更快速的制作周期紧密维系在一起。但这并不等于这些工作室就不能创造出风靡一时的巨作。只有这种类型的开发可能专注于像《光晕》和《使命召唤》所取得的成功，即吸引大量玩家的注意并赚取巨大的利润。

虽然现在许多小型团队具有更大的影响力，但是有些开发者仍遵循着他们自己的创造性观点，也就意味着一些最成功且有经验的开发者将能够获得更高的报酬或自由挑选项目的权利。

其它产业也在掠夺游戏开发人才

游戏开发者会因为对从事的项目充满激情而紧密地与游戏产业结合在一起。但是也有许多其它公司非常需要同样的人才，所以他们便采取了各种做法而导致游戏工作室很难去获取并留住所需人才。

CareerBuilder的数据显示，许多对于特定编程语言的工作招聘都是来自软件开发以外的产业。软件发行商对于C++开发者的工作招聘只占23%，对于iOS开发者的公告只占16%，对于Android开发者的广告只占13%，而HTML5工作招聘也只有10%。

甚至市场上对于与技能无关的工作需求也在扩展着。根据CareerBuilder数据，在最高产业雇佣“游戏开发者”间，9%的工作广告是来自广播公司，另外9%是来自学院，大学和专业学校，还有另外9%则是来自产业机械和设备批发商。

游戏发行商以找到不愿意为美国公司工作的人才为傲。这是维持着他们的人才基础忠实度的一大元素。随着越来越多公司对于类似技能组合的竞争越发激烈，发行商们可以通过创造主要的吸引力（即让他们能够将技术与创造性结合在一起）去吸引人才而与美国公司区别开来。

雇员的忠诚度变得越来越重要

游戏产业是根据游戏发行和成功的情况而决定员工的解雇与聘请，这便意味着不管是雇主还是雇员都存在着许多不确定性。但是工作室的员工往往都不能与其开发方法论维系在一起。而主要的分离元素便是产业对于员工表现的过时看法。

产业对于永久和临时员工的看法便是一个典型的例子。游戏产业中的大多数公司都更希望聘请永久性员工，如此才能有效地确保工作的保密性。但是实际上，许多开发者都会在面对更诱人的报酬或个人项目完成等原因而选择离开。

另一方面，临时工也可以像全职员工那样忠诚，并且能让发行商快速规划团队。尽管在这个迅速变化的产业中，许多人对于灵活性具有迫切的需求，但是大多数发行商却还未能调整人才获取过程去接纳临时雇员，不过也有些发行商有效地使用了合同工。就像在西雅图的一间工作室最近便让超过50名合同工同时致力于一款游戏中，并且在游戏发行后这些员工的留存率甚至高达98%。

所以从根本上来看，较高的雇员忠诚度远比雇佣状态来得重要。如果富有创造性的开发者的付出具有价值并且得到了尊重，他们便会投入更多热情并忠于游戏。不管是永久性员工还是临时员工，雇员们都希望能够待在一家有价值的工作室，并能在此掌握最新产业技术和趋势。

结论

虽然电子游戏正在向全新领域快速扩展，并受到小型且更灵活的开发团队的推动，但是从未改变的是该产业对于优秀程序员，美术人员和设计师的需求。这些开发者都是每一款出色游戏背后的功臣，不管是大型游戏还是小型游戏，硬核游戏还是休闲游戏，主机游戏，PC游戏还是手机游戏。发行商一直在采取各种方法去利用不断增加的游戏玩家，而他们需要迈出的第一步便是思考如何聘请开发者并构建团队。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Here’s what the future of video game development looks like

By Vik Long

Video game sales in the U.S. totaled $14.8 billion in 2012, according to NPD Group. Of that amount, physical game sales accounted for just $8.88 billion, a decline of 21 percent since 2011. Over the same period, digital game sales grew by 16 percent.

These numbers are just the latest sign that the discs and cartridges of yesteryear are fading fast under the glow of digital, mobile, and social gaming as well as casual gaming, serialized games, and expansion packs. When Angry Birds is in the running for the Game of the Year award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, it’s clear that we live in a world where upstarts can upend the major studios on shoestring budgets.

