BTEC Extended
Diploma in Computer Games Design
Unit 1: Pre-Production Techniques for the Creative Media Industries
Pre-Production and planning for a Computer Game
Unit 1: Pre-Production Techniques for the Creative Media Industries
Pre-Production and planning for a Computer Game
There are many pre-production elements in which needs to be
considered when preparing for a specific game idea. The pre-production elements
in which I am going to discuss are: Type of production, Finance, Time
constraints, Personnel, Facilities, Materials, Contributors and Codes of
Practice. Each of these pre-production elements are going to be implemented
into what I will need to make my game I am creating and why I will need them.
The type of production which I will be doing is game pre-production. This game
will be created on Game Maker and so will be a PC game.
Finance,
Equipment & Facilities:
When
it comes to finance, you will have to carefully plan how you spend your money
and buy what you think is necessary to make you game. You will have to purchase
a lot of things in order to make your game. First off, you will need to support
whatever program that you are using or going to be using. Furthermore, you will have to pay for
licensing of the programs and such. For example, Maya costs £97 pounds per month
and for a year it will cost £1,160. GameMaker (which is what I will be using
for my game) has 3 different versions I can download/buy. The first version is
for free, this includes registration, made with GameMaker Splash Screen in
game, unlimited resources, GameMaker: Player Export and Windows Desktop Module.
The second version of GameMaker (Professional) costs $149.99 which includes a
lot more features and the third and final version of GameMaker (Master
Collection) costs $799.99 which includes everything GameMaker can offer. UDK
(Unreal Development Kit) is a development kit which you can use to create games
and is free to download. Unity has two options in which you can download. The
first version is the free download which is called the personal edition and has
a limitation on the features and the second download is the professional
edition which costs $75 per month and comes with all the features. This is only
one of the aspects of which financing will cover, you will also need to make
sure that your computer system can handle these programs. I have researched
what sort of specifications the programs need to run well with and how much
they cost. To run Unity, you will need the minimum of Windows XP, 7, 8, 10 and
graphics card with DX9 (anything made since 2004). Lenovo H30 Desktop PC costs
£449.99 includes, windows 10 free upgrade, I3 intel core processor, 8GB RAM,
dedicated NVIDIA GT 705 direct X 9 compatible graphics card and 1TB HD. In my
opinion, I wouldn’t go for a PC with NVIDIA GT as I feel the GTX graphic cards
work a lot nicer and makes it all look a lot nicer. This system is also
suitable for GameMaker too. For
the system requirements to use UDK you will need the minimum of windows 7/8
64-bit OS, Quad-Core Intel or AMD, 2.5 GHz or faster, 8GB RAM and DirectX 11
compatible graphics card. The cheapest computer I have found costs £499.99.
This PC has 8GB, AMD FX-4300 Black edition processor, AMD Radeon R7 250 which
is direct x 11 compatible, comes with windows 10 free upgrade and 1TB hard
drive. This system is also suitable for Maya.
Despite that all of the above are great for creating PC games, they are not suitable for creating games on other platforms. If you want to publish and create an Xbox game then you will need to use the ID@Xbox (Independent Developers at Xbox. When researching, I was unable to find out how much it costs to purchase the development kit. On the other hand, I found out that if you are a developer with an approved concept for Xbox One, then you will receive two dev’ kits for free. When it came to researching how much the PlayStation 4 Dev Kit costs, It was rumoured that it would cost $2500, Even though the PlayStation Dev’ Kit costs so much, it was also rumoured that Sony were handing out their dev’ kits like “candy”. http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/24/4553842/so-how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-for-playstation-4
For the Apple Developer Program it costs $99 per membership year. You are able to download and install the latest beta OS releases simply for development and distribution, advanced app capabilities, testing and support app which allows you to invite users to test your iOS app and then you are able to distribute your app.
For the android developer you need to pay $25 as a one-time registration fee that can be paid with various cards. Androids developer console offers you to set up a google payments merchant account if you want to sell priced apps, in-app products or subscriptions. With Steam Greenlight, you only have to pay £70.00 and then you can publish as many games as you like under Greenlight. There are rules in which you have to abide by to post your games and there are different factors that you have to consider.
