[casual_games] Crediting the Departed

[James Terry]

Looks like this got bounced last night for the >10KB limit, so I'll post again


I say give credit for what was done. If an artist only did Concept art, credit them as a Concept Artist. If all a programmer did was UI design, credit them with UI design. If someone sat around and drank coffee all day for the entire project, credit them as Lead Coffee Drinker. 

People doing a trivial amount of work shouldn't be getting the Lead Technical Artist position, and neither should someone who worked their butt off for 80% of the project before they got pulled of be credited as Additional Programming because they weren't there for the whole project.

And there is always a Special Thanks section for those people who inspired the project or brought in meals for those working overnight, etc. People who make a small contribution (or a large contribution in an un-credited roll) are just fine being there. 

If the person was terminated, or died, or left the company, or anything, that shouldn't diminish their role in the project. Give credit where credit is due.

Yes, you probably could have done it without them, but you didn't.

James R. Terry
Yatec Games 
11607 Southfork
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816 
(225) 274-1550 Ext. 104
www.yatecgames.com 

________________________________________
From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Lennard
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 5:46 PM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [casual_games] Crediting the Departed

I disagree.  Somebody who worked like a fiend and was on the project through the whole thing gets a better credit than somebody pulled in to help tie things off.  I've been on both sides of that equation and it feels fair on either side - in fact a credit earned for 4 weeks of crunch that reads the same as 24 months of working on a title demeans the credit.  Additional programming (art, sound, design, etc.) is "correct" IMHO if that is indeed what it was.  Leaving people off who did valid work to the end product or having credit "demoted" by making everybody equal isn't cool.


Lennard Feddersen
CEO, Rusty Axe Games, Inc.
www.RustyAxe.com

Lennard at RustyAxe.com
P. 250-635-7623 F. 1-309-422-2466
P. July & August 518-863-2317
5014 Walsh, Terrace, BC, Canada, V8G-4H2