Job Roles

Unit 78
Games Design L3
James Tedder
Morten Holland

Job Roles in the Gaming Industry 

Animators

The animator’s job is to create multiple frames which then can be put together to give a character or object the illusion of motion. Animators tend to work on 2D games, 3D games and stop motion animation. 

Computer generated animation also appears in the film industry and television.

Animators also create the movements of the characters when they interact with other people, props or environments.

Things that may be helpful for this job:

Have knowledge of traditional and computer 2D and 3D animation techniques

Be creative and imaginative

Have knowledge of full motion video (FMV)

Be able to work as part a team and also on your own initiative

Be able to take responsibility for organising your work within the production schedule, managing files and meeting deadlines

Understand the production process

Be able to communicate effectively with other teams and disciplines is essential

Have some knowledge of programming

Be able to reveal attitude, emotions and mood through a character’s movement and behaviour

Understand the timing and appearance of human and animal movement and facial expressions, and be able to lip sync

Be able to create memorable characters that will appeal to players

Have spatial awareness and a feel for movement over time

Have knowledge of the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures

Audio Engineer

The audio engineer creates the soundtrack to the game, along with the character voices, ambient sound and the background music. The audio engineers will talk to the creators and discuss what sounds and music is needed, find source material from audio libraries, create new sounds with specialized equipment, and finally use equipment to integrate the sounds into the game.

This job also requires someone who will follow the client brief in a very in depth way so they can produce the right music for the right part of a game.

    

For this job, you will need:

Be able to create music

Have sound engineering skills and have the technology to do so

Be able to work independently or effectively as a group

Have a sense of timing

To have a feel for the atmosphere of games

Be able to work to deadlines

Creative Director

Creative directors are in control of the overview and look of a game. This role plays a big importance when it comes to making decisions on big parts of how the game plays, or is played. 

They are also in charge of the quality of a game, which means managing the assets such as the type of music, art style, audio and gameplay used.

For this job you will need:

To be able to help, guide and inspire workers to create the best product possible

To be able to make hard decisions about a game that may affect its budget or quality

Have a passion for games

Understand what the public finds appealing in games

Have great communication skills

Have great presentation skills

Have a big imagination and creativity

Have an understanding of the financial aspects of game development

Game Designer

A game designer will create the core aspects of a game, such as how it looks, how it plays and what the story is. 

This job will require the ability to work with lots of groups in this industry such as the artists, audio team, programmers etc.

For this job, you will need:

Have storytelling and narrative development skills

Be creative

Be able to receive and give constructive feedback

Be able to communicate with all members of a company to produce a game

Have an awareness of the various games platforms and technologies available

Be able to think systematically and strategically

Have an understanding of the basics in programming, such as ‘Scripting’

Have a good grasp of a range of 2D and 3D graphics animation packages

Have basic drawing and visual design skills

Be able to present an idea visually and on paper

Game Programmer

The game programmers are the technical side of the gaming industry. These people are in charge of making the game actually work by inputting codes for each character, object, enemy, etc. this job can be very hard because it requires lots of trial and error and a big understanding of real world physics so the game can seem realistic.

For this job, you will need:

Skills at programming at C grade or above

Be highly organised

Be able to work independently or as a team

Have good communication skills

Have a good experience working on different devices or consoles

Be able to listen to instructions and meet a deadline

Have a good understanding of game play

Game Programmer

The game programmers are the technical side of the gaming industry. These people are in charge of making the game actually work by inputting codes for each character, object, enemy, etc. 

This job can be very hard because it requires lots of trial and error and a big understanding of real world physics so the game can seem realistic.

For this job, you will need:

Skills at programming at C grade or above

Be highly organised

Be able to work independently or as a team

Have good communication skills

Have a good experience working on different devices or consoles

Be able to listen to instructions and meet a deadline

Have a good understanding of game play

Level Editor

Level editors create interactive playable areas for segments of the game. This includes landscapes, architecture, structures and objects in the level.

For this job, you will need:

To be able to visualize areas and layouts

To be able to 3D model

Have a grasp on video game design principles

To have an understanding of programming and scripting so you can work with other members of a company

Have a good understanding and experience in using world editing tools

Have a good knowledge of different gaming platforms

Be well organised

Be able to work independently and as a team

Be creative and be able to use your own imagination

Have excellent communication skills

Have a passion for games and an understanding of its theory

Be able to pay close attention to detail

Market Manager

A market manager is in charge of promoting a game to increase the amount of the public that know of the game and increase the amount of game sales. You will need to have the management skills to lead and motivate a team.

For this job, you will need:

A great understanding of the market in the gaming industry

How to promote a product effectively

How to conduct market research and be able to understand what it shows

Have very good communication skills

To be able to work independently and as a team

Be well organised

Have great managing skills

Product Manager

Product managers are very similar to marketing managers, in the way that they both operate to increase game sales through marketing. The product manager implements marketing campaigns to further increase game sales.

For this job, you will need:

To be able to work well as part of a multi-disciplinary team, both in terms of being managing relationships and communicating within a company

Have strong negotiation skills in dealing with external partners and suppliers

Have a good working knowledge of the games market, in terms of market breakdown, targeted audience and competing products

Be able to manage a marketing budget

Be able to predict product sales and analyse sell-through performance after a game is released

Have strong presentation and communication skills

Have good knowledge of games and the games industry

Have knowledge of the requirements of the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures

QA Tester

This job involves the tester to test the game, looking for bugs and reporting them so they can be fixed, essentially fine-tuning the game to give it a better final quality.

For this job, you will need to:

Be analytical and methodical

Have a good knowledge of games titles on the market so that you can evaluate a game against its competition

Have an understanding of how games are put together and how the different elements of a game contribute to the playing experience

Be able not only to identify and record a problem, but also to try to work out what is causing it

Have excellent communication skills, including tact in dealing with other members of the team

Pay close attention to detail

Be persistent and patient

Be able to play games for long periods

Have good negotiation and conflict resolution skills

Have a passion for game playing

Have knowledge of the requirements of the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures