Suing for correct credits

Much like the IGDA, I'm sure they would simply turn around and say that if we want better credits, we should just get involved in submitting them and moderating.

 

Or better yet dismiss us as a loud minority.

 

What stops us from creating a game credits section here on the public parts of the website?

 

The massive amount of effort I think it will take to put the credits up? Though that aside it doesn't sound like a rediculous idea.

I am a bit surprised that the IGDA has not had their hands into this a bit more... no wait I'm not...

Although as a side note http://www.igdb.com says it is on its way to completion now, though I am not sure how long it has been in that state I don't think it has been any more than a year.

 

Once the database is in place it is a task that can be easily parallelised, either by people entering the complete credits of games they themselves worked on, or only list the games they worked on. If you don't go crazy at the start with full game and developer profiles, and only focus on a simple game id/developer id/role (including "uncredited").
Let's see what happens with igdb, though.

 

The IDGA are quite clear about the standards they would *like* to see in game credits, but are powerless when it comes to actually enforcing them. Having a credit standard is not difficult or impossible, but it does require us to all sing consistently from the same hymn sheet. Without any kind of unionisation, the only course left open is to have at them with a rusty spoon.

Yeah, we *could* start up a credits section on TCE, or police MobyGames better, but wouldn't it be more productive in the long term to stand up for standardisation? Apart from anything else, it would help massively in putting the credits together at the end of a game, and it would mean that getting the credits you deserve doesn't turn into an (expensive legal) battle of wills, you just check the lookup table.

You never know. If we can get organised around issues like this, it would be easier to rally support when we are asked to waive our rights to paid overtime, when we lose our jobs and get rehired as contractors, or any of the other crappy things studios do to their minions.

 

credits are one of the ugliest moments in a project's life. just about no one is satisfied by the time they roll out. from my experience (and it isn't that much - about 7 releases) there is no actual way to do it while keeping everyone smiling.

i recently saw "a game by capcom" as the credits and kind of smirked. it solves almost all of the complaint issues, but not quite. lol

 

Try not to worry

Sorry to hear your frustration - lots of good points above. Even if you got the credit you wanted, any future company worth its salt will want to know if you did a good job of what ever you did. They will do this using contacts, linked in, judging the end result and interview questions. Spend your energy on presenting your experience well in your cv and preparing for the interview.

 

Thanks for all your input. I've decided to go ahead anyway with legal action. It's such a shame that this couldn't have been settled amicably, but I guess if I was dealing with mature adults, I wouldn't be in this position in the first place.

 

Legal Action

It's the companies responsiblity to prove they did nothing wrong .. you stand a chance if you have even a few emails. I say see where it goes, especially if you can afford a lawyer.

 

I feel like enough people in this industry have experience where they've gone uncredited/under credited enough that anyone who's been doing this for a while realize the situation.

I've been through that a lot. And in general, it's more about proving your experience than what's in a text file that's played at the end of the game.

 

From an interview point of view I'm not relying on mobygames. I don't even check it. Before we hire we've had formal references, "asked around" and questioned the person deeply about his roll in recent projects. It's very hard to lie about how senior you were on a project, and what your impact was.