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153-788: Microids (formerly Microïds ) is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris . Founded in 1985 by Elliot Grassiano, it attained early success with games published through Loriciel in France and other partners (including Activision and Broderbund ) in international markets. Through expanding its staff and development teams, Microïds generated funds to expand from just development to publishing and distribution and opening international offices. The company merged with MC2 in 2003 to create MC2-Microïds, whereafter it acquired publishers Wanadoo Edition and Cryo Interactive . Grassiano left MC2-Microïds in 2005; under new management, MC2-Microïds

306-593: A database , Voice over IP , or add-in interface software; this is also known as middleware . Examples of this include SpeedTree and Havoc . Independents are software developers which are not owned by (or dependent on) a single publisher. Some of these developers self-publish their games, relying on the Internet and word of mouth for publicity. Without the large marketing budgets of mainstream publishers, their products may receive less recognition than those of larger publishers such as Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. With

459-625: A division of Anuman. Alongside the acquisition, Olivier left the company. A sub-label for non-adventure games, Microïds Games for All, was launched the same year. In 2013, Grassiano joined Anuman and became the vice-president for Microïds. Additionally, an indie game label, Microïds Indie, was opened in September 2016. In July 2019, the Microïds label name was simplified to "Microids". That October, Microids announced that Anuman would be renamed "Microids", with Anuman CEO Stéphane Longeard becoming

612-506: A topographic point of view, superimposed and replaced by the Roman one. The Roman city was then gradually superimposed and replaced by the medieval one. The urban center of Milan has therefore grown constantly and rapidly, until modern times, around the first Celtic nucleus. The original Celtic toponym Medhelanon then changed, as evidenced by a graffiti in Celtic language present on a section of

765-762: A Council ( Consiglio ) and a President, elected contextually to the city Mayor. The urban organisation is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114), the Municipal Statute and several laws, notably the Legislative Decree 267/2000 or Unified Text on Local Administration ( Testo Unico degli Enti Locali ). After the 2016 administrative reform, the Borough Councils have the power to advise the Mayor with nonbinding opinions on

918-518: A French software company, with the amalgam assuming the name MC2-Microïds. In September that year, it acquired Wanadoo Edition, the games division of Wanadoo , which itself had been created through a September 2000 merger between Index+ and France Telecom Multimedia in exchange, Wanadoo received a 12% stake in MC2-Microïds. In 2004, MC2-Microïds proceeded to close Microïds UK, while Microïds Italia spun off as Blue Label Entertainment. Microïds Canada

1071-534: A Japanese garden and a public library. The Montanelli gardens, created in the 18th century, hosts the Natural History Museum of Milan and a planetarium . Slightly away from the city centre, heading east, Forlanini Park is characterised by a large pond and a few preserved shacks which remind of the area's agricultural past. In recent years Milan's authorities pledged to develop its green areas: they planned to create twenty new urban parks and extend

1224-621: A bomb exploded at the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, killing 17 people and injuring 88. In the 1980s, with the international success of Milanese houses (like Armani , Prada , Versace , Moschino and Dolce & Gabbana ), Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The city saw also a marked rise in international tourism , notably from America and Japan, while the stock exchange increased its market capitalisation more than five-fold. This period led

1377-452: A culture of "toxic geek masculinity" within the workplace. In addition, the conditions behind crunch time are far more discriminating towards women as this requires them to commit time exclusively to the company or to more personal activities like raising a family. These factors established conditions within some larger development studios where female developers have found themselves discriminated in workplace hiring and promotion, as well as

1530-536: A donkey backward through the city until getting out. Frederick I Barbarossa brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162. A period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its geographical position. During this time, the city was considered one of the largest European cities. As a result of the independence that the Lombard cities gained in the Peace of Constance in 1183, Milan returned to

1683-571: A first-party company. As a balance to not being able to release their game for other platforms, second-party developers are usually offered higher royalty rates than third-party developers. These studios may have exclusive publishing agreements (or other business relationships) with the platform holder, but maintain independence so that upon completion or termination of their contracts, they are able to continue developing games for other publishers if they choose to. For example, while HAL Laboratory initially began developing games on personal computers like

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1836-410: A fixed period and generally work similar hours as full-time staff members, assisting across all areas of video game development, but as contractors, do not get any benefits such as paid time-off or health care from the employer; they also are typically not credited on games that they work on for this reason. The practice itself is legal and common in other engineering and technology areas, and generally it

1989-403: A game on schedule. The complexity of workflow, reliance on third-party deliverables, and the intangibles of artistic and aesthetic demands in video game creation create difficulty in predicting milestones. The use of crunch time is also seen to be exploitative of the younger male-dominated workforce in video games, who have not had the time to establish a family and who were eager to advance within

2142-406: A game's profits. Current examples of first-party studios include PlayStation Studios for Sony, and Xbox Game Studios for Microsoft Gaming . Second-party developer is a colloquial term often used by gaming enthusiasts and media to describe game studios that take development contracts from platform holders and develop games exclusive to that platform, i.e. a non-owned developer making games for

2295-625: A huge consensus and to pressure the monarchy to forge an alliance with the new French Empire of Napoleon III to defeat Austria and establish a large Italian state in the region. At the Battle of Solferino in 1859 French and Italian troops heavily defeated the Austrians that retreated under the Quadrilateral line . Following this battle, Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into Piedmont-Sardinia, which then proceeded to annex all

2448-423: A large complex of imperial palaces and other services and buildings of which few visible traces remain. Maximian increased the city area to 375 acres by surrounding it with a new, larger stone wall (about 4.5 km long) with many 24-sided towers. The monumental area had twin towers; the one included later in the construction of the convent of San Maurizio Maggiore remains 16.6 m high. It was from Mediolanum that

2601-412: A large spectrum of topics and are responsible for running most local services, such as schools, social services, waste collection, roads, parks, libraries and local commerce; in addition they are supplied with an autonomous funding to finance local activities. Milan is the capital of the eponymous Metropolitan city . According to the last governmental dispositions concerning administrative reorganisation,

2754-671: A major trade and commercial centre, as the capital of the Duchy of Milan , one of the greatest political, artistic and fashion forces in the Renaissance . Having become one of the main centres of the Italian Enlightenment during the early modern period , it then became one of the most active centres during the Restoration , until its entry into the unified Kingdom of Italy . From the 20th century onwards Milan became

2907-463: A much larger site in Rho . The long decline in traditional manufacturing has been overshadowed by a great expansion of publishing, finance, banking, fashion design, information technology, logistics and tourism. The city's decades-long population decline seems to have partially reverted in recent years, as the comune gained about 100,000 new residents since the last census. The successful re-branding of

