Devs Call For More Diversity In Game Content

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) on Tuesday released the results of a Industry Trends report that sheds new light on various a number of hot-button topics. The results are based on the responses from more than 2,200 industry developers.

Among the findings, all of which you can see summarized below, are new findings regarding the elements developers deem most important for future industry growth.

74 percent of developers said the "advancement of game design" was a "very important" issue for the video game industry's growth. Meanwhile, the second-most important issue for industry growth is "more diversity in game content" at 65 percent. Coming in at third was the "advancement of storytelling" with 60 percent ranking that as most important.

At the same time, the need for "better monetization of games" ranked last with just 29 percent of surveyed developers saying that was a "very important" issue for industry growth.

"[Monetization] gets a lot of focus, even at conferences like this we get people who are very strongly focused on monetization," IGDA executive director Kate Edwards told GameSpot. "And we get it. It's a business, we understand why that it's important. But at the same time, it's very encouraging to see most developers are saying, 'Well, hey, core game design; the creation of the game, what the game is, how it works, is still really important."

"That was great. I loved seeing that, because that basically means that developers are still focused on what they do, which is design great games and they want to stay focused on it."

The full IGDA Industry Trends report also reveals that many developers view PC as being important for future industry growth, even if those companies aren't focused on supporting that platform. In addition, the study outlines the concerns some developers have for future job opportunities and more.

Check out the full IGDA Industry Trends report summary below. GameSpot also spoke with Edwards about this study and more. Check back later for lots more from our conversation.

Most/Least Important Platforms in the Next 5 Years

• 75% of respondents felt that Steam development is “very important” for the future of the industry.
• However, Steam showed the greatest disparity between where respondents believe the future of the industry is, compared to what studios are currently developing for or supporting.
• 25% of respondents view proprietary platforms (e.g., Oculus Rift) as a key growth area, whereas only 6% reported these were currently under consideration.

Importance for Industry Growth

• 74% of developers rank the “advancement of game design” as being a “very important” issue for the industry’s future growth, “more diversity in game content” was at second place with 65% and “advancement of storytelling” was third with 60%.
• The need for “better monetization of games” ranked last with only 29%.

Overall Outlook and Job Opportunities

• 53% of respondents reported a positive 1-year outlook for the game industry. 17.3% considered it “very positive” while 35.6% indicated “somewhat positive.” Only 4% indicated a “very negative” outlook.
• Consider that many reported being satisfied with their own job, 41% of respondents answered either “very negative” or “somewhat negative” when asked about job opportunities in the industry. 35% answered either “very positive” or “somewhat positive” and 24% remained neutral.