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Darling Brothers, UK Indie Game Devs, Upgraded to CBE
scriptedfun writes "The BBC reports that David and Richard Darling, the brother tandem who founded Codemasters back in the mid-'80s from their bedroom, were recently made Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for their 'services to the computer games industry.' Their story is definitely inspiring for modern-day independent game developers." Naming such honorees annually is one of the perks of being Queen.
The only game I can remember from them is Vampire, which has a MSX version (and looked awful like any game ported from Spectrum).
Spectrum users probably know more games from them.
Indeed, I originally intended to work in the gaming industry when I graduated from uni, but was warned off from it by a lecturer who'd spent some time in the real world before taking up his lectureship. His reasoning was that I'd end up in cubicle land writing small bits of games over which I had no say, and from what I have since learned, he was spot on.
It seems the industry is getting worse in recent years, but its not uniform. There are some companies where the staff seem to be well paid and have fun, but those tend to be smaller companies, and companies that have avoided the corporate mire.
Even then I wonder if there isn't a hierarchy where the visible coders have a great time and good pay, and beneath them lie unknown coders with the aforementioned lack of say and low pay.
A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
[Slashdot poster #1] "What could be possibly be more pathetic than _____?"
[Slashdot poster #2] "Apart from whining about it on Slashdot, you mean?"
Where _____ could be any of:
(i) Apathy to gradual loss of freedom;
(ii) RIAA's abuse of the courts;
(iii) Bribery of political officials;
(iv)
(v) Profit!
Oh look lol a meme lol, it's witty because it lacks originality.
If there's one thing many nerds are sorely lacking, it's.. well.. any sort of ability outside their narrow field of vision. Including the ability to analyse the wider impact of their decisions, which is why they're the grunts and not the management. And why, despite all their grandstanding, they're fairly easy to keep in check, and they have a rather shocking respect for power structure and authority. They can be as sycophantic as any petty bureaucrat in local government, as willing to kneel for that little morsel of favour.
Which is why I've been (-1, Troll)'d - I veered off the party line.
That would be interesting just to see the two in the same room together. I don't think they've spoken for over 20 years...
THE HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS - CC Licensed Sci-Fi Novel
I admit I've never been huge on names, but I don't remember many of the rest of the folks knowing the names of the developers very well.
The names that got remembered, at least in the C64 scene, were the musicians.