3060-512: A nearly two-fold increase in population. In the 1950s and 1960s, a strong demand for new residential and commercial areas drove to extreme urban expansion, that has produced some of the major milestones in the city's architectural history, including Gio Ponti 's Pirelli Tower (1956–60), Velasca Tower (1956–58), and the creation of brand new residential satellite towns, as well as huge amounts of low-quality public housings. In recent years, de-industrialization, urban decay and gentrification led to

3213-430: A population estimated at 3,196,825, with a resulting density of 2,029 inhabitants per square kilometre (5,260/sq mi). A larger urban area, comprising parts of the provinces of Milan, Monza e Brianza, Como, Lecco and Varese is 1,891 square kilometres (730 sq mi) wide and has a population of 5.27 million with a density of 2,783 inhabitants per square kilometre (7,210/sq mi). The concentric layout of

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3366-437: A position in a medium to large video game company. An experienced game-development employee, depending on their expertise and experience, averaged roughly $ 73,000 in 2007. Indie game developers may only earn between $ 10,000 and $ 50,000 a year depending on how financially successful their titles are. In addition to being part of the software industry, game development is also within the entertainment industry; most sectors of

3519-592: A roundtable discussion with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), the professional association for developers. Statements made by the IGDA's current executive director Jen MacLean relating to IGDA's activities had been seen by as anti-union, and Game Workers Unite desired to start a conversation to lay out the need for developers to unionize. In the wake of the sudden near-closure of Telltale Games in September 2018,

3672-407: A single publisher; one canceled game may devastate a small developer. Because of this, many small development companies are short-lived. A common exit strategy for a successful video game developer is to sell the company to a publisher, becoming an in-house developer. In-house development teams tend to have more freedom in game design and content than third-party developers. One reason is that since

3825-403: A strong STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) background for women at the secondary education level, but there are issues with tertiary education such as at colleges and universities, where game development programs tend to reflect the male-dominated demographics of the industry, a factor that may lead women with strong STEM backgrounds to choose other career goals. There

3978-514: A suburb of Paris . He was aided in these efforts by Loriciel's founders, Laurent Weill and Marc Bayle, as well as Patrick Le Nestour, another engineer. The name "Microïds" was a portmanteau of "microinformatique" ("micro-informatics") and "androids". Within its first year of operation, the company grew to five people, with Grassiano in the managerial role. Initially, Microïds set out to create consumer robotics projects before shifting its focus solely to video games. The first Microïds-developed game

4131-681: A theatre and an amphitheatre (129.5 x 109.3 m), the third largest in Roman Italy after the Colosseum in Rome and the vast amphitheatre in Capua . A large stone wall encircled the city in Caesar's time, and later was expanded in the late third century AD, by Maximian . Maximian built several gigantic monuments including the large circus (470 × 85 metres) and the thermae or Baths of Hercules ,

4284-697: A unique case where nearly all parts of its labor force, including white-collar jobs such as video game development, may engage with labor unions under the Employment Protection Act often through collective bargaining agreements. Developer DICE had reached its union agreements in 2004. Paradox Interactive became one of the first major publishers to support unionization efforts in June 2020 with its own agreements to cover its Swedish employees within two labor unions Unionen and SACO . In Australia, video game developers could join other unions, but

4437-520: A vast urban renewal of former industrial areas, that have been transformed into modern residential and financial districts, notably Porta Nuova in downtown Milan and FieraMilano in the suburb of Rho . In addition, the old exhibition area is being completely reshaped according to the Citylife regeneration project, featuring residencial areas, museums, an urban park and three skyscrapers designed by international architects, and after whom they are named:

4590-532: Is a city in northern Italy , regional capital of Lombardy , the largest city in Italy by urban population and the second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome . The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has 3.22 million residents. The urban area of Milan is the fourth-most-populous in the EU with 6.17 million inhabitants. According to national sources,

4743-816: Is a covered passage with a glass and cast iron roof, inspired by the Burlington Arcade in London. Several other arcades such as the Galleria del Corso , built between 1923 and 1931, complement it. Another late-19th-century eclectic monument in the city is the Cimitero Monumentale graveyard, built in a Neo-Romanesque style between 1863 and 1866. The tumultuous period of early 20th century brought several, radical innovations in Milanese architecture. Art Nouveau , also known as Liberty in Italy,

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4896-482: Is also a significant gap in racial minorities within the video game industry; a 2019 IGDA survey found only 2% of developers considered themselves to be of African descent and 7% Hispanic, while 81% were Caucasian; in contrast, 2018 estimates from the United States Census estimate the U.S. population to be 13% of African descent and 18% Hispanic. In a 2014 and 2015 survey of job positions and salaries,

5049-486: Is also a well-known centre for artists. Milan features a mid-latitude, four-season humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ), according to the Köppen climate classification . Milan's climate is similar to much of Northern Italy's inland plains, with hot, humid summers and cold, foggy winters. The Alps and Apennine Mountains form a natural barrier that protects the city from the major circulations coming from northern Europe and

5202-646: Is among the least windy cities in Europe. The legislative body of the Italian comuni is the City Council ( Consiglio Comunale ), which in cities with more than one million population is composed by 48 councillors elected every five years with a proportional system, at the same time of the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee ( Giunta Comunale ), composed by 12 assessors , that

5355-625: Is credited to two Celtic peoples , the Bituriges and the Aedui , having as their emblems a ram and a boar; therefore "The city's symbol is a wool-bearing boar, an animal of double form, here with sharp bristles, there with sleek wool." Alciato credits Ambrose for his account. Around 590 BC a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture settled

5508-449: Is expected that this is meant to lead into a full-time position, or otherwise the end of the contract. But more recently, its use in the video game industry has been compared to Microsoft 's past use of " permatemp ", contract workers that were continually renewed and treated for all purposes as employees but received no benefits. While Microsoft has waned from the practice, the video game industry has adapted it more frequently. Around 10% of

5661-530: Is generally absent: over the course of the year typical wind speeds vary from 0 to 14 km/h (0 to 9 mph) (calm to gentle breeze), rarely exceeding 29 km/h (18 mph) (fresh breeze), except during summer thunderstorms when winds can blow strong. In the spring, gale-force windstorms may happen, generated either by Tramontane blowing from the Alps or by Bora -like winds from the north. Due to its geographic location surrounded by mountains on 3 sides, Milan

5814-533: Is generally illegal, companies often target their oldest workers first during layoffs or other periods of reduction. Older developers with experience may find themselves too qualified for the types of positions that other game development companies seek given the salaries and compensations offered. Some of the larger video game developers and publishers have also engaged contract workers through agencies to help add manpower in game development in part to alleviate crunch time from employees. Contractors are brought on for

