{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,14]],"date-time":"2026-02-14T04:34:57Z","timestamp":1771043697028,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":63,"publisher":"Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)","issue":"CSCW1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,28]],"date-time":"2020-05-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1590624000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.acm.org\/publications\/policies\/copyright_policy#Background"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Science Foundation","award":["1849718"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1849718"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["dl.acm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,28]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Much HCI research seeks to contribute to technological agendas that lead to more just and participative labor relations and practices, yet that research also raises concerns about forms of exploitation associated with them. In this paper, we explore how U.S. independent [indie] game developers' socio-technological practices inject forms of labor, capital, and production into the game development industry. Our findings highlight that indie game development 1) seeks to promote an alternative to business models of game development that depend on free and immaterial labor; 2) builds offline networks at different scales to develop collectives that can sustain their production; and 3) emphasizes how distributed collaboration, co-creation, and the use of free tools and middleware make game production more widely accessible. The research contributes to HCI research that seeks to explicate and mitigate emerging forms of exploitation enabled by new technologies and processes. Our critical review of indie developers' practices and strategies also extends the current conceptualization of labor and technology in CSCW.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1145\/3392864","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,29]],"date-time":"2020-05-29T16:01:06Z","timestamp":1590768066000},"page":"1-23","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Mitigating Exploitation"],"prefix":"10.1145","volume":"4","author":[{"given":"Guo","family":"Freeman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA"}]},{"given":"Jeffrey","family":"Bardzell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA"}]},{"given":"Shaowen","family":"Bardzell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA"}]},{"given":"Nathan","family":"McNeese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA"}]}],"member":"320","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_1_1_1","unstructured":"New York Film Academy. 2014. The Independent Game Development Boom. https:\/\/www.nyfa.edu\/student-resources\/indie-game-development-interview-with-stephanie-barish\/.  New York Film Academy. 2014. The Independent Game Development Boom. https:\/\/www.nyfa.edu\/student-resources\/indie-game-development-interview-with-stephanie-barish\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_2_1","unstructured":"Abrar Al-Heeti and Andrew Morse. 2019. Uber and Lyft drivers protest for better working conditions. https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/uber-lyft-drivers-stage-protest-for-better-working-conditions\/.  Abrar Al-Heeti and Andrew Morse. 2019. Uber and Lyft drivers protest for better working conditions. https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/uber-lyft-drivers-stage-protest-for-better-working-conditions\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_3_1","unstructured":"American Gaming Association. 2018. National Economic Impact of the U.S. Gaming Industry. https:\/\/www.americangaming.org\/resources\/economic-impact-of-the-u-s-gaming-industry-2\/.  American Gaming Association. 2018. National Economic Impact of the U.S. Gaming Industry. https:\/\/www.americangaming.org\/resources\/economic-impact-of-the-u-s-gaming-industry-2\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2858036.2858509"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_5_1","volume-title":"Austin Toombs, et al.2017. HCI's making agendas. Foundations and Trends\u00aein Human--Computer Interaction, 11, 3","author":"Bardzell Jeffrey","year":"2017","unstructured":"Jeffrey Bardzell , Shaowen Bardzell , Cindy Lin , Silvia Lindtner , Austin Toombs, et al.2017. HCI's making agendas. Foundations and Trends\u00aein Human--Computer Interaction, 11, 3 ( 2017 ), 126--200. Jeffrey Bardzell, Shaowen Bardzell, Cindy Lin, Silvia Lindtner, Austin Toombs, et al.2017. HCI's making agendas. Foundations and Trends\u00aein Human--Computer Interaction, 11, 3 (2017), 126--200."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3025453.3025975"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_7_1","volume-title":"An invitation to reflexive sociology","author":"Bourdieu Pierre","unstructured":"Pierre Bourdieu and Lo\u00efc JD Wacquant . 1992. An invitation to reflexive sociology . University of Chicago press. Pierre Bourdieu and Lo\u00efc JD Wacquant. 1992. An invitation to reflexive sociology. University of Chicago press."