Careers in Game Development

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Careers in Game Development To be a game developer, you must truly love games. You mustn't just like playing games, you must also like understanding games. You have to enjoy the concept of dissecting a game, breaking it down into smaller parts, and visualizing how the pieces fit back together. Game developers take on many jobs, but no job, is as important as the programmer. The programmer is the heart of the game. Without the programmer, there is no game (Gruber). Another job in developing a game is an artist. Artists are important too. Artists might even play a more critical role than a programmer in some games. However, that depends entirely on the game. Artists design book covers for the game's manual, the title screen, the introduction, and anything else that needs to be drawn. A Musician is also needed in developing a game. They make music and sound effects that go along with the game. There are a lot of musicians. There are not a lot of jobs for them. Most musicians are out of a job in the gaming industry. Producers oversee game development, and they also make sure all of the needed elements are in place. In some cases a programmer or an artist plays the role of a producer and gives orders to people. A producer might provide resources necessary for the game. They might also pass out pay checks. The job of a producer is not as important as the programmer or artist. There can be confusion on who the designer is. A producer might think he is the designer, when actually the programmer is the designer. The artist should be the designer, being that he has the creative talent, but nobody pays attention to the artist. Successful and good designers are hard to find. Play testers search... ... middle of paper ... ...ortant as well (Baldwin). Computer game developing and designing is not for everyone. Many people say designers are born, and they can not be made. A love for games is essential in being a computer game developer. A designer must enjoy his job. He must look forward to going to work everyday. If a computer game maker hates his job, then his games will be hated as well. Bibliography: Baldwin, Tom. "Designing the Future." Canadian Business Sep. 1999: 9-12 Chronicle Guidance Publication. "Video Game Developers and Designers." D.O.T. : 03. Brief 678 Computer Game Designer. Available @ http://mi.cx.bridges.com/explorer/browse/cl/compgame/info.html "Computer Games." Encarta. CD-ROM. 1997 Gruber, Diana. Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Game Developer?. Available @ http://www.makegames.com/chapt1.html

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