5967-484: Is more likely to be accompanied by thunderstorms and hail . Springs and autumns are generally pleasant, with temperatures ranging between 10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F); these seasons are characterized by higher rainfall, especially in April and May. Relative humidity typically ranges between 45% (comfortable) and 95% (very humid) throughout the year, rarely dropping below 27% (dry) and reaching as high as 100%. Wind

6120-476: Is nominated and presided over by a directly elected Mayor . The current mayor of Milan is Giuseppe Sala , an independent leading a centre-left alliance led by the Democratic Party . The municipality of Milan is subdivided into nine administrative Borough Councils ( Consigli di Municipio ), down from the former twenty districts before the 1999 administrative reform. Each Borough Council is governed by

6273-485: Is recognisable in Palazzo Castiglioni , built by architect Giuseppe Sommaruga between 1901 and 1903. Other examples include Hotel Corso, Casa Guazzoni with its wrought iron and staircase, and Berri-Meregalli house, the latter built in a traditional Milanese Art Nouveau style combined with elements of neo-Romanesque and Gothic revival architecture, regarded as one of the last such types of architecture in

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6426-494: Is still their primary activity they are generally described as "publishers" rather than "developers". Developers may be private as well. In the video game industry , a first-party developer is part of a company that manufactures a video game console and develops mainly for it. First-party developers may use the name of the company itself (such as Nintendo ), have a specific division name (such as Sony's Polyphony Digital ) or have been an independent studio before being acquired by

6579-474: Is usually conducted in a casual business environment, with t-shirts and sandals as common work attire. Many workers find this type of environment rewarding and pleasant professionally and personally. However, the industry also requires long working hours from its employees (sometimes to an extent seen as unsustainable). Employee burnout is not uncommon. An entry-level programmer can make, on average, over $ 66,000 annually only if they are successful in obtaining

6732-659: The AFL–CIO writing an open letter to video game developers encouraging them to unionize. In January 2020, Game Workers Unite and the Communications Workers of America established a new campaign to push for unionization of video game developers, the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE), in January 2020. Initial efforts for CODE were aimed to determine what approach to unionization would be best suited for

6885-744: The Academy of Fine Arts ). The massive Arch of Peace , situated at the bottom of Corso Sempione, is often compared to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. In the second half of the 19th century, Milan quickly became the main industrial centre of the new Italian nation, drawing inspiration from the great European capitals that were hubs of the Second Industrial Revolution . The great Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II , realised by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877 to celebrate Vittorio Emanuele II ,

7038-645: The Austrian Habsburgs . In 1713–1714 the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt formally confirmed Austrian sovereignty over most of Habsburg Spain's Italian possessions including Lombardy and its capital, Milan. Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and Milan was declared capital of the Cisalpine Republic . Later, he declared Milan capital of the Kingdom of Italy and was crowned King of Italy in

7191-872: The Emperor Constantine issued what is now known as the Edict of Milan in AD 313, granting tolerance to all religions within the Empire, thus paving the way for Christianity to become the dominant religion of the Empire. Constantine was in Mediolanum to celebrate the wedding of his sister to the Eastern Emperor, Licinius . In 402, the Visigoths besieged the city and the Emperor Honorius moved

7344-482: The Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture , it was conquered by the ancient Romans in 222 BC, who Latinized the name of the city into Mediolanum . The city's role as a major political centre dates back to the late antiquity , when it served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire . From the 12th century until the 16th century, Milan was one of the largest European cities and

7497-456: The International Game Developers Association (IGDA), are conducting increasing discussions about the problem; they are concerned that working conditions in the industry cause a significant deterioration in employees' quality of life. Some video game developers and publishers have been accused of the excessive invocation of "crunch time". "Crunch time" is the point at which the team is thought to be failing to achieve milestones needed to launch

7650-541: The Italian Wars . The king's cousin, Louis of Orléans , took part in the expedition and realized most of Italy was virtually defenseless. This prompted him to come back a few years later in 1500, and claim the Duchy of Milan for himself, his grandmother having been a member of the ruling Visconti family. At that time, Milan was also defended by Swiss mercenaries . After the victory of Louis's successor François I over

7803-657: The Lombards (from whom the name of the Italian region Lombardy derives), conquered Milan, overpowering the small Byzantine garrison left for its defence. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule. Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks in 774. The 11th century saw a reaction against the control of the Holy Roman Emperors . City-states emerged in northern Italy, an expression of

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7956-516: The MSX , they became one of the earliest second-party developers for Nintendo, developing exclusively for Nintendo's consoles starting with the Famicom, though they would self-publish their mobile games. A third-party developer may also publish games, or work for a video game publisher to develop a title. Both publisher and developer have considerable input in the game's design and content. However,

8109-528: The Me Too movement and have tried to address the symptoms of these problems industry-wide, the video game industry has yet to have its Me Too-moment, even as late as 2021. There also tends to be pay-related discrimination against women in the industry. According to Gamasutra 's Game Developer Salary Survey 2014, women in the United States made 86 cents for every dollar men made. Game designing women had

8262-568: The Ospedale Maggiore and Bramante's work in the city, which includes Santa Maria presso San Satiro (a reconstruction of a small 9th-century church), the tribune of Santa Maria delle Grazie and three cloisters for Sant'Ambrogio. The Counter-Reformation in the 16th to 17th centuries was also the period of Spanish domination and was marked by two powerful figures: Saint Charles Borromeo and his cousin, Cardinal Federico Borromeo . Not only did they impose themselves as moral guides to

8415-504: The Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union doing work for video games struck several major publishers, demanding better royalty payments and provisions related to the safety of their vocal performances, when their union's standard contract was up for renewal. The voice actor strike lasted for over 300 days into 2017 before a new deal was made between SAG-AFTRA and

8568-554: The Second World War Milan's large industrial and transport facilities suffered extensive damage from Allied bombings that often also hit residential districts. When Italy surrendered in 1943, German forces occupied and plundered most of northern Italy, fueling the birth of a massive resistance guerrilla movement. On 29 April 1945, the American 1st Armored Division was advancing on Milan but, before it arrived,

8721-493: The Welsh word llan , meaning "a sanctuary or church", ultimately cognate to English/German Land ) in which Celtic communities used to build shrines. Hence Mediolanum could signify the central town or sanctuary of a Celtic tribe. Indeed, about sixty Gallo-Roman sites in France bore the name "Mediolanum", for example: Saintes ( Mediolanum Santonum ) and Évreux ( Mediolanum Aulercorum ). In addition, another theory links

8874-463: The Winter Olympic and Paralympic games for the first time in 2026, together with Cortina d'Ampezzo . Milan was founded with the Celtic name of Medhelanon, later Latinized by the ancient Romans into Mediolanum . In Celtic language medhe- meant "middle, centre" and the name element -lanon is the Celtic equivalent of Latin -planum "plain", meant "(settlement) in the midst of

