The controversy last week surrounding Rockstar's Manhunt 2 didn't only deal with the game's violent content. According to Jurie Horneman, a former employee of Rockstar Vienna who worked on the game prior to Take-Two closing the studio, over 55 people from Rockstar Vienna were completely missing from the game's closing credits.

Horneman's blog lists the people who should have been credited on the game. "To the best of my knowledge, apart from the people who briefly went to Rockstar London to assist with development there, nobody from Rockstar Vienna is mentioned in the credits of Manhunt 2," he said.

With Manhunt 2 once again putting a focus on the important issue of game credits, Jason Della Rocca, Executive Director for the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) took the opportunity to remind the industry that this kind of situation is exactly why crediting standards are needed.

"Accurate, complete, and fair credits are essential to ongoing employment, professional development, and artistic fulfillment for all developers. Further, having accurate credits helps employers make informed hiring decisions," he said in a brief statement. "The IGDA is pushing for an industry-wide adoption of professional standards in game credits. To achieve this, the IGDA has a Credit Standards Committee with the goal of establishing generally accepted guidelines that all studios and publishers can use."

An initial version of the IGDA Credit Standards Guide was posted this September for feedback from IGDA members. The goal of the guide is to "ensure accuracy and fairness in the crediting process, even for developers who no longer work for the company when a title ships."

The issue of game developer recognition is one that's been simmering for years. It's sure to get more attention in the near future, as John Feil, the chair of the Credit Standards Committee, will be hosting a roundtable session during the 2008 Game Developers Conference. We asked Della Rocca a few quick questions after receiving his statement today.

GameDaily BIZ: Do you feel this credits problem is a symptom of a larger problem with the attitude of publishers towards developers? Are publishers grabbing the spotlight away from the actual game designers?

Jason Della Rocca: Overall, credits are broken in the game industry. This mainly comes down to a lack of standard process, with each studio taking a different approach. Even teams within the same studio often handle credits differently. Some of this is due to the fact that everyone is so busy and things are so chaotic during the final stages of development that inaccuracies creep in, people are forgotten, etc.

As the industry matures and game development becomes more and more established as a profession, the need for standardized credits will become a given.

While some publishers may be viewed as hoarding brand attention, most simply don't give the topic the attention it deserves. To be fair, this is not just a developer thing: All stakeholders benefit from a standardized crediting process. In fact, several of the large publishers and publisher-owned studios have been involved in the IGDA's work.

BIZ: As opposed to the film industry where directors are often known by name by moviegoers, the average gamer is not familiar with game designers, with the exception of perhaps Miyamoto or Will Wright. What can/should the game industry do to change this?

JDR: The question of game industry "celebrities" is an interesting one. It makes you wonder who the celebrities would be. How would they become famous? Who would care? What are the advantages/disadvantages, etc?

Though, that is different from ensuring that EVERYONE that has contributed to a project receives fair and accurate credit for their efforts. From top to bottom, everyone deserves their credit - not just the "stars."

BIZ: Do you think the back of game boxes should have more game credits, especially for the developer?

JDR: Any exposure is good exposure, sure. Though, heavy crediting on the back of the box may be a bit of a stretch. In fact, many games don't even include credits in the paper manual, opting for purely in-game credits. At the very least, the development studio should have their logo on the box - not just the publisher. Also, if the game's development was led by a particularly noteworthy designer, then sure, it would be nice to see their name on the box. In that case, the designer is a brand unto themselves that the publisher leverages to bump up the cachet of the title. That's a pretty common marketing tactic, which is somewhat separate from the credit standards discussion.