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_8_1","unstructured":"Cathy Bussewitz. 2019. Uber Lyft drivers protest in cities across the nation in Europe too. https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/business\/ct-biz-uber-lyft-driver-protest-national-20190508-story.html.  Cathy Bussewitz. 2019. Uber Lyft drivers protest in cities across the nation in Europe too. https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/business\/ct-biz-uber-lyft-driver-protest-national-20190508-story.html."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Garry Crawford and Jason Rutter. 2006. Digital games and cultural studies.Understanding digital games(2006) 148--165.  Garry Crawford and Jason Rutter. 2006. Digital games and cultural studies.Understanding digital games(2006) 148--165.","DOI":"10.4135\/9781446211397.n9"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_10_1","volume-title":"Digital labor","author":"Kosnik Abigail De","unstructured":"Abigail De Kosnik . 2012. Fandom as free labor . In Digital labor . Routledge , 106--119. Abigail De Kosnik. 2012. Fandom as free labor. In Digital labor. Routledge, 106--119."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2858036.2858081"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_12_1","volume-title":"Workshop on Sustainability. What have we learned.","author":"Dillahunt Tawanna","year":"2014","unstructured":"Tawanna Dillahunt . 2014 . Toward a deeper understanding of sustainability within HCI . In Workshop on Sustainability. What have we learned. Tawanna Dillahunt. 2014. Toward a deeper understanding of sustainability within HCI. In Workshop on Sustainability. What have we learned."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1620545.1620583"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2556288.2557123"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2702123.2702189"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3025453.3025633"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2901790.2901861"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3290605.3300372"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Peter Drucker. 2014.Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.  Peter Drucker. 2014.Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315747453"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4135\/9781848607927.n11"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2858036.2858343"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_22_1","unstructured":"Peter Farago. 2012. Indie Game Makers Dominate iOS and Android. https:\/\/www.flurry.com\/blog\/post\/113378049600\/indie-game-makers-dominate-ios-and-android.  Peter Farago. 2012. Indie Game Makers Dominate iOS and Android. https:\/\/www.flurry.com\/blog\/post\/113378049600\/indie-game-makers-dominate-ios-and-android."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jpcu.12198"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_24_1","volume-title":"Open Source","author":"Freeman Guo","year":"2019","unstructured":"Guo Freeman , Jeffrey Bardzell , and Shaowen Bardzell . 2019. Open Source , Open Vision : The Maker Pro Network and the Broadening of Participation in Setting Taiwan's IT Vision Agenda.Human--Computer Interaction( 2019 ), 1--35. Guo Freeman, Jeffrey Bardzell, and Shaowen Bardzell. 2019. Open Source, Open Vision: The Maker Pro Network and the Broadening of Participation in Setting Taiwan's IT Vision Agenda.Human--Computer Interaction(2019), 1--35."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3173574.3173899"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_26_1","volume-title":"Early engagement and new technologies: Opening up the laboratory","author":"Friedman Batya","unstructured":"Batya Friedman , Peter H Kahn , Alan Borning , and Alina Huldtgren . 2013. Value sensitive design and information systems . In Early engagement and new technologies: Opening up the laboratory . Springer , 55--95. Batya Friedman, Peter H Kahn, Alan Borning, and Alina Huldtgren. 2013. Value sensitive design and information systems. In Early engagement and new technologies: Opening up the laboratory. Springer, 55--95."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2858036.2858476"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/240080.240259"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_29_1","first-page":"4","article-title":"Labor is More Than Work: Using labor analysis to study use situations and jobs","volume":"8","author":"Greenbaum Joan","year":"1996","unstructured":"Joan Greenbaum . 1996 . Labor is More Than Work: Using labor analysis to study use situations and jobs . Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems 8 , 2 (1996), 4 . Joan Greenbaum. 1996. Labor is More Than Work: Using labor analysis to study use situations and jobs. Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems 8, 2 (1996), 4.","journal-title":"Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2556288.2557367"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10447310701702717"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2470654.2470742"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2858036.2858592"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1357054.1357127"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2047196.2047202"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3022198.3026312"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_37_1","volume-title":"Rigor in qualitative research: The assessment of trustworthiness. American journal of occupational therapy, 45, 3","author":"Krefting Laura","year":"1991","unstructured":"Laura Krefting . 1991. Rigor in qualitative research: The assessment of trustworthiness. American journal of occupational therapy, 45, 3 ( 1991 ), 214--222. Laura Krefting. 1991. Rigor in qualitative research: The assessment of trustworthiness. American journal of occupational therapy, 45, 3 (1991), 214--222."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_38_1","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing Companion. ACM, 491--497","author":"Lampinen Airi","year":"2016","unstructured":"Airi Lampinen , Victoria Bellotti , Coye Cheshire , and Mary Gray . 2016 . CSCW and the Sharing Economy: The Future of Platforms as Sites of Work Collaboration and Trust . In Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing Companion. ACM, 491--497 . Airi Lampinen, Victoria Bellotti, Coye Cheshire, and Mary Gray. 2016. CSCW and the Sharing Economy: The Future of Platforms as Sites of Work Collaboration and Trust. In Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing Companion. ACM, 491--497."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_39_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2858036.2858092"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_40_1","volume-title":"Immaterial labor. Radical thought in Italy: A potential politics 1996","author":"Lazzarato Maurizio","year":"1996","unstructured":"Maurizio Lazzarato . 1996. Immaterial labor. Radical thought in Italy: A potential politics 1996 ( 1996 ), 133--47. Maurizio Lazzarato. 1996. Immaterial labor. Radical thought in Italy: A potential politics 1996 (1996), 133--47."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1518701.1518875"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_42_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2858036.2858506"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_43_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2556288.2557132"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_44_1","volume-title":"Examining Indie's Independence: The meaning of \"Indie\" Games, the politics of production, and main stream cooptation. Loading...7, 11","author":"Lipkin Nadav","year":"2013","unstructured":"Nadav Lipkin . 2013. Examining Indie's Independence: The meaning of \"Indie\" Games, the politics of production, and main stream cooptation. Loading...7, 11 ( 2013 ). Nadav Lipkin. 2013. Examining Indie's Independence: The meaning of \"Indie\" Games, the politics of production, and main stream cooptation. Loading...7, 11 (2013)."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_45_1","volume-title":"Examining Indie's Independence: The meaning of \"Indie\" Games, the politics of production, and mainstream cooptation. Loading...7, 11","author":"Lipkin Nadav","year":"2013","unstructured":"Nadav Lipkin . 2013. Examining Indie's Independence: The meaning of \"Indie\" Games, the politics of production, and mainstream cooptation. Loading...7, 11 ( 2013 ). Nadav Lipkin. 2013. Examining Indie's Independence: The meaning of \"Indie\" Games, the politics of production, and mainstream cooptation. Loading...7, 11 (2013)."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_46_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2998181.2998269"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_47_1","volume-title":"The economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844 and the Communist manifesto","author":"Marx Karl","unstructured":"Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels . 2009. The economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844 and the Communist manifesto . Prometheus Books . Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. 2009. The economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844 and the Communist manifesto. Prometheus Books."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_48_1","volume-title":"Gaming Globally","author":"McCrea Christian","unstructured":"Christian McCrea . 2013. Australian Video Games: The Collapse and Reconstruction of an Industry . In Gaming Globally . Springer , 203--207. Christian McCrea. 2013. Australian Video Games: The Collapse and Reconstruction of an Industry. In Gaming Globally. Springer, 203--207."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_49_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3359174"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_50_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2702123.2702514"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_51_1","unstructured":"John Stuart Mill. 1904.Principles of political economy. Vol. 12. Longdon: Longmans.  John Stuart Mill. 1904.Principles of political economy. Vol. 12. Longdon: Longmans."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_52_1","unstructured":"Chris Morran. 