4 Types of Video Game Industry Jobs

Ah, finally the holiday parties are over and life has returned to some semblance of normality. It seems that every time we go to some group function, K inevitably gets asked about his job as a video game developer. The automatic response then becomes "Oh, so you do a lot of programming?" Apparently, the general populace believes that all video game developers are geeks who sit in dark cubicles, furiously typing the night away. It's like assuming that everyone in a hospital is a doctor. But no worries, I've heard this explanation many a times and am happy to share what I've learned. Here are the four most common types you'll find walking around the halls of your typical development company.

The Producer

Requirements: management experience with a passion for video games Favorite Games: Call of Duty series, anything from EA He's slick, he's suave, he's on the fast track. This alpha male likes to talk budgets, head count, and The Schedule. He's the one who will showcase your hard months of work to the big wigs while glossing over bugs and unfinished features. Producers can run the gamut from a rough & tumble John Wayne to your typical metro business professional, but either way he will tear up the scene in any FPS fragfest.

The Computer Programmer

Requirements: C++ programming skills with an air of intellectual snobbery Favorite Games: Starcraft, Supreme Commander, Puzzle Quest The stereotypical computer geek who was lucky enough to make it into the industry. He'll complain bitterly about the long hours, but never leaves because he's living his dream job. He relates to his coworkers by inviting them to play RTS games over lunch, and knows most of his friends by their online screennames. It's not uncommon to see an ungodly number of soda cans proudly stacked in their cubes.

The Artist

Requirements: posseses an impressive art portfolio and demo reel Favorite Games: Final Fantasy, God of War, pretty games!! It's like flipping through the best and worst-dressed in People magazine: they either dress like George Clooney or Lady Gaga. Another duality is that some artists are very team-oriented, while others have that "art is my soul" elitist attitude. Frustration is a normal part of the job since their resource-intensive creations tend to be first on the chopping block. Marijuana usage during lunch is also not uncommon.

The Designer

Requirements: demonstrated aptitude for general game or system design Favorite Games: World of Warcraft, D&D, any and everything for the sake of "research" If the artist is the interior designer and programmer is the plumber/electrician that makes everything work, this creature is the architect of the game. Designers are in charge of the game mechanics, fiction, map layouts, systems - basically what makes the game fun. He builds specifications and systems for the programmer to make and creates the characters and a conceptual world for the artist to render. He looks like your average gamer, which can vary widely as you all know.