The Video Games Design Industry. Who Does What and When?

Game Designer

The Game Designer is often responsible for the overall game concept, and will work with the rest of the design team to determine the purpose of the game (what it is that the player is asked to do), the key features (what are the core elements that will make up the gameplay experience), and the overarching flow of the game (what will the player do first, then what would they do, what reward will they get etc.) Find out more about what it's like to be a Designer in this interview with Hal Sandbach of Evolution Studios (the team behind the Motorstorm series).

Scriptwriter

Some game concepts are based on the story that the player follows; some are based on the actions that the player must do. It’s up to the scriptwriter to work with the team to take the concept and develop the story (the ‘narrative’), the dialogue and any other text. The narrative will often follow a typical type (the ‘genre’), such as thriller, action or adventure which the player discovers as they increase their level.

Illustrator

The Illustrator, or Concept Artist defines the look and feel of the game, making sketches to show how all the different elements look together in the world of the game. Depending on the audience the game is aimed at, a game could be inspired by cartoons to look fun, or by films to look more cinematic, or anything else!

Storyboard Artist

The storyboard artist must have a strong understanding of the narrative and the visual world of the game, as well as how the software used to build the game affects what is possible. They use computer software programmes to create series of drawings showing how the game progresses for the player.

Graphic Designer

A Graphic Designer will develop the Illustrator’s work on the environments, characters and objects in more detail.

GUI Designer

The GUI (‘graphic user interface’) Designer finds ways for the game to operate using visual images or icons instead of written commands. This is how a player interacts with the screen.

Map Builder

Either the Map Builder or a Level Editor maps out each level of the game.

Level Editor

After sketching ideas, the Level Editor uses computer software modelling tools to develop the gameplay. They then programme the characters’ motions and build the environment and interactive objects for characters to explore and test their skills. They make sure there are no 'bugs', where a character gets stuck or falls outside a level.

Programmer

(Description provided by TIGA) 

Programmers are the builders of the game. They write the code that forms the very structure of the game. They also write the editors and toolsets that both the Designers and the Artists use to create their In-Game assets (characters, models and environments, scripts and dialogues). A typical modern game programme includes code that handles elaborate lighting, simulates physics, animates characters, handle player inputs, and even manages network communications between different players. If a game was a house, the Programmers are the Bricklayer, the Artist makes the bricks and the Designer is the architect that ensure the house looks like his blueprint (the design document).