"So John the cleaner and Steve from accounts work in game development?"

Yeah. This is essential work that allows everything else to keep running. How well do you think the ideas and code flow when the bins are overflowing and there's some complex legal pay thing to work out?

If there isn't a pendulum swing balance mechanic implemented for walking, can it even be called a game?

You're not even wrong, they are too afraid to give their characters giant swinging dongs.

Great except:

OK but where's the joke? This is an empirical fact.