Despite that all of the above are great for creating PC games, they are not suitable for creating games on other platforms. If you want to publish and create an Xbox game then you will need to use the ID@Xbox (Independent Developers at Xbox. When researching, I was unable to find out how much it costs to purchase the development kit. On the other hand, I found out that if you are a developer with an approved concept for Xbox One, then you will receive two dev’ kits for free. When it came to researching how much the PlayStation 4 Dev Kit costs, It was rumoured that it would cost $2500, Even though the PlayStation Dev’ Kit costs so much, it was also rumoured that Sony were handing out their dev’ kits like “candy”. http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/24/4553842/so-how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-for-playstation-4
For the Apple Developer Program it costs $99 per membership year. You are able to download and install the latest beta OS releases simply for development and distribution, advanced app capabilities, testing and support app which allows you to invite users to test your iOS app and then you are able to distribute your app.
For the android developer you need to pay $25 as a one-time registration fee that can be paid with various cards. Androids developer console offers you to set up a google payments merchant account if you want to sell priced apps, in-app products or subscriptions. With Steam Greenlight, you only have to pay £70.00 and then you can publish as many games as you like under Greenlight. There are rules in which you have to abide by to post your games and there are different factors that you have to consider.
They are different ways to receive and manage your money in
which you will be using in the pre-production process. Self-Financing is one of
the ways to manage your money. Self-financing means being able to make enough
money to carry on supporting yourself/your company. Money that comes from
yourself and not from anyone else such as investors and lenders. The advantages
and disadvantages of self-financing are listed below.
Advantages
|
Disadvantages
|
Quickest and easiest way
of securing money
|
The person who in which
started up the business (entrepreneur) may not have the required knowledge or
skills to keep the business running or make it bigger.
|
The entrepreneur gets to
spend the money on whatever the entrepreneur needs/wants.
|
The entrepreneur is the
only one at risk, if the money runs low then it is the entrepreneurs roll to
sort it out.
|
It gets rid of any
complications of having to add more partners and shareholders.
|
If an opportunity comes
up to expand your business or make an appearance somewhere, you may not have
the money to take the opportunity.
|
It is simple to exit the
business.
|
Possibly be put into
debt by taking out overdrafts from the bank.
|
All of the profit goes
to the entrepreneur.
|
If you are low on money or don’t have any at all, there are
different ways in which you can receive money to help you create your game.
There are websites in which you can visit that will help you, but only under
certain conditions. Indie Fund and GamesLab are two very good examples of indie
funding. Indie
fund is an organisation in which is created by many different independent game
developers. The indie fund is to help fund businesses in which are going into
indie video game development. GamesLab
Development Fund is a dedicated program in which support and invest in indie
game businesses. Companies that are eligible to this program will be granted up
to £25,000 to support themselves on. This includes publishing, marketing and
distributing. The advantages and disadvantages are listed below, they cover the
advantages and disadvantages of going to an indie funding website to help you
develop your game.
Advantages
|
Disadvantages
|
Simple contract which you doesn’t need
negotiation or lawyers. (indie fund)
|
They don’t publish (both)
|
Get funded quicker than other funding organisations
(indie fund)
|
Cannot be repaid if your game doesn’t
launch (indie fund)
|
Advisers to ask for advice when you run
into a situation or problem (indie fund)
|
Very selective (indie)
|
Offers master classes for development
which includes pitching, legal workshops, marketing and development.
(GamesLab)
|
|
Free access to UK events where it is
possible for you promote your company (GamesLab)
|
|
Opportunity to show your game at the
GamesLab event (GamesLab)
|
|
Regular contact with an industry mentor
who can offer guidance and advice (GamesLab)
|
Crowd funding is another way in which you can raise a certain amount of
money to support you in creating your game. Crowd funding is where you ask a
large group of different people for money and then receiving small amounts of
money from each person. Crowd funding is very common on the internet. Indiegogo
is accordingly the “largest global fundraising site” in whom help out
individual people, businesses and non-profits to raise money online for what
they want to achieve. How it works is that you start a campaign and then you
activate your community and then wait for it to be funded. Kickstarter is
another website in which helps people raise enough money for them to fund their
projects. Kickstarter also builds a community around your work. With
Kickstarter, you are able to track your funding progress on your phone with the
Kickstarter app. The advantages and disadvantages listed below talk through why
crowd funding could be a good decision or it could possibly be a bad decision.
Advantages
|
Disadvantages
|
Free to
launch (Indiegogo)
|
Your
project may not get funded at all
|
“Simply
and Easy” campaign editor (Indiegogo)
|
Collects
5% fee from a projects funding total (Kickstarter)
|
Multiple
payment options (indiegogo)
|
Pledges on
Kickstarter are collected and processed by their payment partner, stripe.
