IGDA's MacLean: Missing Warhammer Credits 'Disrespectful'

The International Game Developers Association says it's "disrespectful" for Mythic Entertainment to credit only current staff members for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. In a new memo to its constituency, the IGDA, a trade association representing game developers, also says Electronic Arts studio Mythic's decision "misleads both consumers and game industry peers," and cited a survey by its Writers Special Interest Group that found 35 percent of respondents "don't ever" or "only sometimes" receive official credit for their work. "The lack of accurate, fair, and consistent credit standards in the industry poses a serious problem for every game developer," says IGDA chairperson Jennifer MacLean of 38 studios. "By refusing to acknowledge their contributions, studio management limits the professional recognition and opportunity for development that every contributor deserves." MacLean says that companies often claim that providing complete credits exposes their staff to unsolicited recruiters or encourages them to leave a project early -- and called these reasons "arbitrary, unfair and in some cases even vindictive... they simply don't hold up." The IGDA has been advocating for the adoption of universal credit standards in the industry, developing a Credit Standards Committee in late 2007 in response to news broken by Gamasutra that a number of Rockstar Vienna employees were missing from the credits of Manhunt 2. The IGDA has created draft guidelines and a beta proposal for the standard. Urges MacLean, "Provide comments, share the proposal with colleagues and management, and join me in calling for the industry-wide adoption of crediting policies that recognize the efforts and accomplishments of all people who contributed to a game."