Game design. Game design is the design of games. It is the art of elaborating rules to facilitate interaction between players, for playful, educating or simulation purposes. Game design can be applied to different media, such as board games, card games, casino games, role-playing games, video games, war games or to itself, an example of metadesign. It is scientifically underpinned in game theory.
Baur, Wolfgang. Level design. History[edit] In early days of video games, a single programmer would create the maps and layouts for a game, and a discipline or profession dedicated solely to level design did not exist.[4][5][6] Early games often featured a level system of ascending difficulty as opposed to progression of story-line.[4] The first game genre that required significant amounts of time to design areas were text-based games,[7] such as MUDs.
Often, promoted users were assigned to create new paths, new rooms, new equipment, and new actions, often using the game interface itself. 1983's Lode Runner was one of the first titles to ship with a level editor,[9][10] and its designer, Douglas Smith, reputedly paid neighborhood children to design levels for the game. In certain games, such as roguelike games, levels may be procedurally generated. Process[edit] General steps include: The Level Design Process may be iterated several times before achieving the desired outcome.[5] Level bugs[edit] Level designer[edit] Game programmer. A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer".[1][2] A game programmer should not be confused with a game designer, who works on game design.[3] History[edit] The Apple II series was a popular video game platform during the early home computer era.
Despite being outperformed by later systems, it remained popular until the early 1990s. In the early days of video games (from the early 1970s to mid-1980s), a game programmer also took on the job of a designer and artist. This was generally because the abilities of early computers were so limited that having specialized personnel for each function was unnecessary. The desire for adding more depth and assets to games necessitated a division of labor. Disciplines[edit] Game engine programmer[edit] Game programming. This article is about the specifics of the programming aspect of video game development, for a broader overview see video game development. Development process[edit] Prototyping[edit] Programmers are often required to produce prototypes of gameplay ideas and features. A great deal of prototyping may take place during pre-production, before the design document is complete, and may help determine what features the design specifies. Prototypes are developed quickly with very little time for up-front design and mostly act as a proof of concept or to test ideas.
Game design[edit] Main article: Game design Though the programmer's main job is not to develop the game design, the programmers often contribute to the design, as do game artists. Programmers often closely follow the game design document. Production[edit] During production, programmers may create a great deal of source code to create the game described in the game's design document. Testing[edit] Main article: Game testing Maintenance[edit] Video game developer. A video game developer is a software developer that specializes in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games.[1][2] A game developer can range from a single person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with employee responsibilities split between individual disciplines, such as programming, design, art, testing, etc. Most game developer companies have video game publisher financial and usually marketing support.[3] Self-funded developers are known as independent or indie developers and usually make indie games.[4] A developer may specialize in a certain video game console (such as Nintendo's Wii U, Microsoft's Xbox one, Sony's PlayStation 4), or may develop for a number of systems (including personal computers).
[citation needed] Video-game developers specialize in certain types of games (such as role-playing video games or first-person shooters). Types[edit] First-party developer[edit] Second-party developer[edit] Quality of life[edit] Game development. Video game development is the process of creating a video game. Development is undertaken by a game developer, which may range from a single person to a large business. Traditional commercial PC and console games are normally funded by a publisher and take several years to develop. Indie games can take less time and can be produced cheaply by individuals and small developers. The indie game industry has seen a rise in recent years with the growth of new online distribution systems and the mobile game market.
The first video games were developed in the 1960s, but required mainframe computers and were not available to the general public. Mainstream PC and console games are generally developed in phases. Mobile games are, in general, much quicker to develop than the mainstream PC and console games. Overview[edit] Game development is the software development process by which a video game is produced. All but the smallest developer companies work on several titles at once. History[edit] Video game director.
Video game director is a broad term that may refer to: Video game producer, the person in charge of overseeing development of a video gameTechnical director, usually a senior technical person within creative groupArt director, a blanket title for a variety of similar job functionsCreative director, a position often found within creative organizationsSound director, the head of the sound department Video game director may also refer to the lead roles of: Video game developer, a software developer that creates video gamesVideo game designer, a person who designs gameplayVideo game programmer, a person who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software.
Game testing. Game testing, a subset of game development, is a software testing process for quality control of video games.[1][2][3] The primary function of game testing is the discovery and documentation of software defects (aka bugs). Interactive entertainment software testing is a highly technical field requiring computing expertise, analytic competence, critical evaluation skills, and endurance.[4][5] In recent years the field of game testing has come under fire for being excessively strenuous and unrewarding, both financially and emotionally.[6] History[edit] In the early days of computer and video games, the developer was in charge of all the testing.
No more than one or two testers were required due to the limited scope of the games. In some cases, the programmers could handle all the testing. As games become more complex, a larger pool of QA resources, called "Quality Assessment" or "Quality Assurance" is necessary. Overview[edit] Game tester[edit] Roles[edit] Employment[edit] Compensation[edit]