They take 3-5% of the processing fees.
|
100%
ownership of your work (Kickstarter)
|
The final way to receive money (from
what I have researched) is from receiving grants. “Epic has created a
$5,000,000 development fund to provide financial grants to innovative projects built
in and around Unreal Engine 4. Awards range from $5,000 to $50,000, and there
are no strings attached: you continue to own your IP, are free to publish
however you wish, and can use the grant funds without any restrictions or
obligations to Epic.” This quote is from the Unreal Engine website. If you are
using crowd funding sites such as Kickstarter then you are still eligible to
receiving a grant from Epic. Although to apply for the UE dev grant you need
your project to already be working in UE4 or for it.
A game publisher is a company that publishes video games that
they have either been developed by someone in that company or by someone who
has created a successful game. Activision is a very popular video game
publisher. It has published series of games in which are extremely popular
amongst the gaming community. These game series are Call of Duty, Destiny and
Skylanders. They also publish games which are on a variety of platforms.
To make my game, I wouldn’t need a grant to publish my game
as it is only a small game. The grants in which are given are usually there for
a person to develop a big game whereas I want mine to be published in steam or free to play on the
internet.
Facility Houses:
Facility houses are houses in which are made for a specific
purpose. I have found a website in which has a facility house for media
production. They have film crews and kit, sound proof room, Avid symphony
Nitris DX edit suite, Avid Media Composer edit suites and so on. The two links
below are links to two facility houses which work with post-production.
http://www.the-hall.co.uk/index.html
Extra information:
In the game of Call of Duty: Advanced warfare, they use Audiomotion to create and deliver the Exo Zombies trailer. Here is a list of the post production they do, they provide a varied range of post-services apart from solved, re-targeted animation, Conversion to different formats and output to all major 3D pipelines, animation post production including loops and blends, solving to custom rigs and skeletons and un-paralled after sales support.
Time Constraints:
Deadlines and how to manage your time:
When creating games, you will have deadlines in which you would need to
meet. You will need a good structure of how you are going to complete the game
and when by. Setting yourself a list of deadlines would be ideal as that means
you know that you will have to complete this certain task to move on to the
next. If you didn’t have a set structure then your layout for creating the game
will be messy and you may not release your game out in time. If you have an
idea of when you want you to game to be finished then write it down and stick
to that deadline. The more you push the deadline ahead, the likelihood of
actually finishing the game would reduce.
Now that you have a set date for when you want your game to published, you would need to break your game down into chunks. This meaning knowing what you need to do first and when by. Make a list of what needs to be done, for example, sounds, graphics and coding. Once you have written down what needs to be down, break that list down even more. So with the sounds, the list could be; sounds for level 1, sounds for level 2, sounds for when you die, sounds for when you have picked something up etc. Although, you don’t need to break everything down so that the list seems long and unbearable, just break it down until you think it’s reasonable enough and then move on to the next list that you are going to create. This idea is very helpful for each game that you create. It will help you keep your work very organised. After making the lists, move the lists into an order of which needs to doing first. Also group the lists together if they fall under a similar subject. Then assign the people whom you work with, with what they specify in. Giving them things to do in an organised manner helps keep everything under control. A way of managing your money would be to set your money aside for the things you need monthly first and then after that set your money aside for the yearly things around 4 months before you need to pay. When it comes to deadlines for designing my game, I will preferably want to section off each level and work on each level individually and set times for when I need to complete a certain level for. I think working this way would be best as it is a platform game that I am creating and I need the levels to progress. Also, completing a level before jumping to next without finishing the others would be slightly inefficient as I will be constantly switching rooms fixing another level and then forgetting what I needed to fix on a previous room.
Availability of equipment and personnel:
The availability of the equipment that you use is talking about how long you have got the licenses for that you have bought. For example, Maya costs £97 per month, Unity Professional Edition costs $75 per month and iOS Apple Developer Program for $99 per membership year. You would have to keep on top of when these licenses run out and have to set money aside to pay for them again.
The availability of the personnel is very dependent on whether you work on your own, in a small group/business or a large business. If you work on your own you would need to set time for yourself to work on the game and also revolve whether you work at your job or look after family members around working on your game. If you work with a small group of people you will have to consider what times that they can dedicate themselves to working on the game. When working in a large business you would have to consider when your workers are available and know which days they work on. Furthermore, you may come across that one of your workers are ill and you need to take in mind which other person could take over and if they can do overtime. I will only need to use GameMaker. One version of GameMaker is free however it is also good for me to purchase the other versions as this will allow me to use more features on GameMaker itself.
