Job titles in the game design industry.
by Kevin Erkelenz · 12/20/2008 (1:59 am) · 6 comments
Hello fellow community members,
I know in the past, like most other teenager, I have been talking about projects way beyond my scope and just as anyone's common sense could have predicted they all failed or did not even start at all but I am pretty sure I have passed that point in maturity now since I have learned to take my time, sit back, and handle things with a lot of love and care - no matter how small or large a success is a success and it does not have to be a AAA title with a $72mil budget.
Right now I am working on several projects, three actually and they are all simple prototypes to test out several things I have been playing with. Nothing extraordinary or special since I am positive that the vast majority of you are quite familiar with Torque's commonly used features, I am just learning how they work together and trying to build up a work flow that suits me and to keep things organized I divided it in to several prototypes which I am aiming at putting together in the end so I am keeping that in mind while working, the actual reason for this post is an informational project I am working on for a school presentation and personal use.
My assignment is to pick a work-field industry of my own desire, list all the different job titles and descriptions I can find that fall in the area of my chosen industry, and finally pick my desired job and write a 10 page essay describing why I want to be or why I want to take on advanced schooling in order to be a "whatever I chose". Now I want to be a 3D Artist, of course I will always wear all the hats of game development considering that I know how to design websites, compose music (techno/trance/industrial/acid/progressive/euro), code "fluently" in multiple languages (such as C++, PHP/MySQL, and Torque-Script), and I do a pretty good job at the average graphic arts task I find myself completing such as logos, banners, wallpapers, etc.
But yeah enough talk, what I am basically asking for is the various job titles/descriptions in the video game industry. I can think of a few but I don't know what they are called "professionally" and also this is an informational project so I have to be VERY detailed since I got the whole winter break to do it which means that small differences like Programmer and Lead Programmer can make a difference easily and I have no idea what all that means... I really really appreciate any help on this in advance you guys, thanks!
Happy game development everyone and enjoy the holidays!
-Kevin
I know in the past, like most other teenager, I have been talking about projects way beyond my scope and just as anyone's common sense could have predicted they all failed or did not even start at all but I am pretty sure I have passed that point in maturity now since I have learned to take my time, sit back, and handle things with a lot of love and care - no matter how small or large a success is a success and it does not have to be a AAA title with a $72mil budget.
Right now I am working on several projects, three actually and they are all simple prototypes to test out several things I have been playing with. Nothing extraordinary or special since I am positive that the vast majority of you are quite familiar with Torque's commonly used features, I am just learning how they work together and trying to build up a work flow that suits me and to keep things organized I divided it in to several prototypes which I am aiming at putting together in the end so I am keeping that in mind while working, the actual reason for this post is an informational project I am working on for a school presentation and personal use.
My assignment is to pick a work-field industry of my own desire, list all the different job titles and descriptions I can find that fall in the area of my chosen industry, and finally pick my desired job and write a 10 page essay describing why I want to be or why I want to take on advanced schooling in order to be a "whatever I chose". Now I want to be a 3D Artist, of course I will always wear all the hats of game development considering that I know how to design websites, compose music (techno/trance/industrial/acid/progressive/euro), code "fluently" in multiple languages (such as C++, PHP/MySQL, and Torque-Script), and I do a pretty good job at the average graphic arts task I find myself completing such as logos, banners, wallpapers, etc.
But yeah enough talk, what I am basically asking for is the various job titles/descriptions in the video game industry. I can think of a few but I don't know what they are called "professionally" and also this is an informational project so I have to be VERY detailed since I got the whole winter break to do it which means that small differences like Programmer and Lead Programmer can make a difference easily and I have no idea what all that means... I really really appreciate any help on this in advance you guys, thanks!
Happy game development everyone and enjoy the holidays!
-Kevin
About the author
I'm a student with a passion for video games and a dream to make them, I am a beginner but I am eager to learn lots.
#2
12/20/2008 (9:28 am)
Thanks for the link. there were some of those that I had not considered before.
#3
12/20/2008 (12:08 pm)
In deed, thanks a million for that - I didn't even know that association existed and just got myself a student membership. =) 
#4
Amen to that, brother. Your first success as an indie hobbyist happens when you embark on a project totally under the estimation of your ability. It takes a few totally non-proportionally aimed projects before anyone can figure it out.
Wisdom is the ultimate feature creep killer.
12/20/2008 (5:12 pm)
Quote:I know in the past, like most other teenager, I have been talking about projects way beyond my scope and just as anyone's common sense could have predicted they all failed or did not even start at all but I am pretty sure I have passed that point in maturity now since I have learned to take my time, sit back, and handle things with a lot of love and care - no matter how small or large a success is a success and it does not have to be a AAA title with a $72mil budget.
Amen to that, brother. Your first success as an indie hobbyist happens when you embark on a project totally under the estimation of your ability. It takes a few totally non-proportionally aimed projects before anyone can figure it out.
Wisdom is the ultimate feature creep killer.
#5
I don't have any personal experience in a large studio, but I've been working in a small studio for a couple years now and I have talked to people who worked in large studios. From what I've gathered... keep to one of the major categories in that list, but maybe know more than one thing within a category. It's seems like a good practical balance between getting really good at what you do and not being so specialized that you are only able to compete for one single specific job. Just a balance there.
12/20/2008 (11:44 pm)
The list linked above is great.I don't have any personal experience in a large studio, but I've been working in a small studio for a couple years now and I have talked to people who worked in large studios. From what I've gathered... keep to one of the major categories in that list, but maybe know more than one thing within a category. It's seems like a good practical balance between getting really good at what you do and not being so specialized that you are only able to compete for one single specific job. Just a balance there.
#6
12/21/2008 (2:46 am)
Good link and good post!
Torque Owner Andy Rollins
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