9027-474: The cathedral . Once Napoleon's occupation ended, the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy and Milan, to Austrian control in 1815. On 18 March 1848 Milan effectively rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called " Five Days " ( Italian : Le Cinque Giornate ), that forced Field Marshal Radetzky to temporarily withdraw from the city. The bordering Kingdom of Piedmont–Sardinia sent troops to protect

9180-512: The centre-left coalition and 13 from the Five Star Movement. The seat of the regional government is Palazzo Lombardia that, standing at 161.3 metres (529 feet), is the fifth-tallest building in Milan. The architectural and artistic presence in Milan represents one of the attractions of the Lombard capital. Milan has been among the most important Italian centers in the history of architecture , has made important contributions to

9333-421: The centre-right coalition , a coalition of centrist and right-wing parties, led by Attilio Fontana, largely won the regional election, defeating a coalition of socialists, liberals and ecologists and a third-party candidate from the populist Five Stars Movement . The conservatives have governed the region almost uninterruptedly since 1970. The regional council has 48 members from the centre-right coalition, 18 from

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9486-528: The largest economies among EU cities. Milan is viewed along with Turin as the southernmost part of the Blue Banana urban development corridor (also known as the "European Megalopolis"), and one of the Four Motors for Europe . Milan is a major international tourist destination, appearing among the most visited cities in the world, ranking second in Italy after Rome, fifth in Europe and sixteenth in

9639-643: The third largest in the world , as well as the most important example of Gothic architecture in Italy. The gilt bronze statue of the Virgin Mary , placed in 1774 on the highest pinnacle of the Duomo, soon became one of the most enduring symbols of Milan . In the 15th century, when the Sforza ruled the city, an old Viscontean fortress was enlarged and embellished to become the Castello Sforzesco ,

9792-519: The video game industry . He told the Los Angeles Times : "Someone who was part of the co-creation of that world and those characters isn't getting a credit or a nickel for the work they put into it. Maybe we need unions in the video game industry to be able to protect creators." Milan Milan ( / m ɪ ˈ l æ n / mil- AN , US also / m ɪ ˈ l ɑː n / mil- AHN , Milanese : [miˈlãː] ; Italian : Milano [miˈlaːno] )

9945-417: The 202-metre (663-foot) Isozaki Arata —when completed, the tallest building in Italy, the twisted Hadid Tower , and the curved Libeskind Tower . Two business districts dominate Milan's skyline: Porta Nuova in the north-east (boroughs No. 9 and 2) and CityLife (borough No. 8) in the north-west part of the commune. The tallest buildings include the Unicredit Tower at 231 m (though only 162 m without

10098-445: The Amstrad CPC, which debuted in 1986. This game was the company's first breakthrough title, partially driven by the CPC's success in France. By way of a deal between Loriciel and Activision , the game was also released in the UK, it was also released in the US, and it was later ported to other systems, such as the Atari ST . The American market appeared especially viable for Microïds, who believed that game sales would vastly outnumber

10251-407: The CEO of Microids, co-managing it with Grassiano. Microids also opened a Japanese office run by Martial Meyssignac and Yves Bléhaut, and strengthened the Microids Indie label with a dedicated team managed by Vincent Dondaine. A distribution arm, Microids Distribution France, was established in December 2020. In October 2024, Microids launched a new third-party publishing unit. According to the company,

10404-446: The IGDA found that people of color were both underrepresented in senior management roles as well as underpaid in comparison to white developers. Further, because video game developers typically draw from personal experiences in building game characters, this diversity gap has led to few characters of racial minority to be featured as main characters within video games. Minority developers have also been harassed from external groups due to

10557-412: The Imperial residence to Ravenna . In 452, Attila besieged the city, but the real break with the city's Imperial past came in 539, during the Gothic War , when Uraias (a nephew of Witiges , formerly King of the Italian Ostrogoths ) carried out attacks in Milan, with losses, according to Procopius , being about 300,000 men. The Lombards took Ticinum as their capital in 572 (renaming it Papia –

10710-432: The Insubres and captured the settlement in 222 BC. The chief of the Insubres then submitted to Rome, giving the Romans control of the settlement. The Romans eventually conquered the entirety of the region , calling the new province " Cisalpine Gaul " ( Latin : Gallia Cisalpina )—"Gaul this side of the Alps"—and may have given the city its Latinized name of Mediolanum : in Gaulish *medio- meant "middle, centre" and

10863-558: The Italian resistance seized control of the city and executed Mussolini along with his mistress and several regime officers, that were later hanged and exposed in Piazzale Loreto , where one year before some resistance members had been executed. During the post-war economic boom, the reconstruction effort and the Italian economic miracle attracted a large wave of internal migration (especially from rural areas of southern Italy ) to Milan. The population grew from 1.3 million in 1951 to 1.7 million in 1967. During this period, Milan

11016-610: The Mayor of Milan is designated to exercise the functions of Metropolitan mayor ( Sindaco metropolitano ), presiding over a Metropolitan Council formed by 24 mayors of municipalities within the Metro municipality. The Metropolitan City of Milan is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor ( Sindaco metropolitano ) and by the Metropolitan Council ( Consiglio metropolitano ). Since 21 June 2016, Giuseppe Sala , as mayor of

11169-610: The Medhelanon community were built. First, a temple dedicated to the goddess Belisama was built, which was located near the modern Milan Cathedral . Then, near the modern Via Moneta, which is located near today's Piazza San Sepolcro , a fortified building with military functions was built which was surrounded by a defensive moat. During the Roman Republic , the Romans, led by consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus , fought

11322-681: The Roman walls of Milan which dates back to a period following the Roman conquest of the Celtic village, in Mesiolano. In 286, the Roman Emperor Diocletian moved the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Rome to Mediolanum. Diocletian himself chose to reside at Nicomedia in the Eastern Empire, leaving his colleague Maximian at Milan. During the Augustan age Mediolanum was famous for its schools; it possessed

11475-522: The Spanish line of Habsburgs, while Ferdinand's Austrian line of Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire. The Great Plague of Milan in 1629–31, that claimed the lives of an estimated 60,000 people out of a population of 130,000, caused unprecedented devastation in the city and was effectively described by Alessandro Manzoni in his masterpiece The Betrothed . This episode was seen by many as

11628-637: The Swiss at the Battle of Marignan , the duchy was promised to the French king François I . When the Spanish Habsburg Emperor Charles V defeated François I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, northern Italy , which included Milan, passed to Habsburg Spain . In 1556, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand I . Charles's Italian possessions, including Milan, passed to Philip II and remained with

11781-535: The acquisition of Activision Blizzard , stated it supported these unionization efforts. After this acquisition, the employees of Bethesda Game Studios , part of Zenimax under Microsoft, unionized under the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in July 2024. Over 500 employees within Blizzard Entertainment 's World of Warcraft division also unionized with CWA that same month. Sweden presents

