We enjoy games and we study games, but who are the people behind it that make this happen, and to what extent did they go to make the video game as successful as it has become. In Nick Dyer-Witheford and Greig de Peuter’s essay, “EA Spouse”, they discuss the four main labor conditions within the game industry; enjoyment, exclusion, exploitation, exodus. The article dives into these stages sequentially. Enjoyment stems from the creative nature of working in a game development company as it entails flexibility and less hierarchy and bureaucracy. Exclusion notes how there is gender inequality in the workplace and how prejudice towards females prevents ideas from being implemented in game development, not to mention the creation of a “total ‘old boys’ club” culture.
Exploitation is where the EA Spouse voices her concerns. Big corporations such as EA have created an unhealthy work-like balance by demanding employees to perform overtime, especially during crunch time, without pay and using coercive power (threatening their jobs) to ensure delivery of work. Many employees understand the demand for crunch time and may tolerate it initially, however, it can reach extremely exhilarating levels which directly impacts both physical and mental health of employees. The article ends with exodus, which discusses actions taken by employees in fighting their employer. One example is a class-action lawsuit against EA right when EA Spouse released the letter, though many employees talk about unionizing. While there are benefits in creating a union, would it create a positive change? Some believe it is not likely and change will occur gradually.
The game industry is not the first one to suffer from exhausting work weeks and sometimes government intervention may be needed to prevent big corporations from exploiting their workers to the levels seen in the game industry. After all, games are a work of creativity as the companies’ “machinery is the mind,” and if the machinery runs out or stops working altogether (unionizing, protesting, etc.) the company will quickly fall into bankruptcy. There is hope for a radical change in said companies with work-life balance as part of the culture and mission.
Game Studies 
So do you personally believe that for the game industry to flourish that there should be more gender equality? I feel that a woman’s input is quite pivotal in decision making scenarios. I find it disturbing the prejudice levels against females in the industry about implementing certain concerns and ideas that are very well helpful.
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In my opinion, I think gender equality can make any situation/company/project flourish. In the gaming industry, it tends to be predominately male, and I think if there is more female input in the process of creating games, then games would be better represented. Regardless females will continue to play games, but this ongoing topic of how to better represent women in games can and should be answered by women. When it comes to “EA spouse”, I don’t necessarily think the solution to the issue is to add female opinions. Could it help? Maybe. However, I think it all correlates to an extent, and maybe by creating a gender-equal workspace, certain ideals might change or evolve over time, and could potentially help the issue of over-worked workers.
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