"Work From Quarantine," my latest Shacknews long read, shows how COVID-19 has impacted game development
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Greetings, all,
First and foremost, I hope you and your families are safe and healthy. It's trite to say, but 2020 has definitely not gone how anyone planned. This might sound odd, but it hasn't impacted me as much as it's impacted others… not yet, at least (knock on wood). I've been a writer for over 16 years, and am used to working from my home. That part of my day-to-day life remains unchanged. However, all I or anyone else needs to do is step outside to see how the world has changed in so short a span of time.
I take solace in work. That has cons as well as pros, but one of those pros is the knowledge that humans gravitate toward stories. We tell them, and we consume them in different ways. I have a new story for you to read, one that dovetails with the COVID-19 pandemic and how it's changed life for all of us.
Work From Quarantine: How COVID-19 Has Upended Game Development is my latest long read at Shacknews. It follows hot on the heels of last month's From Chaos: The Aspirational Storytelling of Life is Strange. I've been a busy bee this year--but as I said, I take comfort in writing these stories, in large part because I hope reading them brings you some comfort.
One of the many reasons I enjoy writing about the culture of the games industry is I love to understand how things work. I've written about the industry, and I've worked within in as both a journalist and a developer. But COVID-19 has turned this industry I and so many of us love on its head.
I've been anxious about the pandemic, worried how it could affect my wife, who is immunocompromised, and my family, many of whom are in the age demographic most likely to be affected. Understanding how things work soothes my anxiety. With that in mind, I wrote Work From Quarantine to get a firmer grasp on how one of my favorite hobbies continues to function even with so many studios, indie and big-budget alike, having sent their employees home to work safely. How do they maintain efficient communication? How do they juggle home responsibilities such as raising children and helping them with homeschooling since they've been sent home as well?
Work From Quarantine answers those questions and others. If you've been stressed, scared, or some combination of the two, take no shame in that. You're taking COVID seriously, and that's a good thing. Maybe understanding how the life in the games industry continues on will bring you some relief, and remind you that life can and will go on even through times of high stress and uncertainty.
Happy reading. Stay safe.
David