2012. The Voters Have Spoken: EA Is Your Worst Company In America For 2012! https:\/\/consumerist.com\/2012\/04\/congratulations-ea-you-are-the-worst-company-in-america-for-2012.html.  Chris Morran. 2012. The Voters Have Spoken: EA Is Your Worst Company In America For 2012! https:\/\/consumerist.com\/2012\/04\/congratulations-ea-you-are-the-worst-company-in-america-for-2012.html."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_53_1","volume-title":"Feminist hacking\/making: Exploring new gender horizons of possibility. introduction to special issue \"feminism and (un) hacking.\" Journal of Peer Production(","author":"Nguyen Lily","year":"2016","unstructured":"Lily Nguyen , Sophie Toupin , and Shaowen Bardzell . 2016. Feminist hacking\/making: Exploring new gender horizons of possibility. introduction to special issue \"feminism and (un) hacking.\" Journal of Peer Production( 2016 ). Lily Nguyen, Sophie Toupin, and Shaowen Bardzell. 2016. Feminist hacking\/making: Exploring new gender horizons of possibility. introduction to special issue \"feminism and (un) hacking.\" Journal of Peer Production( 2016)."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_54_1","unstructured":"Casey O'Donnell. 2012. The North American game industry. The video game industry: Formation present state and future(2012) 99--115.  Casey O'Donnell. 2012. The North American game industry. The video game industry: Formation present state and future(2012) 99--115."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_55_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2818048.2820026"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_56_1","volume-title":"The concept of 'work' in CSCW. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)20, 4--5","author":"Schmidt Kjeld","year":"2011","unstructured":"Kjeld Schmidt . 2011. The concept of 'work' in CSCW. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)20, 4--5 ( 2011 ),341--401. Kjeld Schmidt. 2011. The concept of 'work' in CSCW. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)20, 4--5 (2011),341--401."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_57_1","unstructured":"Bart Simon. 2013. Indie Eh? Some Kind of Game Studies. Loading...7 11 (2013).  Bart Simon. 2013. Indie Eh? Some Kind of Game Studies. Loading...7 11 (2013)."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_58_1","unstructured":"James P Spradley. 2016.Participant observation. Waveland Press.  James P Spradley. 2016.Participant observation. Waveland Press."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_59_1","unstructured":"Keith Stuart. 2012. Us and the Game Industry -- how indie games are the new counter-culture. https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/gamesblog\/2012\/mar\/12\/us-and-the-game-industry-feature.  Keith Stuart. 2012. Us and the Game Industry -- how indie games are the new counter-culture. https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/gamesblog\/2012\/mar\/12\/us-and-the-game-industry-feature."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_60_1","volume-title":"Free labor: Producing culture for the digital economy.Social text18, 2","author":"Terranova Tiziana","year":"2000","unstructured":"Tiziana Terranova . 2000. Free labor: Producing culture for the digital economy.Social text18, 2 ( 2000 ), 33--58. Tiziana Terranova. 2000. Free labor: Producing culture for the digital economy.Social text18, 2 (2000), 33--58."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_61_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3290605.3300390"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_62_1","volume-title":"International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS).","author":"Young Amber","year":"2013","unstructured":"Amber Young , Sheila Miranda , and Jama Denae Summers . 2013 . Emotional labor in the moderation of online communities . In International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS). Amber Young, Sheila Miranda, and Jama Denae Summers. 2013. Emotional labor in the moderation of online communities. In International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS)."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_63_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1509\/jmr.15.0204"}],"container-title":["Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/3392864","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1145\/3392864","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]],"date-time":"2025-06-17T22:41:16Z","timestamp":1750200076000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/3392864"}},"subtitle":["Indie Game Developers' Reconfigurations of Labor in Technology"],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,28]]},"references-count":63,"journal-issue":{"issue":"CSCW1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,28]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1145\/3392864"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3392864","relation":{},"ISSN":["2573-0142"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2573-0142","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,28]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2020-05-29","order":2,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}