Now that you have a set date for when you want your game to published, you would need to break your game down into chunks. This meaning knowing what you need to do first and when by. Make a list of what needs to be done, for example, sounds, graphics and coding. Once you have written down what needs to be down, break that list down even more. So with the sounds, the list could be; sounds for level 1, sounds for level 2, sounds for when you die, sounds for when you have picked something up etc. Although, you don’t need to break everything down so that the list seems long and unbearable, just break it down until you think it’s reasonable enough and then move on to the next list that you are going to create. This idea is very helpful for each game that you create. It will help you keep your work very organised. After making the lists, move the lists into an order of which needs to doing first. Also group the lists together if they fall under a similar subject. Then assign the people whom you work with, with what they specify in. Giving them things to do in an organised manner helps keep everything under control. A way of managing your money would be to set your money aside for the things you need monthly first and then after that set your money aside for the yearly things around 4 months before you need to pay. When it comes to deadlines for designing my game, I will preferably want to section off each level and work on each level individually and set times for when I need to complete a certain level for. I think working this way would be best as it is a platform game that I am creating and I need the levels to progress. Also, completing a level before jumping to next without finishing the others would be slightly inefficient as I will be constantly switching rooms fixing another level and then forgetting what I needed to fix on a previous room.
Availability of equipment and personnel:
The availability of the equipment that you use is talking about how long you have got the licenses for that you have bought. For example, Maya costs £97 per month, Unity Professional Edition costs $75 per month and iOS Apple Developer Program for $99 per membership year. You would have to keep on top of when these licenses run out and have to set money aside to pay for them again.
The availability of the personnel is very dependent on whether you work on your own, in a small group/business or a large business. If you work on your own you would need to set time for yourself to work on the game and also revolve whether you work at your job or look after family members around working on your game. If you work with a small group of people you will have to consider what times that they can dedicate themselves to working on the game. When working in a large business you would have to consider when your workers are available and know which days they work on. Furthermore, you may come across that one of your workers are ill and you need to take in mind which other person could take over and if they can do overtime. I will only need to use GameMaker. One version of GameMaker is free however it is also good for me to purchase the other versions as this will allow me to use more features on GameMaker itself.
Timescales for clearances:
When it comes to finally finishing the game you will need to set a time for
when your game can be tested. In this test it will determine what age rating
the game is given. For example, PEGI gets the developer of the game to complete
an online declaration form in which is sent to the administrator of the age
rating system. The completed form then gets reviewed by the administrator and
is used when the content of the game is being reviewed. They choose particular
sections of the game to review based off what information the developer has
given the administrator. This system is accordingly a more efficient way of
rating the game than by playing the full game.
For the delays in publishing you would need to set yourself another deadline after you have your original one set just in case you do not meet your first deadline. For the game to be legal it does need to be checked for plagiarism. To see that it is not the exact same as another game just different graphics. Also you need your game to be tested so that you can receive some feedback and change your game slightly if needed to. Organising this time after the release is essential as you will want this time slot to fit before the final release of the game. When it comes to my game, I would need the game to be verified so I would leave time at the end so this process can happen.
For the delays in publishing you would need to set yourself another deadline after you have your original one set just in case you do not meet your first deadline. For the game to be legal it does need to be checked for plagiarism. To see that it is not the exact same as another game just different graphics. Also you need your game to be tested so that you can receive some feedback and change your game slightly if needed to. Organising this time after the release is essential as you will want this time slot to fit before the final release of the game. When it comes to my game, I would need the game to be verified so I would leave time at the end so this process can happen.
Materials:
Concept Art:
Concept art is a way of displaying visual ideas for games, films, animation, comic books etc. Concept art can include ideas for characters, weapons, backgrounds, vehicles and much more. The concept art in which is created for a project is used as a guideline for the entire projects itself, it gives the look and feel to the project. Others consider concept art as visual development for concept design. Usually, when it comes to designs of characters and weapons, they show different designs for the same character/weapon. For the characters, the concept art would contain different styles of clothes the character might be able to change into in the game, the specific stances it will do and the different facial expressions.
Concept art is a way of displaying visual ideas for games, films, animation, comic books etc. Concept art can include ideas for characters, weapons, backgrounds, vehicles and much more. The concept art in which is created for a project is used as a guideline for the entire projects itself, it gives the look and feel to the project. Others consider concept art as visual development for concept design. Usually, when it comes to designs of characters and weapons, they show different designs for the same character/weapon. For the characters, the concept art would contain different styles of clothes the character might be able to change into in the game, the specific stances it will do and the different facial expressions.
