Game Developers and Game Designers are the two major pillars of any game making process and it’s very essential to know the differences, qualities and the job responsibilities they offer in this Industry.
It always seems to be quite similar that Game Developer and Game Designer are the same things, and being an Industry outsider it is quite common to think. It is possible to get confused as the phrase Game Developer is not only a position but also the representation of the Gaming Industry. However, technically they are two different roles that people aspire to choose for diving into the Game Development Industry. Game Developers and Game Designers are the two major pillars of any game making process and it’s very essential to know the differences, qualities and the job responsibilities they offer in this Industry. Here is an in-depth analysis of the differences, qualities and job responsibilities possessed by the Game Developers and Game Designers in this Industry.
Game Designers
As the name suggests, a Game Designer is a creative geek strong with the imagination who tends to design the entire game. The basic role of the Game Designer is to come up with innovative ideas and concept for the game asking questions like “What” should be the game mechanics, “What” should be the look of the game, “What” should be the pace of the game and so on. They create the foundation of the game and the overall blueprint so that it could ease out the game development process. The overall vision of the Game Designer decides the feel and flow of the game. Keeping the gamers interest into consideration they design the game after spending hours of study and analysing the driving factor.
Qualities
Here are a few key skills possessed by Game Designers that help to excel in this Game Development Industry.
Strong Interpersonal Skills
Power of Visualisation
Good Communication Skills
Modelling and Drawing Skills
Creativity
Story Telling
Intermediate Programming Skills
Updated with Gaming Trends
Good knowledge of Flow Theory
Job Responsibilities
Game Designers have very specific roles when it comes to the production line and it is essential for all the Game Designers to understand the role and adapt it.
Identifying the Gaming trend and decoding the reason behind it
High level of Creativity
Ability to work with other Developers and come up with new ideas
Time Management
Determining the right audience to target
Keeping the Game Feel and Game Business on balance
Developing the Games layout, concept and the gameplay
Polishing the mechanics of the game
Designing the look of the game
Overall Game improvement
Game Developer
Alternatively, Game Developers are responsible for converting the vision set by Game Designers into reality with the help of their immense talent and skills. All the Game Developers are technically skilled enough to achieve the goal set by the Game Designers. This includes converting all the design sketches, layouts, storylines, concepts, rules and so on into a playable product. Thousand hours of coding with the logical ability of problem-solving helps the Game Developers to accomplish all that they need. The process of development is based on asking a question “How” which includes, “How” to attain a certain thing, “How” to implement features and so on. A Game Developer needs to be proficient enough with the technical skills to develop the project and should have high problem-solving skills to tackle during the process of development.
Qualities
Here are a few skills possessed by all the Game Developers to become successful in this Game Development Industry.
High level of Coding Skills
Problem Solving Skills
Creativity and Imagination
Ability to test more and research more
Time management
Ability to polish the entire game with a high level of detail
Patience
Ability to complete the game with polished mechanics
Analytical Skills
Job Responsibilities
Game Developers holds a huge responsibility of finishing the entire product as per the idea and turn the imagination into a unique experience. The Job responsibilities they have in the Industry are:-
Review and optimize the Game Design Plan
Converting the vision into a playable product
Meet deadlines
Polish the game in terms of mechanics
Optimize the game for better performance
Solve all the bugs
Assembles everything to make a complete product
Implement various Apis and Plugins to support the game interaction with other software
So far we got to know the individual role of the Game Developer and Game Designer in detail. The competition is tough and it is very hard to get your way through the crowd. Your talent and interest decide the area you will pursue. Choosing between these two roles at the initial level is utmost required to excel in the Gaming Industry for a long run. Therefore, it is highly recommended to know the self-talent and improve the skills meanwhile before getting started.
With Love From VOiD1 Gaming