February 14W rking f r Play

1. Quiz2. Lecture3. Group work:

Practice for Feb. 26 assignment

1. “_______________ has been defined broadly by Hardt & Negri as that which “involves communication, cooperation, and the production and reproduction of affects”. This spans technological work with computers and networks, work manipulating emotion—generating a sense of ease or excitement—and work involving communication and coordination” (Dyer-Witheford & de Peuter, 600).

a) Free lunchb) Immaterial laborc) Capitalismd) Marxism

2. “Nonetheless, game development is an overwhelmingly _________ dungeon. An estimate we received from a female insider was that women account for an average of only 10-15% of a game developer’s staff” (Dyer-Witheford & de Peuter, 606).

a) masculineb) smellyc) socialistd) dwarf-filled

3. Invisible labor refers to what kinds of work?

a) whatever ninjas dob) work that can only be seen through a telescopec) the domestic work (childcare, cleaning) that

people in the games industry are too busy for d) the role of artificial intelligence in games

4. “Crunch time” in the gaming industry refers to:

a) Monthly granola partiesb) Tax seasonc) Periods of intense work near the end of a

game’s developmentd) Regularly-scheduled server maintenance

Labor & New Media

Conventional (material) laborThe production of durable material goods:

• Farming• Manufacturing• Construction• Transportation (dockworkers, truck drivers, railroad workers)

Meatpacking Ford factory

“Immaterial” labor:

“labor that produces the informational and cultural content of the commodity” (Lazzarato, 1996)

- Audiovisual production- Advertising- Software production- Photography- Public relations- Service industry- “Knowledge” or “information” economy

Material or immaterial?

Material or immaterial?

Material or immaterial?

Material or immaterial?

Material or immaterial?

Material or immaterial?

(classic) material labor immaterial labor

Unions / trade associations Worker vs worker

Salaries Hourly rates

Blue collar White collar

Years-long contracts Weekly / monthly contracts

Regional or local competition Global competition

9 to 5 Evenings & weekends

immaterial labor is also referred to as “precarious” labor (Fudge & Owens, 2006)

What happened to material labor in North America?

Neoliberalism & globalization

Various facets / subtypes of “immaterial” labor:

- Invisible labor- Emotional (or “affective”) labor- Outsourced labor- “Playbor”

“invisible labor” “the domestic activities of the mothers and partners who clean up after, take care of children for, and provide emotional sustenance to a predominantly male work force”(Dyer-Witheford, 607)

“emotional labor”“the stamina of youthful game workers helps set a studio norm of overwork, an instance of what Angela McRobbie refers to as “enforced youthfulness” so prominent in many creative-industry workplaces” (Dyer-Witheford, 610)

“Flair”

What if you were expected to do “emotional labor” in this course?

- Tell all of your colleagues how awesome Nick & Emily are

- Stand still and bow your head when we pass you in the halls

- Record everything we say verbatim

- Live tweet lectures- Wear COM 327 flair

outsourced labor“Offshore outsourcing is beginning to hit the gaming sector… In the longer term, the North American and European game-labor force will have to wage their fight for survivable working hours across a global battlefield” (614)

“Playbor” (Kücklich, 2005)- Playtesting- “Beta” playing- Modding- “Gold farming”

Group work!Do a ‘quick & dirty’ version of the February 26 assignment:

Political Economy “Power Map”

Choose one of the following franchises / products and:

1) Find out what corporation owns it and what else that corporation owns. - Where are their offices located? Where are their factories located? Where is

the product made, and by whom?

2) Determine the audience for that franchise, based on advertisements (where is it advertised? How? Who are the advertisements directed at?)

3) Look up any labor-related news stories about that corporation.

Samsung Galaxy Tablet

The CoD Franchise

My Little Pony (toy) Beats by Dre headphones