This concept art is from Final Fantasy XIII,
it shows the different viewpoints of a character they have created and it shows
what sort of weapon this character specifically uses. The different viewpoints
show that the game artist has thought about this character thoroughly. Also you
can see the development of this concept art. The top right images, show the
original design of the front and back upper part of the body of the character
and then underneath is the characters full body in which has a lot more detail
to it, added colour and detail. The concept of the character from the side
viewpoint has a lot more detail and tone on its body. They have also added in
where the light hits the character and where the shadows are created. 
Audio:
Audio is very important in games. The audio can give the game an overall feel to it. For example, in horror games, the audio is very important as it makes the player feel fear. The game called “Outlast” is a prime example of having tense music playing when being chased by one of the “mental patients” contained within the asylum. Other games such as Mario, the audio used within that game is very memorable and that leaves a positive effect on the player. Audio in games isn’t just based on the background music, there are many different places you can use audio. You can use it when a player has collected something, the character has died, completed a level and so on. Within my game, I would like there to be audio whenever my character had collected something, when they have completed a level and moved on, when they die and for music to play in the background throughout the whole process of playing the game.
Audio is very important in games. The audio can give the game an overall feel to it. For example, in horror games, the audio is very important as it makes the player feel fear. The game called “Outlast” is a prime example of having tense music playing when being chased by one of the “mental patients” contained within the asylum. Other games such as Mario, the audio used within that game is very memorable and that leaves a positive effect on the player. Audio in games isn’t just based on the background music, there are many different places you can use audio. You can use it when a player has collected something, the character has died, completed a level and so on. Within my game, I would like there to be audio whenever my character had collected something, when they have completed a level and moved on, when they die and for music to play in the background throughout the whole process of playing the game.
Storyboard/animatic:
Storyboards and animatics are basically the same thing. The
only difference is, is that animatics are animated storyboards. An example of
when using animatics in the gaming industry would be using them in the
pre-production process of animation. They can be produced using computer
animation in 2D and 3D with special effects. A storyboard is a similar thing
except the drawings are static. Both techniques are ideas used before creating
the real thing.
Script:
Within the pre-production process, the script writer will need to create
the story of the game and explain the environment, characters, details of
scenes, triggers, actions, sounds and music which will be implemented into the
game. The script writer will have to make specific choices in which will suit
the original game idea which was created. He/she has a lot of things to work on
such as character development, how the story rolls out, what the environment
would be like in a specific scene, what the weather would be like, what sounds
play where and explain these actions thoroughly. Within my game, there will be
a story line in which suits the games end goal and links in with why the
character is collecting the specific pieces of stuff which needs to be
collected and why the character is going on such a journey.
Contributors:
In a lot of famous games there are voice actors/voice-over artists who
in which play a role in your game. They use these voices so that the game
sounds more professional. Furthermore, if your game fits into the
photo-realistic style, using famous voice actors would gain your game a lot of
attention. For example, Until Dawn is a horror game in which used the voices of
real actors and the characters of real actors. In my game, I wouldn’t need
voice actors as it is only a small game which is being made in game-maker. My
game doesn’t actually include any humans at all and is the complete opposite of
the style, photo-realistic. For my game, I only want the music to lead the
player through the levels. There are no dramatic cut-scenes involved within the
game in which would require speech.
The part in which is copyrighted in the game is the underlying code, the artwork and the sound. There are parts of a game in which are not copyrightable. These are the lives, scoring system, coins, the sky, the ground and much more. These all fall under the “Scenes of faire” section. A good example of this would be creating a football game. It would be ridiculous if you could not create a football game because the scoring system is the same as another game, even though that is the scoring system which is used in the original sport. Liability insurance is insurance in which protects the an organisation or a person from risk that they may be possibly sued and it protects against claims that in which a person has hurt themselves or damaged property due to inappropriate actions. Other codes of practise include health and safety and completion insurance. Every company/organisation has health and safety rules for the employees to follow. Everyone has to follow these health and safety rules within a work place so that one employee does not manage to injure another employee or themselves accidently. Completion insurance is insurance in which is used to guarantee minimum payment distribution amount only if the game is delivered on time.
