Ageism In The Game Industry

ageism discrimination game-industry hiring consulting diversity workplace-culture

Abstract

Problem: Is age-based discrimination a real and growing issue in the game industry, and how does it manifest?

Approach: Tim Cain draws on 40 years of personal experience across Interplay, Carbine, Obsidian, and consulting work, sharing specific incidents of ageism he's witnessed and experienced — from game dev forums to job interviews.

Findings: Ageism in games has shifted from subtle to overt over the past decade. It often serves as an "argument of last resort" when someone can't articulate a real objection to an idea. Meanwhile, in consulting, experience is actively sought out and valued. Ageism remains a socially acceptable form of discrimination even as other forms are increasingly recognized and challenged.

Key insight: Ageism functions as the last publicly acceptable discrimination — people who would never dismiss ideas based on race, gender, or orientation feel comfortable dismissing them because the person suggesting them is "old."

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho-g8KVx9hU

1. The Catalyst

Tim opens the video wearing the very first industry shirt he ever received — a Pegasus Software shirt from 40 years ago — to underscore the length of his career. He was prompted to discuss ageism after seeing someone on a game development forum write "that's why I don't like making games with old people" to dismiss a perfectly valid feature suggestion. The person had no substantive critique of the feature itself; the only objection was that it had been used in games for 20 years.

2. The "Argument of Last Resort"

Tim identifies a clear pattern: ageist arguments almost always appear when someone has no real counterpoint. They can't explain why their idea is better, so they attack the person instead of the idea. He draws a direct parallel to other forms of discrimination — nobody would say "this is why I don't like working with women" or "this is why I don't like working with [any other group]" — but saying "I don't like working with old people" is somehow treated as acceptable.

2.1. The Obsidian Incident

At Obsidian, a coworker once called Tim a "boomer." He notes he's actually Gen X ("elder Gen X," as he puts it), and the person sitting next to him was the actual boomer. More importantly, the coworker who used the label would have been furious if Tim had called them a "Zoomer." The double standard was clear — and again, the comment was triggered not by any real disagreement, but by Tim suggesting a feature the other person considered "old school."

3. Ageism in Hiring

When Tim was job hunting between Carbine and Obsidian, he encountered ageism in politely masked forms during interviews:

  • "You have way more experience than what we're looking for" — said to him when applying for senior roles, which is the terminal career level for non-managers. A friend later translated: "He was telling you you were old."
  • Lunch interview comments — At one group interview lunch, someone said "you're as old as my dad" and another said "your career is older than me." Tim laughed it off, but later wondered whether those reactions influenced hiring decisions.

He notes that 10 years ago these signals were subtle enough that he questioned whether he was imagining them. Now they've become overt.

4. Consulting: The Opposite Experience

Since transitioning to design consulting, Tim has found the opposite dynamic. Clients actively seek him out because of his experience. They come with specific problems — "we have this feature and can't decide between approaches" — and want his perspective from having shipped similar features across many games.

His typical response isn't to dictate a solution but to lay out three options with their respective pros and cons, then let the team decide what trade-offs suit their game. This collaborative model demonstrates that experience is genuinely valuable when people are open to it.

5. The Value of Diverse Backgrounds

Tim connects the ageism discussion to his broader philosophy on diversity in development teams. He recalls a level designer who was an avid hiker — her outdoor experience led to genuinely novel ideas about elevation changes, terrain variety, and how physical space feels to traverse. Similarly, he remembers Interplay hiring someone from tabletop games whom a colleague dismissed as "old school," when in fact there was enormous creative transfer potential between tabletop and digital design.

The point: dismissing someone's background — whether it's their age, their prior industry, or their hobbies — means losing access to perspectives you wouldn't generate on your own.

6. The Last Acceptable Discrimination

Tim's central thesis is that ageism has become the last socially permitted form of bigotry. As discrimination based on race, gender, and orientation becomes increasingly unacceptable (and illegal), some people — particularly younger developers — redirect their need for an "other" toward older colleagues. He speculates that in 10-20 years, people may look back at casual ageism the way we now look back at other forms of workplace discrimination.

7. Debunking "Old People" Stereotypes

Tim pushes back on common assumptions about aging:

  • "Older people don't appreciate new things" — Tim discovered witch house music and the artist Lorn through algorithmic recommendations. Cultural curiosity doesn't expire.
  • "Older people have outdated values" — He's met plenty of older liberals and younger conservatives. Political and social attitudes don't map neatly onto age.
  • Health decline is gradual — It's not a cliff; it's a hike where the soreness lasts a week instead of a day.

The stereotypes used to justify ageism simply don't hold up to scrutiny.

8. References