Work, work, work.

So, when I was laid off, I started really looking at the games industry, and noticed an alarming trend. The shift from hiring people as permanent members of a company, to treating them (outwardly or otherwise) as hired guns brought in for a specific project.

Many of the game industry layoffs this year only serve to reinforce this idea. What is really important to the industry? Short term profitability, or developing a strong workforce for the long haul?

How will this trend affect the games being made? Is this the beginning of the "Era of the Indie?" Since networking in Boston, I'm finding more people working as indies then I'm finding working at developers, they are also seemingly happier and more relaxed on the whole. This echoes what I had seen in SF as well.

Makes me think that the industry is at the start of a major shift. A change from large centralized teams working on the bulk of the projects to smaller, more adaptable and agile teams working on more culturally relevant games. The next year or so should shake this all out, the indies that are developing products now have the ability to position themselves well should this shift occur.