Animators:
There are a list of things in which you need to fulfil to recognise whether you are perfect for this roll or not. Animators are the people who are “responsible for the portrayal of movement and behaviour within a game”. There are a number of certain skills that you need to have to become an Animator. You need to know how to use FMV (Full Motion Video), need to have some knowledge on how to program, need to be able to have knowledge of “traditional and computer 2D and 3D animation techniques”, need to have knowledge of “the requirements of the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures”, to be able to work as part of a team, have your own initiative and to “be able to take responsibility for organising your work within the production schedule, managing files and meeting deadlines”, need to be creative and imaginative and spatial awareness. There are other requirements which are needed, you need to understand the production process, to communicate well with other people in other teams, be able to understand the appearance of animal and human movement, and this includes lip syncing and limb movements. Animators give life to the characters which are created and they have to apply their understanding of movements of human and animals. They don’t just animate humans and animals, they animate objects too. Furthermore, they animate using 3D animation software. The average cost for Animators (Games) with 3-6 years of experience is $65.619 a year. With less than 3 years of experience it would be $42,512 a year and with 6+ years of experience it would be $73,031 a year. You need to have an animation-related degree with games animation involved. You also need to show your work that you have produced through a portfolio or/and a showreel. However, if you bring a reel it has to last roughly around 2-3 minutes and contain detail about contribution you have made. People who hire animators look for a variety of different genres and styles that you have worked with, different walking and running cycles and emotion, movement and personality portrayed in a character. For the game that I have created, I would need an animator to animate the sprites I have created. I would also need the animator to animate the moving platforms that I want in the game and to animate the objects that the player has to collect.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/325_animator_games
Assistant Producer:
An Assistant Producer makes sure that all of the game production staff deliver their work on time to a very high quality product, to the highest quality possible. What an Assistant Producer must do it work well in a team, have full knowledge of project management, have strong communications skills, verbal and written language, be able to learn new skills quickly, have high self-motivation and confidence in dealing with difficult situations, be able to plan ahead, set objectives and prioritise objectives when they need to be done first, have good management skills, pay close attention to detail, have high standards of work and to have knowledge of the health and safety legislation and procedures. An Assistant producer’s role and responsibility can change during the game development process and they also work between sales and marketing departments. To be fit for this job, you won’t need a qualification but you will need to have some previous experience working with production. You will be receiving training on the job. The salary of an Associate Producer in Ubisoft is between 24k to 26k.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/326_assistant_producer_games
Audio Engineers:
Their salary ranges from $20,000 a year to over $100,000 a year. What Audio Engineers do is create the soundtrack for a game they have been set to work on. This includes the sound effects, the music, the character voice, instruction voice and ambient effects. They must have a sense of timing, being able to create and perform music, have knowledge on using the relevant programs and technology, have imagination, creativity and have a sense of fun, to be able to keep up with any changes the producers decide to make, to be able to communicate well with the art departments of the gaming industry, to work independently, have good organisational skills and know the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures. Audio engineers usually work as 1. For my game sketch idea, I would need the audio engineer to work on the background music, making it something fun and cheer. I would need them to work on the sound of the snakes and when they die, the sound of when you have died, when you have collected some string, when you use Unicat’s special ability and then music for the final boss level which should be something quite daunting and serious.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/327_audio_engineer
Creative Director:
The Creative Director works in the design department in the gaming industry and is responsible for the overall look of the game, making sure that everything is in working order and oversees any high-level decisions that affect the game. As a Creative Director, you must be able to inspire those around you so that they make the highest quality product possible, be able to make tough decisions, have an excellent imagination, creativity and problem-solving skills, and be able to communicate well with other and have great presentation skills and have knowledge on relevant health and safety legislation and procedures. You don’t need a qualification to become a Creative Director however you do need previous experience and a strong artistic vision. The full time salary is 75k to 10k and the freelance day rate salary for a Creative Director is £350 to £500.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/329_external_producer
External Producer:
An External Producer is someone who ensures the successful delivery of a game, whilst working externally from the game development team. They also make sure that the publisher has all of the relevant information required to make that game as commercially successful as possible. To be an External Producer, you need to have a clear understanding of the role and requirements of a game publishing company and a game development company , understand the development and publishing processes from a game's design phase through to its release, have solid project management skills including scheduling, budget and risk management , have a passion for games, be able to handle multiple projects at the same time, have excellent communication and presentation skills, be able to manage people, time and resources and to have good negotiation skills and have knowledge of the requirements of the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures. You don’t need a qualification to be an External Produced however most External Producers are graduates in which have studied course including visual and technical arts. You must be able to demonstrate a track record gained by having been involved in every stage of a project. You will also need to have experience at a senior level of game development. You should have a good knowledge of project management software.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/329_external_producer
Games Designer:
The Games Designer decides on what a game consists of, how it plays and defining all of the core elements. They also talking to and telling the rest of the development team who create the art and computer code about the ideas they have come up with and what they want doing. They come up with a plan and decide on all of the elements in game. These elements in game are the structures, characters, what story it’s going to have, the setting, the rules, whether it is going to have vehicles or not, HUD design and if there are going to be different modes of play. To be a Games Designer you need to be able to work in collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams, be able to communicate your vision to artists, programmers, producers, marketing staff, and others involved in the development process, be able to accept constructive feedback on your work, be able to present your ideas both verbally and on paper, be imaginative and creative, have good written and verbal communication skills, have good basic visual design and drawing skills, be reasonably fluent in a range of 2D and 3D graphics and animation packages, such as 3D Studio Max, NUKE or Maya, have some programming skills at least at ‘scripting’ level , have an awareness of the various games platforms and technologies, possess a thorough understanding of game play theory, have storytelling and narrative development skills, be skilled in information design and user interface design, be able to think systematically and strategically, have knowledge of the requirements of the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures.
You apparently don’t have to have a specific qualification to become a Games Designer however, most people that are hired to be a Games Designer are graduates. Employers will want to see what work you have done and see what you can do, it’s best to take in portfolios of work and these portfolios can take in the form of a game project, proposal or written games design documents. The average salary of a Games Designer per year is $83,240. They can range from $45,090 to $121,230.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/331_game_designer
Game Programmer/Lead Programmer:
A Game Programmer is someone who designs and write the computer code that controls the game and runs the game. They also work in the development department. A Game Programmer must be able to program in C++,C and other programming languages, must be systematic and highly organised, be able to work on their own and as a part of a team, have good communication skills, have specific platform experience such as Xbox, PlayStation etc., they also must have a good understanding of game play, be able to take instructions and hit deadlines on time, have excellent problem-solving skills, be creative and have knowledge of the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures. The Lead Programmer translates the design into a technical specification for the game, and the he gives specific task to the programming team. The general programmers work on code that has already been written by others, the programmers with specific tasks might work on the physics of objects and the specialist tools programmers identify and design any custom tools which are needed. To become a Game Programmer you need to have a degree in something such as Physics, Maths or Computer Science. Most people who usually pick this job uses programming as a hobby. The average salary of a Game Programmer is $83,060.
The Lead Programmer must also provide support and guidance to the programming team, making sure that the programmers understand the specification and have the right skills and training to be able to do their jobs effectively. Lead Programmers will also write a substantial amount of code themselves. The Lead Programmer must be a team player and an excellent leader, be approachable, able to communicate well, understand all of the programming roles, have advanced programming skills, have excellent people management skills, able to multitask and solve problems, be calm under pressure, be creative and understand the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures. The Lead Programmer needs the same qualifications as a Games Programmer and when they are seeing the employer, they need to ask for some kind of demo or put you in a test. Furthermore, you must have 5 years’ experience working as a Game Programmer. For my game, I would need someone to program in the AI characters movements, the main characters/players movements and the platforms movement.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/333_lead_programmer_games
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/336_game_programmer
Games Artist/Lead Artist:
The Games Artists are the people who create all of the visual elements in game. These include the scenery, the objects in game, texture art, characters, animals etc. They also create the concept art and story boards in which propose the ideas during the pre-production. They work in the Art Department. To be a Games Artist, you need to have an art portfolio demonstrating a range of work and originality of style, be able to draw from life, have knowledge of anatomy and architecture, be able to convey facial expressions and emotions, have a flair for colour, composition, perspective, modelling and texturing techniques, lighting and mood, have skills in comic book art and/or storyboarding, be able to work as part of a team and independently , be imaginative and creative, pay close attention to detail and have strong powers of observation, have good communication skills, be able to work to a style guide and have knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures. The Game Artists are the people who try to achieve the desired result of the visual style that is wanted. For example this could be Photo-Realistic, Cel-Shaded, Exaggeration, Retro and so on. The Game Artists have to cover the different techniques and range of jobs given to them For example, creating the concept art would typically use pen and paper whereas building the characters they need to use a 3D modeller. The majority of game artists which have been hired have a degree or HND in fine art, graphic design or illustration. The lead artist will need the same HND or degree experience and 5 years of experience working in the games industry. The lead artist will need the same things in which you need to be a games artist however leadership skills, communication skills and art skills are key. You must be able to motivate and inspire a large team and have an original style. You must have excellent organisational skills and skills with different software packages. The Games Artist salary averages around $75,000 a year and for the Lead Artists earn a considerable amount more as being a Lead Artist in the game industry is the highest paid job in the art department.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/330_games_artist
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/332_lead_artist_games
Level Editor:
The Level Editor is someone who creates an interactive environment/architecture for part of the game. This includes the landscape, buildings and the objects. The Level Editors are based in the design department. The skills that you need to be a Level Editor are to have good spatial and layout design skills, have knowledge of 3D modelling and a firm grasp of game design principles, have the ability to visualise layouts, have a practical understanding of programming and scripting language to work closely with artists and programmers, be able to train the QA Testers to play the game, have IT skills and competence in the use of world-editing tools, have knowledge of different platforms, be very well organised, be able to work both independently and as part of a team, be able to accept and give direction, be imaginative and creative, have excellent communication skills (both verbal and written), pay close attention to detail and be able to evaluate quality, have a passion for games and knowledge of game design theory and have knowledge of the requirements of the relevant health and safety legislation and procedure. You don’t need a specific degree in anything however most people who are hired for this job are graduates. However, you could study design, engineering or software development degrees. I wouldn’t necessarily need a level editor for my game because it is a platform game in which the background/environment isn’t interactive. A Level Editors salary per year ranges from £17,737 to £32,511.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/334_level_editor
Marketing Executive:
A Marketing Executive is someone who would promote your employers products, services or ideas. You need to be excellent with your communications skills, organisational skills, plan product launches, market research and knowing public relations events. You need high levels of confidence and creativity as you may need to talk about the product on TV, radio or to the press. Work as a Marketing Executive may include doing market research, creating marketing campaigns, looking at competitors marketing strategies, organisational public relations events, arranging sponsorship, distributing posters etc. The salaries can range from £18,000 to £22,000 a year and then with experience it can rise to £25,000 to £40,000 per year. To get this job you need to have a lot of experience. The majority of people who are hired on this job have a HNC/HND or degree in marketing, communications, advertising, business and management or psychology.
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/pages/marketingexecutive.aspx
Marketing manager:
It is the marketing manager’s job to find out the best ways they can promote the employers product, services or brand. Your work could possibly involve researching and analysing market trends, coming up with marketing strategies, organising the production of posters and brochures, attending trade shows, managing a team of marketing executives etc. You could earn up to £50,000 a year or more if you are a senior marketing manager or a marketing director. The salaries are usually £25,000 to £40,000 a year. You will need at least 3-5 years of experience working as a marketing executive before you apply for this job.
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/pages/marketingmanager.aspx
Product Manager
The Product Manager works within the production department and they help create marketing campaigns to help increase the game sales. A few of the things a product manager needs to have is to be able to manage a marketing budget, have strong presentation and communication skills, good knowledge on the gaming industry and on games and have good negotiation skills. There isn’t a specific qualification that you need to take up this job however experience is needed.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/335_product_manager
Project Manager/ Producer
The Project Manager/Producer works within the production department and they ensure that the game is delivered on time and successfully. A few of the attributes the person needs to do this role would be, the ability to multitask, be good at managing people, be able to inspire those around them and motivate them and be able to handle clients well. There isn’t a specific qualification in which is needed for this role however it would be good if you had some previous experience which is relevant/similar to this role.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/337_project_manager_producer_games
Public Relations Officer
A public relations officer is someone who is responsible for managing the businesses/organisations reputation. To become a public relations officer you need to have great communication skills and be excellent at managing your time. You also need to be able to get on well with others as you would be working with lots of different people. There is no specific qualification you need for this job however it is said that most people who take up this job have a degree qualification.
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/pages/publicrelationsofficer.aspx
QA Tester
The QA tester works within the production department and what they do is test, tune and debug the game that everyone else within the organisation was working on. They makes sure that the game is flawless before it is introduced to the public. A few of the attributes that a person needs to be a QA Tester is, they need to be analytical, be able to identify, record and fix problems, have good conflict resolution skills and be persistent and patient. There is no specific qualification needed however experience and passion for coding is necessary.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/338_qa_tester
Technical Artist
The Technical Artist works in the art department in the organisation and what they do is they investigate new techniques, they bridge the gap between artists and programmers and they ensure that the art assets which have been created by the artists is easily integrated into the game. A few of the attributes a person needs to do this role is to be to work well as a team, work with minimum supervision, think creatively and have knowledge of console hardware architecture. You will need a degree for this job. A degree in any art of technical subject would be advisable.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/339_technical_artist_games
To produce the game that I want is a single person job or a two person job. What I am using for my game is GameMaker and I don't need a really expensive computer as GameMakers specifications aren't that high. When it comes to finance, it is most likely that if I wanted to purchase the full GameMaker package in which includes different platforms for me to work with then I would use either self finance or try to get a small grant/use Kickstarter for me to set up a project of creating this game on different platforms.
