Games Roles

Technical Artist:

A)

To be a Technical Artist you need to be good at communicating with others, this is essential for the role. You also need to have good abilities in programing and art and a extensive knowledge of various 3D programs and game creation suites.

B)

A technical artist is responsible for acting at a communicator for and between the Artists and programmers. They are involved with the production stage of the pipeline. They ensure that the assets and creative vision can be implemented into the game without sacrificing performance based on the restrictions of the platforms.

Game Designer

A)

To be a games designer you need to have a good understanding of a range of topics and skills in areas like Programing and art. You also need to have skills in various software and be creative in areas relating to story writing and be able to apply basic game theory to these.

They also need to have a deep technical understanding of the platforms,  as a unique approach to each will be needed.

B)

A game designer has a role in all the production phase till the release of the game influencing various areas mainly in the core gameplay and how long each element of the game should have time spent on it. They communicate with other designers.

Creative Director -

a) A Creative Director in the video games industry is someone who ensures the whole project is produced to a good standard and fulfils the initial criteria. They are a vital person, throughout the entire process, as they often are the one making or supervising the major decisions.  For example, they would help choose the sound design, gameplay and the aesthetic styling. As such, the creator of the original concept may (but not always) take upon this role.

b) Some of the responsibilities a Creative Director may face is the ensuring that their passion for the game motivates all of the departments to produce the best quality work they can do. This means they are working throughout the entire production process. In addition, they are responsible for making the difficult creative decisions thus they need to have a clear understanding of trends and audience types, as well as good leadership skills. They are also accountable for the scheduling, budgeting and general safety within the office.

Lead Programmer -

a) The Lead Programmer in the videogames industry is someone who leads the rest of the programming team to create the codebases and game development tools so that the other departments (like visual effects) can work on the rest of the game. They are vital during the Production process to make a working game and partly in the pre-production by creating prototypes.

b) As said previously, they are responsible for leading the programming team to create the code of the game. This includes being well-versed in the all the programming jobs and assisting them when problems arise (eg. game breaking bugs). In addition, they are responsible to assign different aspects to each member of the programming team, like UIs (User interface), AIs (Artificial Intelligence) and Physics. They must in align with other leaders, such as the Lead Artist, Lead Game Designer and Creative Director. Finally, they are also accountable for the technical specification of the game.

Lead Programmer

a)

The lead programmer is the head of the programming sector, which creates all the code which controls a game. They collaborate multiple divisions such as the Visual Effects sector and the game designers.

b) They need to have a high technical skill alongside having the ability to problem solve. Being able to work independently and within a team is a priority for a lead role as the other generalist programmers. This includes being well-versed in the all the programming jobs and assisting them when problems arise (eg. game breaking bugs). In addition, they are responsible to assign different aspects to each member of the programming team, like UIs (User interface), AIs (Artificial Intelligence) and Physics. They must in align with other leaders, such as the Lead Artist, Lead Game Designer and Creative Director. Finally, they are also accountable for the technical specification of the game.

VFX Artist

a) A VFX Artist within the games industry is someone who creates the extra details to make the world come alive. This can include animating smoke, explosions, lighting, fire, water and other particle effects such as dust.

b) The VFX Artist’s main working period is within the Production Process, for animation and cut scenes, and Post-Production, for promos and trailers. Their main responsibility is to add the finer details to Environment Artist’s work and collaborate with the Creative Director and Games Designer to enhance the game. They need to be flexible, well versed in 3D software such as Maya and animation techniques.

Environment artist

A)

The Environment artist is a member of the team who works on assembling the work that the player will be in, from working on the level design and environment to the bounding boxes and collisions. An Environment artist needs to be able to collaborate with other on their project and not be afraid of iterating on their work, as well as taking feedback from others.

B)

The Environment artist is mainly takes part in the production phase in the pipeline and is responsible for the construction of levels and objects in the world. They make everything the world interacts with and will communicate with other members of the team for things they need to add such as artists and VFX Artists.

Game Designer

A)

The Game Designer is a member of the team who needs a large variety of skills. They need to be able to communicate well with others and explain ideas thoroughly to their team. They need skills in Art, Programing and animation. They also tend to be some of the most experienced people in their team who is able to help and assist others who need a extra hand.

B)

The Game Designer is involved in the Pre production and Production phases of the production pipeline they help with the creation of of the work and work with the various people in their team to assemble the game and make sure all the game works and looks like the brief.