“A rising tide raised all boats”: The perception of Finnish working culture from international talents in the game industry
Qiao, Lu (2024)
2024
Master's Programme in Game Studies
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-12-08
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2024112910634
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2024112910634
Tiivistelmä
The study orientates around international game talents’ perception of working culture in the Finnish game industry and the available support for them to facilitate their career advance and relocation in Finland. The findings of this thesis end with five (5) themes around the research questions: (1) Definitely not because it’s the happiest country in the world; (2) Embracing the differences in the work life of Finland; (3) Is crunch really a thing in the Finnish game industry?; (4) “I have to find my people”; (5) Accessibility of support services in and out the game community.
The findings show multiple benefits that Finland as a Nordic welfare state could offer add extra attractiveness to international game makers despite lower salaries offered by the local game companies and the different Finnish practice in independent working style, non-competition, personal intellectual property and work-life balance. When it comes to crunch mode (i.e., working overtime during the development of a game), Finland may provide an alternative industrial model indicating how work-life balance in the game industry could be normalized (Cote & Harris, 2021). The participants in this study also emphasize how important it is to enter the circle of trust for career opportunities in the Finnish game industry and the challenge for newcomers to earn the trust. Moreover, they praise the remarkable openness of knowledge sharing within the game development community. In this study, it is noted that relocation support not only regard to bring international game makers to Finland, but also introduce the Finnish work ethic to newcomers and help them build their social and professional networks here.
The findings show multiple benefits that Finland as a Nordic welfare state could offer add extra attractiveness to international game makers despite lower salaries offered by the local game companies and the different Finnish practice in independent working style, non-competition, personal intellectual property and work-life balance. When it comes to crunch mode (i.e., working overtime during the development of a game), Finland may provide an alternative industrial model indicating how work-life balance in the game industry could be normalized (Cote & Harris, 2021). The participants in this study also emphasize how important it is to enter the circle of trust for career opportunities in the Finnish game industry and the challenge for newcomers to earn the trust. Moreover, they praise the remarkable openness of knowledge sharing within the game development community. In this study, it is noted that relocation support not only regard to bring international game makers to Finland, but also introduce the Finnish work ethic to newcomers and help them build their social and professional networks here.