Making a game is an extremely complex process; in order to successfully create AAA titles and next-generation game play ideas, a wide range of expertise is needed. You can read about the wide variety of job roles and functions below demonstrating the breadth of skills needed to finish a game; from programming and art roles to marketing, sales and finance.

Games Design

Games Designers decide what a game consists of and how it plays, and they are often the people who come up with the idea in the first place. Game design is a complex activity requiring a combination of skills - design, management, scheduling, research etc. - and Designers need an understanding of all aspects of a game. They also need to be able to document their vision and communicate it to other members of the project team.

Games are usually large projects, so the design process is often shared between a number of different people who each take responsibility for a section of the game, or 'level'. One of the Game Designer's tasks is to specify the levels and to allocate the level design to other members of the team.

Level Design includes the mapping, detailed layout and building of the environment in which the level is played, as well as interactive placement of objects and assets within that environment. Most modern games are based on 3D computer graphics and Level Designers use 3D modelling or world editing tools in order to create and edit the levels.

For very large projects, there may be more than one Game Designer on the team, each one taking responsibility for a group of levels and collaborating on the overall design of the game. In such situations, a Lead Designer or Creative Director takes overall responsibility.

Job titles in this area might include:

Concept art from Galleon, with thanks to SCi Games

Game Artists create the images - all the objects, buildings, landscapes and characters - which make up the game world. Animators define and create their movement.

The majority of computer games are now developed using realtime 3D graphics and animation. Artists and Animators working in computer games development are usually trained or experienced in one of the major 3D modelling and animation packages, such as 3DStudioMax or Maya.

Game Artists work at many different levels in a games development studio. Job roles are often combined, and include concept artists, environment modellers, object and vehicle modellers, character modellers, animators, and texture artists. A Lead Artist or Art Director takes overall responsibility.

Job titles in this area might include:

You can also read this case study on Alex Laurant - an Artist at EA Games

Project Snowblind, with thanks to Eidos

From the outside, this seems the most mysterious of all the game development areas. It is also the heart of the process, as the programming team is responsible for creating the code which makes the game actually work.

There are numerous sub-disciplines within the programming department, including artificial intelligence or AI; physics; graphics rendering engine development; character control; gameplay programming; and middleware tools development. All these are usually overseen by a Lead Programmer who is also responsible for the technical specification of the game and for strategically managing the code development process. Programmers need good team-working and problem-solving skills, in addition to programming ability.

Job titles in this area might include:

Audio

Sound design and audio engineering are increasingly important areas within the games development process. Depending on the size of the company, the audio department might consist of one or two people who are responsible for creating and producing music, sound effects, recording dialogue, and often supervising voice performance.

Job titles in this area might include:

Read about Audio Consultant John Broomhall and his career in games.

Creatures 3, with thanks to Gameware Development

There are a number of other roles within a games development company, but perhaps the most important is Quality Assurance or QA. This discipline includes the role of Tester, which is one of the most common entry points into the games industry for first time job seekers. Testing is a highly disciplined role as it involves identifying and describing bugs and faults in games 'builds' (cumulatively improved versions of the game as the bugs are ironed out) and communicating these in a clear and unambiguous way. Testers need to love playing games for long periods of time, organisational skills, some programming experience or knowledge, and the ability to meet deadlines.

Job titles in this area might include:

Skillset is piloting an Apprenticeship for QA Testers, further information is available from our briefing paper on the subject.

Production Management and Publishing

Production management within games development is usually split between the developer and publisher. The development schedule is the responsibility of the Producer or Project Manager within the games development team, whilst the External Producer, based with the games publisher, will be more involved in marketing and selling the game and ensuring it stays tru to the original concepts. Whilst sometimes the External Producer might have more creative input than a Project Manager, both are responsible for budgets, schedules, milestones, and reports.

Job titles in this area might include:

Organisational Management

These are the type of roles that are to be found in any organisation and are essential to its successful running, e.g. marketing, PR, human resources, administration, and IT support.

For a list of the different job roles in computer games development and publishing please download the following information sheet:

Job Roles in Computer Games

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