A GAME DEVELOPER – Duties of a Game Developer – Types of games developers

Duties of a Game Developer

Game developers or a game developer is more specifically known as video game developers or video game designers, are software developers and engineers who create video games. Game developers may be involved in various aspects of a game’s creation from concept and story writing to the coding and programming. Other potential areas of work for a game developer include audio, design, production and visual arts.

Many components are involved in the development of a video game. Designers, producers and graphic artists all contribute to the final product. However, programmers and software developers turn the idea into code, which provides the game with its operating instructions. Game and software developers create the core features of a video game.

Duties of a game developer may include:

Creating story lines and character biographies
Conducting design reviews
Designing role-play mechanics
Creating prototypes for staff and management
Documenting game design process
Entry level and junior game programmers typically use basic tools and languages, such as C++, to add small elements to games. They are also expected to keep up with changing technology. Lead developers and programmers write more complicated code and manage other programmers.

Types of games developers

The games developer job title covers a broad area of work and there are many specialisms within the industry. These include:

Quality assurance tester;
Programmer, with various specialisms such as network, engine, tool chain and artificial Intelligence;
Audio engineer;
Artist, including concept artist, animator and 3D modeler ;
Producer;
Editor;
Designer;
Special effects technician.

Responsibilities of a game developer

The exact work you carry out will vary depending on your specialist area but it may include:

developing designs or initial concept designs for games including game play;
generating game scripts and storyboards;
creating the visual aspects of the game at the concept stage;
using 2D or 3D modelling and animation software, such as Maya, at the production stage;
producing the audio features of the game, such as the character voices, music and sound effects;
programming the game using programming languages such as C++;
quality testing games in a systematic and thorough way to find problems or bugs and recording precisely where the problem was discovered;
solving complex technical problems that occur within the game’s production;
disseminating knowledge to colleagues, clients, publishers and gamers;
understanding complex written information, ideas and instructions;
working closely with team members to meet the needs of a project;
planning resources and managing both the team and the process;
performing effectively under pressure and meeting deadlines to ensure the game is completed on time.

Examples of Game developers a Game developers list

Atari
Bethesda Game Studios
BioWare
Black Isle Studios
Blizzard Entertainment
Brøderbund
Bungie
Capcom
EA Canada
EA Digital Illusions CE
Enix
Epic Games
Game Freak
HAL Laboratory
Harmonix Music Systems
Id Software
Infinity Ward
Insomniac Games
Intelligent Systems
Irrational Games
Konami
Level-5
Looking Glass Studios
LucasArts
Maxis
MicroProse

Midway
Namco
Naughty Dog
Neversoft
Nintendo EAD
Origin Systems
Polyphony Digital
PopCap Games
Rare
Relic Entertainment
Retro Studios
Rockstar North
SCE Japan Studio

SCE Santa Monica Studio
Sega AM2
Sierra Entertainment
SNK
SONIC Team
SquareSoft
Thatgamecompany
Treasure
Ubisoft Montreal
Valve
Westwood Studios