11934-572: The advent of digital distribution of inexpensive games on game consoles, it is now possible for indie game developers to forge agreements with console manufacturers for broad distribution of their games. Other indie game developers create game software for a number of video-game publishers on several gaming platforms. In recent years this model has been in decline; larger publishers, such as Electronic Arts and Activision, increasingly turn to internal studios (usually former independent developers acquired for their development needs). Video game development

12087-485: The best examples of Neoclassical architecture in Lombardy. The Napoleonic rule of the city in 1805–1814, having established Milan as the capital of a satellite Kingdom of Italy , took steps to reshape it accordingly to its new status, with the construction of large boulevards, new squares ( Porta Ticinese by Luigi Cagnola and Foro Bonaparte by Giovanni Antonio Antolini ) and cultural institutions ( Art Gallery and

12240-479: The capital city, has been the mayor of the Metropolitan City. Milan is also the capital of Lombardy , one of the twenty regions of Italy. Lombardy is by far the most populated region of Italy, with more than ten million inhabitants, almost one sixth of the national total. It is governed by a Regional Council, composed of 80 members elected for a five-year term. On 26 March 2018, a list of candidates of

12393-511: The city as a global capital of innovation has been instrumental in its successful bids for hosting large international events such as 2015 Expo and 2026 Winter Olympics . Milan is located in the north-western section of the Po Valley , approximately halfway between the river Po to the south and the foothills of the Alps with the great lakes ( Lake Como , Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano ) to

12546-515: The city centre reflects the Navigli , an ancient system of navigable and interconnected canals, now mostly covered. The suburbs of the city have expanded mainly to the north, swallowing up many comuni along the roads towards Varese, Como, Lecco and Bergamo. In the 21st century the Navigli region of Milan is a highly active area with a large number of residential units, bars and restaurants. It

12699-570: The city under the name Medhelanon. According to the legend reported by Livy (writing between 27 and 9 BC), the Gaulish king Ambicatus sent his nephew Bellovesus into northern Italy at the head of a party drawn from various Gaulish tribes; Bellovesus allegedly founded the settlement in the times of the Roman monarchy, during the reign of Tarquinius Priscus . Tarquin is traditionally recorded as reigning from 616 to 579 BC, according to ancient Roman historian Titus Livy. Medhelanon, in particular,

12852-447: The city. A new, more eclectic form of architecture can be seen in buildings such as Castello Cova, built the 1910s in a distinctly neo-medieval style, evoking the architectural trends of the past. An important example of Art Deco , which blended such styles with Fascist architecture , is the huge Central railway station inaugurated in 1931. The post-World War II period saw rapid reconstruction and fast economic growth, accompanied by

13005-431: The closest equity, making 96 cents for every dollar men made in the same job, while audio professional women had the largest gap, making 68% of what men in the same position made. Increasing the representation of women in the video game industry required breaking a feedback loop of the apparent lack of female representation in the production of video games and in the content of video games. Efforts have been made to provide

13158-526: The commune form of local government first established in the 11th century. In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti became the first Duke of Milan upon receiving the title from Wenceslaus, King of the Romans . In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti , Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the Ambrosian Republic was established; it took its name from St. Ambrose,

13311-416: The console manufacturer (such as Rare or Naughty Dog ). Whether by purchasing an independent studio or by founding a new team, the acquisition of a first-party developer involves a huge financial investment on the part of the console manufacturer, which is wasted if the developer fails to produce a hit game on time. However, using first-party developers saves the cost of having to make royalty payments on

13464-508: The console. This established the use of licensing fees as a model for third-party development that persists into the present. The licensing fee approach was further enforced by Nintendo when it decided to allow other third-party developers to make games for the Famicom console, setting a 30% licensing fee that covered game cartridge manufacturing costs and development fees. The 30% licensing fee for third-party developers has also persisted to

13617-415: The creation of the Celtic sanctuary, the first residential settlements began to be built around it. Medhelanon then transformed from a simple religious center to an urban and then military centre, thus becoming a real village. The first homes were built just south of the Celtic sanctuary, near the modern Royal Palace of Milan . Subsequently, with the growth of the town centre, other important buildings for

13770-579: The defence system company SAGEM in 1979. By the 1980s, Grassiano had become interested in telecommunications , consumer electronics , and video games. He acquired a Thomson MO5 -model home computer , which he used to create his first game, Space Shuttle Simulator . The game was published by Loriciel and released to both critical and commercial success. Subsequently, Grassiano quit his job to establish his own company. He formally founded Microïds in 1985, setting it up in Vélizy-Villacoublay ,

13923-444: The developer if the game is not meeting expectations. When each milestone is completed (and accepted), the publisher pays the developer an advance on royalties . Successful developers may maintain several teams working on different games for different publishers. Generally, however, third-party developers tend to be small, close-knit teams. Third-party game development is a volatile sector, since small developers may depend on income from

14076-417: The developers are the publisher's employees, their interests align with those of the publisher; the publisher may spend less effort ensuring that the developer's decisions do not enrich the developer at the publisher's expense. Activision in 1979 became the first third-party video game developer. When four Atari, Inc. programmers left the company following its sale to Warner Communications , partially over

14229-443: The development of art history, and has been the cradle of a number of modern art movements. There are only few remains of the ancient Roman city, notably the well-preserved Colonne di San Lorenzo . During the second half of the 4th century, Saint Ambrose , as bishop of Milan, had a strong influence on the layout of the city, reshaping the centre (although the cathedral and baptistery built in Roman times are now lost) and building

14382-542: The development of mulberry cultivation and silk processing. Following this economic growth, works such as the Sforza Castle (already existing in the Visconti era under the name of Porta Giovia Castle, but re-adapted, enlarged and completed by the Sforza family) and the Ospedale Maggiore were completed. The Sforzas also managed to attract to Milan personalities such as Leonardo da Vinci , who redesigned and improved

14535-507: The domestic ones. For this reason, it partnered with the American publisher Broderbund in 1987, which released several Microïds games in the country, partially under altered names. In return, Microïds managed sales of Broderbund's games, notably Prince of Persia and Karateka in France. Throughout the 1990s, Microïds underwent expansion, increasing both staff count and development team sizes. Development operations were accelerated to output more games, leading to increased profits. Through

14688-467: The entertainment industry (such as films and television ) require long working hours and dedication from their employees, such as willingness to relocate and/or required to develop games that do not appeal to their personal taste. The creative rewards of work in the entertainment business attracts labor to the industry, creating a competitive labor market that demands a high level of commitment and performance from employees. Industry communities, such as

