At Mountaintop Studios we had a specific credits policy outlining our approach to credits, objective criteria for who should be credited, etc. Specifying that the credits should be available without having to play the game is important making sure credits are available for everyone. Palworlds approach was excellent too since it could be accessible without even downloading the game while still being available in the game.
The question about "Who are the credits for?" is a great one! I do wonder how much of this is a cultural vs generational difference, if at all? So, I know more so in Japan than the US (definitely up until let's say 10 or so years ago) it was very much a "don't put your hand up, don't draw attention to yourself, don't 'claim credit', it's the company that gets the glory" ethos. Vs the "Western exceptionalism ethos" where you give credit where credit is due, or claim it for yourself (rightly or wrongly). So credits in movies, on music albums, on western games (or made by western game companies), etc., may be more prevalent/obvious. And now, maybe, that tide is turning a bit where it's "hey, you worked on this, you should get public/game acknowledgement/ credit".
At Mountaintop Studios we had a specific credits policy outlining our approach to credits, objective criteria for who should be credited, etc. Specifying that the credits should be available without having to play the game is important making sure credits are available for everyone. Palworlds approach was excellent too since it could be accessible without even downloading the game while still being available in the game.
I never knew I would be so engrossed about the details of credit placements in games, thank you Stephen!
The question about "Who are the credits for?" is a great one! I do wonder how much of this is a cultural vs generational difference, if at all? So, I know more so in Japan than the US (definitely up until let's say 10 or so years ago) it was very much a "don't put your hand up, don't draw attention to yourself, don't 'claim credit', it's the company that gets the glory" ethos. Vs the "Western exceptionalism ethos" where you give credit where credit is due, or claim it for yourself (rightly or wrongly). So credits in movies, on music albums, on western games (or made by western game companies), etc., may be more prevalent/obvious. And now, maybe, that tide is turning a bit where it's "hey, you worked on this, you should get public/game acknowledgement/ credit".
Fascinating. I wonder how many of the people in the credits get pitched new game ideas ...
Palworld mobile