As the types of games and distribution models continue to shift, expand, and fracture, the nature of development teams has also been evolving. Teams are growing smaller, more independent, and more agile. In response, game publishers are changing the way they source, build, and manage teams of developers. Here’s an overview of the new talent environment, from more empowered developers to more competition for talent to the growing importance of employee engagement.

The new face of game development

The gaming industry is seeing a surge in available talent as publishers disband. Last year, THQ closed its doors. Then came LucasArts, which pushed 150 employees out into the job market when Disney shut down earlier this year. Most recently, Electronic Arts laid off 10 percent of its workforce. Such announcements are typically followed by competing publishers’ frenzied attempts to snatch up the top available developers.

But a knee-jerk reaction to closures can result in some talent being overlooked. And since the agility of development teams is becoming increasingly important as more publishers look to become flexible to consumer demands, many developers, producers, and artists are going freelance to fill a need wherever they see fit. Even as developers lose their jobs, they have the upper hand.

Publishers today need only a small, talented team of programmers, designers, and artists to create successful shorter games for mobile devices and social media or to produce new episodes or levels that extend the life of console or PC games in the form of downloadable content.

Even large publishers recognize the need to move into mobile and social games and more intimate, agile, and cost-effective teams. Smaller teams working on smaller projects pose smaller risks. They also align more closely with the smaller budgets and quicker product cycles these games entail. That’s not to say that studios will halt production of mega-blockbusters. Only that this type of development will likely focus on proven successes like Halo and Call of Duty, which already have a track record of popularity and profit.

But as small teams can now have a big impact, some developers are following their personal creative interests, meaning that some of the most successful and experienced developers will have the option to become free agents, command higher compensation, or hand pick the projects they work on.

Other industries cut in on game-development talent

Game developers have typically remained tethered to the gaming industry due to their passion for the projects they work on. However, a number of other corporations are increasingly hungry for the same talent, potentially making it more difficult for studios to source and retain the talent they need.

CareerBuilder data shows that the majority of job postings for particular programming languages are from industries outside of software development. Software publishers accounted for only 23 percent of the job postings for C++ developers, 16 percent of openings for iOS developers, 13 percent of ads for Android developers, and 10 percent of HTML5 job postings.

Even the market for related skill-agnostic jobs has expanded. Among the top industries hiring “game developers,” CareerBuilder data reveals that 9 percent of job ads are from television broadcasters, another 9 percent are from colleges, universities, and professional schools, and yet another 9 percent are from industrial machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers.

Game publishers pride themselves on finding the talent that doesn’t want to work for corporate America. That’s one of the edges that maintains loyalty among their talent base. As more companies vie for similar skill sets, publishers can continue to distinguish themselves from corporate America by promoting their main draw for talent: they work at the intersection of technology and creativity.

Employee engagement grows increasingly important

The gaming industry lays off and hires workers in tune with game launches and successes, meaning there’s a great deal of uncertainty for both employer and employee. Yet studios’ staffing doesn’t always align with their development methodology. A key disconnect is the industry’s outmoded perception of what employment should look like.

One example is the industry’s views on permanent and temporary hires. The majority of the gaming industry prefers permanent hires, who studios feel are more likely to keep confidential work under wraps due to the stability of their job. In reality, however, any developer might leave a position in the middle of a project if a more enticing offer or a personal project tears them away.

Temporary workers, on the other hand, can be just as loyal as full-time employees and allow a publisher to quickly scale its team. Despite the need for agility in the thick of a changing industry, most publishers have not yet adjusted their talent acquisition processes to consider a temporary workforce, even as some publishers use contract workers to great effect. A studio in the Seattle area recently had more than 50 contractors working on a game, with a retention rate of nearly 98 percent well after the game launched.

Ultimately, employment status matters less than good employee engagement. Creative developers are more likely to be passionate about and loyal to a game if their contributions are valued and respected within their work environment. Whether permanent or temporary, employees are looking to work with a studio where they feel valued, and where they can keep up with the latest industry technology and trends.

The bottom line

With the video game landscape rapidly expanding into new territory, pressed forward by smaller, more nimble development teams, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the need for talented game coders, artists, and designers. These developers are behind every great game, whether large or small, core or casual, console, PC, or mobile. As publishers look for ways to capitalize on the growing audience for games, their first step should be to rethink their teams and how they hire developers.(source:venturebeat)