14841-400: The fields of art , chemicals , commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion , finance, healthcare, media (communication), services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts Italy's stock exchange ( Italian : Borsa Italiana ), and the headquarters of national and international banks and companies. In terms of GDP, Milan is the wealthiest city in Italy, having also one of

14994-572: The first video game-specific union, Game Workers Unite Australia, was formed in December 2021 under Professionals Australia to become active in 2022. In Canada, in a historic move, video game workers in Edmonton unanimously voted to unionize for the first time in June 2022. In January 2023, after not being credited in The Last of Us HBO adaptation, Bruce Straley called for unionization of

15147-509: The function of the navigli and painted The Last Supper , and Bramante , who worked on the church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro , on the basilica of Sant'Ambrogio and to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie , influencing the development of the Lombard Renaissance . Milan's last independent ruler, Lodovico il Moro , requested the aid of Charles VIII of France against the other Italian states , eventually unleashing

15300-404: The gaming industry, while a 2017 IGDA survey found that the female demographic in game development had risen to about 20%. Taking into account that a 2017 ESA survey found 41% of video game players were female, this represented a significant gender gap in game development. The male-dominated industry, most who have grown up playing video games and are part of the video game culture , can create

15453-582: The great basilicas at the city gates: Sant'Ambrogio , San Nazaro in Brolo , San Simpliciano and Sant'Eustorgio , which still stand, refurbished over the centuries, as some of the finest and most important churches in Milan. Milan's Cathedral , built between 1386 and 1877, is the largest church in the Italian Republic—the larger St. Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City , a sovereign state—and

15606-506: The industrial and financial capital of Italy. Milan has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals . Many of the most famous luxury fashion brands in the world have their headquarters in the city, including: Armani , Prada , Versace , Valentino , Loro Piana and Zegna . It also hosts several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair , which are among

15759-457: The industry by working long hours. Because crunch time tends to come from a combination of corporate practices as well as peer influence, the term "crunch culture" is often used to discuss video game development settings where crunch time may be seen as the norm rather than the exception. The use of crunch time as a workplace standard gained attention first in 2004, when Erin Hoffman exposed

15912-542: The insurgents and organised a plebiscite that ratified by a huge majority the unification of Lombardy with Piedmont–Sardinia. But just a few months later the Austrians were able to send fresh forces that routed the Piedmontese army at the Battle of Custoza on 24 July and to reassert Austrian control over northern Italy. About ten years later, however, Italian nationalist politicians, officers and intellectuals such as Cavour , Garibaldi and Mazzini were able to gather

16065-431: The lack of respect that the new management gave to programmers, they used their knowledge of how Atari VCS game cartridges were programmed to create their own games for the system, founding Activision in 1979 to sell these. Atari took legal action to try to block the sale of these games, but the companies ultimately settled, with Activision agreeing to pay a portion of their sales as a license fee to Atari for developing for

16218-469: The major South European rail hub for goods and passenger transport. Indeed, Milan and Venice were among the main stops of the Orient Express that started operating from 1919. Abundant hydroelectric resources allowed the development of a strong steel and textile sector and, as Milanese banks dominated Italy's financial sphere, the city became the country's leading financial centre. In May 1898, Milan

16371-416: The mass media to nickname the metropolis "Milano da bere" , literally "Milan to be drunk". But in the 1990s Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli , a political scandal in which many politicians and businessmen were tried for corruption. The city was also affected by a severe financial crisis and a steady decline in textiles, automobile and steel production. Berlusconi's Milano 2 and Milano 3 projects were

16524-579: The modern Pavia ), and left early-medieval Milan to the governance of its archbishops . After the siege of the city by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence moved to Ravenna . Attila , King of the Huns , sacked and devastated the city in 452 AD. In 539 the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I . In the summer of 569

16677-411: The most important housing projects of the 1980s and 1990s in Milan and brought to the city new economical and social energy. In the early 21st century Milan underwent a series of sweeping redevelopments over huge former industrial areas. Two new business districts, Porta Nuova and CityLife , were built in the space of a decade, radically changing the skyline of the city. Its exhibition centre moved to

16830-559: The movement again called out for the industry to unionize. The movement argued that Telltale had not given any warning to its 250 employees let go, having hired additional staff as recently as a week prior, and left them without pensions or health-care options; it was further argued that the studio considered this a closure rather than layoffs, as to get around failure to notify required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 preceding layoffs. The situation

16983-465: The name element -lanon is the Celtic equivalent of Latin -planum "plain", thus *Mediolanon (Latinized as Mediolānum ) meant "(settlement) in the midst of the plain". Mediolanum became the most important center of Cisalpine Gaul and, in the wake of economic development, in 49 BC, was elevated, within the Lex Roscia , to the status of municipium . The ancient Celtic settlement was, from

17136-520: The name to the scrofa semilanuta ("half-woolly sow") an ancient emblem of the city, fancifully accounted for in Andrea Alciato 's Emblemata (1584), beneath a woodcut of the first raising of the city walls, where a boar is seen lifted from the excavation, and the etymology of Mediolanum given as "half-wool", explained in Latin and in French. According to this theory, the foundation of Milan

17289-448: The nature of the video game culture. The industry also is recognized to have an ageism issue, discriminating against the hiring and retention of older developers. A 2016 IGDA survey found only 3% of developers were over 50 years old, while at least two-thirds were between 20 and 34; these numbers show a far lower average age compared to the U.S. national average of about 41.9 that same year. While discrimination by age in hiring practices

17442-441: The new political power of the cities and their will to fight against all feudal powers. Milan was no exception. It did not take long, however, for the Italian city-states to begin fighting each other to try to limit neighbouring powers. The Milanese destroyed Lodi and continuously warred with Pavia, Cremona and Como, who in turn asked Frederick I Barbarossa for help. In a sally they captured Empress Beatrice and forced her to ride

17595-731: The new-earned funds, the company commenced operations in both video game publishing and distribution in 1995, and between then and 1997 opened three international subsidiaries: Microïds Italia in Milan , Microïds UK in Milton Keynes , and Microïds Canada in Montreal . By 1997, Microïds had 20 employees and a turnover of 20 million French francs . Both increased tenfold by 2002 and the Canadian studio alone housed 105 of Microïds' 200 employees by 2003. In 2003, Microïds merged with MC2,

17748-540: The news, there have typically been followup discussions towards the potential to form a union. A survey performed by the International Game Developers Association in 2014 found that more than half of the 2,200 developers surveyed favored unionization. A similar survey of over 4,000 game developers run by the Game Developers Conference in early 2019 found that 47% of respondents felt the video game industry should unionize. In 2016, voice actors in

17901-602: The north, the Ticino river to the west and the Adda to the east. The city's land is flat, the highest point being at 122 m (400.26 ft) above sea level . The administrative comune covers an area of about 181 square kilometres (70 sq mi), with a population, in 2013, of 1,324,169 and a population density of 7,315 inhabitants per square kilometre (18,950/sq mi). The Metropolitan City of Milan covers 1,575 square kilometres (608 sq mi) and in 2015 had

