So I got to wondering, which job role within the industry do you think is the most important part of the industry? Which one of these job roles carries the industry to its height of the golden age? Which is prolific with household (albeit amongst gamers) names and gives prestige to otherwise unknown practitioners of a videogame discipline! For the record, the roles I?ve come up with are in the poll, but here goes a more detailed explanation;
Producers & Project Managers;
The lifeblood of any given project within almost any industry; these guys make sure milestones are met, schedule the work force, plan where your green cash can be spent and neatly ties the entire project up with a little bow and some sage incense when delivering to the publishers and answering to the investors.
Designers;
Mechanics, gameplay, controls, every little nuisance within the design is processed and reworked by these fine folks. That new unique point your favourite game hooked you with was thought up by a designer, who takes videogame from an art process, and remould it into a craft.
Art;
Responsible for creating the visual style of a title; they take a loose description (or more often create their own!) of any type of asset and visually design it with some kick ass concept work. If there?s a particular monster that looked especially frightening or a location that looked eerily realistic, then it?s down to these guys.
Level Designers;
All your favourite levels within any game are designed meticulously, every single inch plotted and combed over with a fine... well, comb. That section in where you had trouble passing a gap or failed to execute the perfect combination of movement mechanics was purposely designed by our good friends with graph paper.
Programmers;
You don?t see this breed much, rather, you hear the tapping away of keyboards in that dark room with Star Wars memorabilia and empty Red Bull cans at the back of the office (my lawyer said I had to state that was a joke... spoilsport). These guys create thousands of lines of code that builds the engine of a game, neatly combining all the other assets together to give you the perfect (or near perfect, in some cases) gameplay experience.
Sound & Audio;
The scraping of metal on metal, the firing of a gun and the upbeat musical score to the platform game was all thought through and created by these wannabe Jimmy Hendrix guys. Whilst listening to their vinyl records, they trowel through sample audio, knit together strings of notes and give us the sound to what would otherwise be a sole visual experience.
Writers & Storytellers;
That amazing intro to the game, the numerous twists and turns in the plot and that fantastic reveal at the end of the game is all created by the writers and storytellers of the industry. Instead of focusing on the next great novel, they turn their attention to a different medium, penning their skills and directing their energy to make the narrative in videogames compelling, addictive and sometimes, downright freaky.
Other;
Have I forgotten anyone? Don?t despair, instead please point out someone I missed and tell us why you think they are important in the industry, and what it is these unnamed folks do to help create the vision of a title. Coffee guys and receptionists don?t count.
Not before anyone points out, I know that the industry wouldn?t be where it is today without a close relationship and synergy with all these disciplines, and I appreciate that every one of them builds on the backbones of each other to create our beloved hobby of gaming. What I?m interested in more is what you personally think is the most rewarding, important and crucial job within the industry.
Draw your battle lines folks, ready your muskets and prepare for the discussion. I just ask that programmers and artists don?t get too heated and try to kill each other...
Producers & Project Managers;
The lifeblood of any given project within almost any industry; these guys make sure milestones are met, schedule the work force, plan where your green cash can be spent and neatly ties the entire project up with a little bow and some sage incense when delivering to the publishers and answering to the investors.
Designers;
Mechanics, gameplay, controls, every little nuisance within the design is processed and reworked by these fine folks. That new unique point your favourite game hooked you with was thought up by a designer, who takes videogame from an art process, and remould it into a craft.
Art;
Responsible for creating the visual style of a title; they take a loose description (or more often create their own!) of any type of asset and visually design it with some kick ass concept work. If there?s a particular monster that looked especially frightening or a location that looked eerily realistic, then it?s down to these guys.
Level Designers;
All your favourite levels within any game are designed meticulously, every single inch plotted and combed over with a fine... well, comb. That section in where you had trouble passing a gap or failed to execute the perfect combination of movement mechanics was purposely designed by our good friends with graph paper.
Programmers;
You don?t see this breed much, rather, you hear the tapping away of keyboards in that dark room with Star Wars memorabilia and empty Red Bull cans at the back of the office (my lawyer said I had to state that was a joke... spoilsport). These guys create thousands of lines of code that builds the engine of a game, neatly combining all the other assets together to give you the perfect (or near perfect, in some cases) gameplay experience.
Sound & Audio;
The scraping of metal on metal, the firing of a gun and the upbeat musical score to the platform game was all thought through and created by these wannabe Jimmy Hendrix guys. Whilst listening to their vinyl records, they trowel through sample audio, knit together strings of notes and give us the sound to what would otherwise be a sole visual experience.
Writers & Storytellers;
That amazing intro to the game, the numerous twists and turns in the plot and that fantastic reveal at the end of the game is all created by the writers and storytellers of the industry. Instead of focusing on the next great novel, they turn their attention to a different medium, penning their skills and directing their energy to make the narrative in videogames compelling, addictive and sometimes, downright freaky.
Other;
Have I forgotten anyone? Don?t despair, instead please point out someone I missed and tell us why you think they are important in the industry, and what it is these unnamed folks do to help create the vision of a title. Coffee guys and receptionists don?t count.
Not before anyone points out, I know that the industry wouldn?t be where it is today without a close relationship and synergy with all these disciplines, and I appreciate that every one of them builds on the backbones of each other to create our beloved hobby of gaming. What I?m interested in more is what you personally think is the most rewarding, important and crucial job within the industry.
Draw your battle lines folks, ready your muskets and prepare for the discussion. I just ask that programmers and artists don?t get too heated and try to kill each other...
