The myth of the auteur in games needs to die

destructoid.com:

Like any creative industry, the games industry is full of really passionate, ambitious people. Chief among them are, of course, the highly visible auteurs that usually serve as creative director or studio president, from the tiniest of indie darlings to the largest of AAA juggernauts. I think generally everyone would agree that we want not only the most talented people in these positions, but also those who are respectful, responsible bosses. Unfortunately, this is usually not even close to the case for those in power — something we aren’t surprised to learn occurs with alarming frequency in the games industry, like other industries before it.

Last week, Chris Bratt from People Make Games put out a 40-minute-long expose surrounding the alleged workplace mistreatment at famed indie studios Mountains, Fullbright, and Funomena — and publisher Annapurna’s refusal to do anything about it. It’s a very well-researched, well-thought-out piece if you’re willing to wade through such upsetting content as descriptions of emotional abuse and harassment.

While most of the video is explaining the horrendous experiences employees of these beloved indie studios have had to endure behind closed doors, a point that Bratt makes repeatedly is the alleged negligence of Annapurna after those experiences were brought to light. When the employees of these studios asked the publisher why they wouldn’t take action when one person was so clearly the source of the problem, they simply replied that sometimes making games takes “strong personalities.” In short, Annapurna is allegedly buying into auteur culture in games, which is unhealthy, to say the least. Having an authoritative personality and strong opinions is one thing, but outright abusing your