18054-470: The original "Microïds" name. In 2008, Microïds further acquired the assets and intellectual property of bankrupt publisher Cryo Interactive . In 2009, the publisher Anuman Interactive, while in the process of being acquired by Média-Participations , began looking for possible acquisitions of its own. That November, the company announced its intent to acquire Microïds. The acquisition was completed on 1 January 2010, after which Microïds continued operating as

18207-484: The other Italian statelets and proclaim the birth of the Kingdom of Italy on 17 March 1861. The political unification of Italy enhanced Milan's economic dominance over northern Italy. A dense rail network, whose construction had started under Austrian patronage, was completed in a brief time, making Milan the rail hub of northern Italy and, with the opening of the Gotthard (1882) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels,

18360-484: The people of Milan, but they also gave a great impulse to culture, with the creation of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana , in a building designed by Francesco Maria Richini , and the nearby Pinacoteca Ambrosiana . Many notable churches and Baroque mansions were built in the city during this period by the architects, Pellegrino Tibaldi , Galeazzo Alessi and Richini himself. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria

18513-616: The plain", or of "place between watercourses" (Celtic medhe = "in the middle, central"; land or lan = "land"), given the presence of the Olona , Lambro , Seveso rivers and the Nirone and Pudiga streams. The Latin name Mediolanum comes from the Latin words medio (in the middle) and planus (plain). However, some scholars believe that lanum comes from the Celtic root lan , meaning an enclosure or demarcated territory (source of

18666-845: The popular patron saint of the city. Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco I of the House of Sforza , which made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance . Under the House of Sforza, Milan experienced a period of great prosperity, which in particular saw

18819-417: The population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan) is estimated between 7.5 million and 8.2 million, making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the largest in the EU . Milan is the economic capital of Italy, one of the economic capitals of Europe and a global financial centre . Milan is a leading alpha global city, with strengths in

18972-694: The present, being a de facto rate used for most digital storefronts for third-party developers to offer their games on the platform. In recent years, larger publishers have acquired several third-party developers. While these development teams are now technically "in-house", they often continue to operate in an autonomous manner (with their own culture and work practices). For example, Activision acquired Raven (1997); Neversoft (1999), which merged with Infinity Ward in 2014; Z-Axis (2001); Treyarch (2001); Luxoflux (2002); Shaba (2002); Infinity Ward (2003) and Vicarious Visions (2005). All these developers continue operating much as they did before acquisition,

19125-414: The primary differences being exclusivity and financial details. Publishers tend to be more forgiving of their own development teams going over budget (or missing deadlines) than third-party developers. A developer may not be the primary entity creating a piece of software, usually providing an external software tool which helps organize (or use) information for the primary software product. Such tools may be

19278-429: The publisher's wishes generally override those of the developer. Work for hire studios solely execute the publishers vision. The business arrangement between the developer and publisher is governed by a contract, which specifies a list of milestones intended to be delivered over a period of time. By updating its milestones, the publisher verifies that work is progressing quickly enough to meet its deadline and can direct

19431-467: The publishers. While this had some effects on a few games within the industry, it brought to the forefront the question of whether video game developers should unionize. A grassroots movement, Game Workers Unite , was established around 2017 to discuss and debate issues related to unionization of game developers. The group came to the forefront during the March 2018 Game Developers Conference by holding

19584-447: The sea. During winter daily average temperatures can fall below freezing (0 °C [32 °F]) and accumulations of snow can occur: the historic average of Milan's area is 25 centimetres (10 in) in the period between 1961 and 1990, with a record of 90 centimetres (35 in) in January 1985. In the suburbs the average can reach 36 centimetres (14 in). The city receives on average seven days of snow per year. The city

19737-480: The seat of an elegant Renaissance court surrounded by a walled hunting park. Notable architects involved in the project included the Florentine Filarete , who was commissioned to build the high central entrance tower, and the military specialist Bartolomeo Gadio. The alliance between Francesco Sforza and Florence's Cosimo de' Medici bore to Milan Tuscan models of Renaissance architecture, apparent in

19890-437: The soil , causing Milan to be one of Europe's most polluted cities. Summers in Milan are hot and humidity levels are high with peak temperatures reaching above 35 °C (95 °F). Due to the high humidity, urban heat effect and lack of wind, nighttimes often remain muggy during the summer months. Usually the summer enjoys clearer skies with an average of more than 13 hours of daylight: when precipitation occurs though, it

20043-602: The spire), and the 209 m Allianz Tower , a 50-story tower. The largest parks in the central area of Milan are Sempione Park , at the north-western edge, and Montanelli Gardens , situated north-east of the city. English-style Sempione Park, built in 1890, contains the Civic Arena , the Civic Aquarium of Milan (which is the third oldest aquarium in Europe ), a steel lattice panoramic tower, an art exhibition centre,

20196-661: The symbol of Spanish bad rule and decadence and is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long pandemic of plague that began with the Black Death . In 1700, the Spanish line of Habsburgs was extinguished with the death of Charles II . After his death, the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701. In 1706, the French were defeated in Ramillies and Turin and were forced to yield northern Italy to

20349-545: The target of sexual harassment. This can be coupled from similar harassment from external groups, such as during the 2014 Gamergate controversy . Major investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct that went unchecked by management, as well as discrimination by employers, have been brought up against Riot Games , Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard in the late 2010s and early 2020s, alongside smaller studios and individual developers. However, while other entertainment industries have had similar exposure through

20502-484: The toxic nature of the video game culture. This racial diversity issue has similar ties to the gender one, and similar methods to result both have been suggested, such as improving grade school education, developing games that appeal beyond the white, male gamer stereotype, and identifying toxic behavior in both video game workplaces and online communities that perpetuate discrimination against gender and race. In regards to LGBT and other gender or sexual orientations,

20655-875: The unit consists of 7 internal staffers with editorial, sourcing, and publishing experience. Microids has had a minority stake in OSome Studio since April 2022. Video game developer A developer may specialize in specific game engines or specific video game consoles , or may develop for several systems (including personal computers and mobile devices ). Some focus on porting games from one system to another, or translating games from one language to another. Less commonly, some do software development work in addition to games. Most video game publishers maintain development studios (such as Electronic Arts 's EA Canada , Square Enix 's studios, Activision 's Radical Entertainment , Nintendo EPD and Sony's Polyphony Digital and Naughty Dog ). However, since publishing

