Video game performers strike: MSU experts can comment

Newswise — EAST LANSING, Mich. – Video game performers in Hollywood voted to go on strike against gaming companies on Thursday, putting voice acting, motion-capture work, stunts and more that appear in video games to a halt.

These performers are members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, whose tandem joint strike with the Writers Guild of America, or WGA, against major Hollywood studios made headlines in 2023.

Like the Hollywood actors and writers last year, video game performers’ main concern is regulation of generative artificial intelligence, or AI. Without proper guardrails in place, gaming companies can create replicas of a performers’ voice or digital likeness without consent and compensation.

Michigan State University experts are available to comment on what this strike means for the video game industry going forward. MSU is home to a top-ten ranked program nationally in video and computer game design, according to the Princeton Review.

Amanda Cote is an associate professor and director of the Serious Games Graduate Certificate in the MSU Department of Media and Information. She researches the industry and culture of games, with an emphasis on game development and labor; gender, identity and representation; and collegiate esports.

Contact: [email protected]

“Like many entertainment industries, work in the video game industry is often precarious and uncertain for developers and performers. Because of this, interest in unionization has been rising across the industry, from individual teams or studios to broader collectives like Game Workers Unite. Longstanding unions like SAG-AFTRA, which has negotiated video game performer contracts for many years, are thus part of a bigger conversation about the role of collective bargaining in video game production.

“Generative AI is a concern for many creative workers and was at the heart of recent negotiations by the Writers Guild of America as well as by SAG-AFTRA’s TV and film actors. Both groups won significant protections for their members, ensuring that performers’ likenesses would not be used in AI creations unless they gave explicit permission and received payment. Video game performers are asking for the same protections, especially as the behind-the-scenes nature of voice and motion capture performances potentially increases the risk of AI interference compared to live action performances. Some video games have already been made with AI assistance, and workers want future uses of the technology to be clear, regulated and compensated.”

Casey O’Donnell, associate professor in the MSU Department of Media and Information, studies the creative collaborative work of video game design and development. He is the author of “Developer’s Dilemma,” a book from MIT Press that examines work, the organization of work and the market forces that shape (and are shaped by) media industries through the lens of game development.

Contact: [email protected]

“The video game performers’ strike is an example of how unions support workers at a time when the wealth differential between those performing the labor of creative work and the organizations that reap the most financial benefits from that work continues to grow. This is also an example of how the long history of union power in the film and television industries dwarfs those of the game industry.

“The video game industry’s roots lie much more in the tech industry where unionization efforts have long been difficult and slow. This is just one example of the huge issue that generative AI poses to human work practices and the future of work globally. I don’t think there is a single answer to this dilemma because part of it is rooted in an unsustainable future for workers in the context of global capitalism.”

Ryan Thompson is an assistant professor in the MSU Department of Media and Information, where he serves as the resident musicologist for the game development program, teaching and researching about a variety of issues related to sonic activity in video games.

Contact: [email protected]

“Bringing a modern video game character to life is a team-based affair, and everyone involved deserves to be compensated fairly and treated like a vital part of the development process. This includes the actors investing themselves in discovering an iconic character’s unique voice. When someone brings a character to life, they are not cast simply because their voice sounds right for the role; rather, they’re chosen because they are able to cocreate an emotional depth of character meaningful to the individual game (and game character’s) narrative needs and overall structure.

“Artificial intelligence serves only to replicate what has already been achieved on this front, and removing the jointly creative process between actors, writers and directors will be a detriment to the depth of storytelling game creators strive to achieve.”

Anjana Susarla, Omura-Saxena Professor in Responsible AI in the MSU Broad College of Business, is an expert in how artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming society and the ethical dilemmas AI poses.

Contact: [email protected]

“With new generative AI models, the fear is that creative content professionals may see some aspects of their job automated using AI. The question for the future is how the widespread use of AI in the entertainment industry will shift the balance in power between the studios and creative industries. While some companies have built new business models that benefit from AI, the question is also how the economic value from newer models of content production is distributed between the different entities involved (studios, performers, etc.).”

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