Something on Game Programming (pt.2)

Or for a longer title:

Something on Game Deaign as a Whole

(Once again, image credit to my suffering programming friend.)

(This whole post is longer than I thought it would be oh well.)

So I got a lot of interesting responses on my last post about game programming, so I thought I'd expand on it a bit more.

To start off, I guess between here and there I forgot to mention that I'm not a programmer (thank god). Like I said last time, I feel dumber than a bag of bricks in my tech class, which is what most game programmers take in their //first// year. I'm only taking it because it's required in my major.

What is my major, you may be wondering? That is was I forgot to clarify.

I'm currently in the game design major, so just so you know, I'm gonna know my shit -- I ain't speaking out of my ass when I talk about this stuff, most of it is from personal experience.

There's a lot of stigma around the four parts of a game design team: the designer(s), the artist(s), the programmers, and the manager. So let me elaborate on what I understand of each.

*

:video_game: The Designer :video_game:

The one with the vision. NOT the "idea guy." Enough people have ideas, and the designer isn't some lazy-ass guy sitting in a chair making demands. No, the designer is the guy (or gal) with a concept of robots in space, the one who sees the loops and plot holes and character behind the colors of the artist and numbers of the programmer. The designer is the middle man and the one who ties the knots to make things ultimately work. They see the puzzle before it's even created and know what the big picture is.

:art: The Artist :art:

The person who brings the team's vision to life. The one who helps bounce ideas and concepts around. The one who says "No, I can't do that, but I can do this." They are the fount of inspiration and inception. The game would be nothing without them. They see the puzzle and specially paint each piece to fit together.

:space_invader: The Programmers :space_invader:

These guys are the fuel the team runs on. They take the vision and bring it to life. Like the artists, they say, "No, I can't do that, but I can do this." Even more so, the game can and will change radically when the programmer discovers how to make bananas fly and monkeys sing songs. It's a chaotic kind of creation, but they're the ones who put the puzzle together, because they know what will ultimately work and what will not.

The manager is optional in all respects, but do know that without one you're missing your Team Mom who tells you when to take care of yourself and meet deadlines and bring food and communicate with the higher ups about progress. So yeah. Not crucial to the actual game, but highly valued and very underrated 🏅

A lot of people like to think the designer is some tyrant and the programmers are grunts, but I must correct you: a game design team is a TEAM. The final product of a rest game is never the work of just one person.

That being said, programming sucks and I can't draw to save my life, so I'll stick with narrative and level design :raised_hands: :sob:

If you want any more personal experiences of mine or want to tell me about yours, just PM me, I love to chat and complain about compile errors and 3D modeling.

~ :custard: Mill :coffee: