What is it like to be a Danish Game Maker? What the Game Industry in Denmark tells us about Game Production
Year: 2024
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: This presentation provides the first production studies account of Danish game makers, an overlooked but significant regional part of the Western game industries. We focus on three issues: The history of the Danish games industry show that the often-invoked demoscene does not explain the relative success of Nordic game industries; that Danish game makers consider aesthetic independence - creating new kinds of games - more important than being financially independent or making games as cultural statements; and finally, that Danish game developers are ambivalent about growth, often emphasizing merely paying the rent or the importance of a good workplace. The presentation thus provides a key understanding of an under- researched region with emphasis on its history, its cultural status as product and culture, and the self-identification of game makers with broader implications for research on game production studies on 'indies', and commercial game makers.
Authors: Emil Hammar, Jesper Juul, Alessandro Canossa
Language: English
Topic: Digital Games and Media
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4412213377