20808-529: The urban area of Milan is one of the 15 Metropolitan municipalities ( città metropolitane ), new administrative bodies fully operative since 1 January 2015. The new Metro municipalities, giving large urban areas the administrative powers of a province, are conceived for improving the performance of local administrations and to slash local spending by better co-ordinating the municipalities in providing basic services (including transport, school and social programs) and environment protection. In this policy framework,

20961-487: The use of crunch time at Electronic Arts , a situation known as the "EA Spouses" case. A similar "Rockstar Spouses" case gained further attention in 2010 over working conditions at Rockstar San Diego . Since then, there has generally been negative perception of crunch time from most of the industry as well as from its consumers and other media. Game development had generally been a predominately male workforce. In 1989, according to Variety , women constituted only 3% of

21114-508: The video game industry typically shares the same demographics as with the larger population based on a 2005 IGDA survey. Those in the LGBT community do not find workplace issues with their identity, though work to improve the representation of LGBT themes within video games in the same manner as with racial minorities. However, LGBT developers have also come under the same type of harassment from external groups like women and racial minorities due to

21267-678: The video game industry. Whereas some video game employees believe they should follow the craft-based model used by SAG-AFTRA which would unionize based on job function, others feel an industry-wide union, regardless of job position, would be better. Starting in 2021, several smaller game studios in the United States began efforts to unionize. These mostly involved teams doing quality assurance rather than developers. These studios included three QA studios under Blizzard Entertainment : Raven Software , Blizzard Albany , and Proletariat; and Zenimax Media 's QA team. Microsoft , which had previously acquired Zenimax and announced plans to acquire Blizzard via

21420-504: The workforce in video games is estimated to be from contract labor. Similar to other tech industries, video game developers are typically not unionized . This is a result of the industry being driven more by creativity and innovation rather than production, the lack of distinction between management and employees in the white-collar area, and the pace at which the industry moves that makes union actions difficult to plan out. However, when situations related to crunch time become prevalent in

21573-548: The world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. The city is served by many luxury hotels and is the fifth most starred in the world by Michelin Guide . It hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015 . In the field of sports, Milan is home to two of Europe's most successful football teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan , and one of Europe's main basketball teams, Olimpia Milano . Milan will host

21726-405: The world. Milan is a major cultural centre, with museums and art galleries that include some of the most important collections in the world, such as major works by Leonardo da Vinci . It also hosts numerous educational institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total of enrolled students. Founded around 590 BC under the name Medhelanon by a Celtic tribe belonging to

21879-554: Was Air Attack , released by Loriciel for the Thomson MO5 to moderate commercial success. Early adventure games developed by Microïds include Oceania (developed by Le Nestour and released in 1985 for the Thomson MO5 and TO7 ) and Les Pyramides D'Atlantys (developed by Luc Thibaud and released for the Amstrad CPC in 1986). Air Attack provided the groundwork for subsequent Microïds games, such as 500 cc Grand Prix for

22032-452: Was aligned towards the heliacal rising of Antares , while the other towards the heliacal rising of Capella . The latter coincided with a Celtic spring festival celebrated on 24 March, while the heliacal rising of Antares corresponded with 11 November, which opened and closed the Celtic year and which coincided with the point where the Sun rose on the winter solstice . About two centuries after

22185-724: Was argued to be "exploitive", as Telltale had been known to force its employees to frequently work under "crunch time" to deliver its games. By the end of 2018, a United Kingdom trade union, Game Workers Unite UK, an affiliate of the Game Workers Unite movement, had been legally established. Following Activision Blizzard 's financial report for the previous quarter in February 2019, the company said that they would be laying off around 775 employees (about 8% of their workforce) despite having record profits for that quarter. Further calls for unionization came from this news, including

22338-400: Was based on these early paths, and on the shape of the sanctuary, reached, in some cases, up to the 19th century and even beyond. For example, the route of the modern Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Piazza del Duomo , Piazza Cordusio and Via Broletto, which is curvilinear, could correspond to the south side of the ellipse of the ancient sanctuary of Medhelanon. One axis of the Medhelanon sanctuary

22491-551: Was briefly renamed MC2 before returning to the old Microïds name. It was then acquired by Anuman Interactive in 2010, which itself was renamed Microïds (then simplified to Microids) in 2019. Microïds was founded by Elliot Grassiano, a French programmer . He was educated at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand school from 1972 to 1974 and later studied engineering, electronics, and computers at the École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers . He started working as an engineer for

22644-510: Was developed around a sanctuary , which was the oldest area of the village. The sanctuary, which consisted of a wooded area in the shape of an ellipse with a central clearing, was aligned according to precise astronomical points. For this reason, it was used for religious gatherings, especially in particular celebratory moments. The sanctuary of Medhelanon was an ellipse with axes of 443 m (1,453 ft) and 323 m (1,060 ft) located near Piazza della Scala . The urban planning profile

22797-569: Was often shrouded in thick cloud or fog during winter, although the removal of rice paddies from the southern neighbourhoods and the urban heat island effect have greatly reduced this occurrence since the turn of the 21st century. Occasionally, the Foehn winds cause the temperatures to rise unexpectedly: on 22 January 2012 the daily high reached 16 °C (61 °F) while on 22 February 2012 it reached 21 °C (70 °F). Air pollution levels rise significantly in wintertime when cold air clings to

22950-629: Was rapidly rebuilt, with the construction of several innovative and modernist skyscrapers, such as the Torre Velasca and the Pirelli Tower , that soon became the symbols of this new era of prosperity. The economic prosperity was, however, overshadowed in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the so-called Years of lead , when Milan witnessed an unprecedented wave of street violence, labour strikes and political terrorism . The apex of this period of turmoil occurred on 12 December 1969, when

23103-487: Was responsible for the significant renovations carried out in Milan during the 18th century. This urban and artistic renewal included the establishment of Teatro alla Scala , inaugurated in 1778, and the renovation of the Royal Palace . The late 1700s Palazzo Belgioioso by Giuseppe Piermarini and Royal Villa of Milan by Leopoldo Pollack , later the official residence of Austrian viceroys, are often regarded among

23256-539: Was shaken by the Bava Beccaris massacre , a riot related to soaring cost of living. Milan's northern location in Italy closer to Europe, secured also a leading role for the city on the political scene. It was in Milan that Benito Mussolini built his political and journalistic careers, and his fascist Blackshirts rallied for the first time in the city's Piazza San Sepolcro ; here the future Fascist dictator launched his March on Rome on 28 October 1922. During

23409-501: Was sold off to Ubisoft in March 2005, with the studio's 50 employees integrated into Ubisoft's own Ubisoft Montreal studio. Later that year, Grassiano left MC2-Microïds due to internal disagreements. He was succeeded by Index+ founder Emmanuel Olivier, who was named chief executive officer (CEO). With this management change, MC2-Microïds shortened its name to just "MC2". This decision was reversed in November 2007, when it returned to

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