Allanmore Hospital

Audio engineers write the code that makes games sound awesome. The sound of a game, both the sound effects and music, are integral to the gameplay experience. Audio programmers write the script that determines functions like volume and makes it possible for effects like gunshot or footsteps to be triggered by the player’s actions.

They are also responsible for developing the software which integrates the audio files into the game. Having designed and created new audio tools, they support programmers and designers in using them. They are also responsible for testing and debugging the audio code.

• Math and physics: understand the underlying principles of music and wave theory
• Audio concepts: understand mixing, compression and reverb and so on
• Programming: write strong code that’s easily understood by fellow coders (C++ LANGUAGE)
• Innovation: imagine how the audio could be improved and develop the solution
• Knowledge of games engines and platforms: understand the constraints of games consoles, PCs, handhelds and mobiles
• Communication: share ideas with the sound team and other programmers
• 13+

Games music composers add mood and excitement to a game. They write the game’s theme tune. They add depth and color by composing the music which signals impending danger, celebrates the end of a stage or indicates that a certain character is approaching. As well as being good musicians, music composers understand gameplay. They have to ‘spot’ a game, which means going through a game noting the points at which music will enhance the experience of the player.

• Music: compose and perform music
• Sound engineering: record, edit, mix and master
• Knowledge of gameplay and platform: spot the game - know at which points music should be heard
• Knowledge of game engines: understand the technical constraints of engines and how to integrate sound files into them
• Communication: work well with game designers, other audio artists and QA technicians
• 13+

Animators take the objects created by 2D and 3D artists and breathe life into them by making them move. Working from the designer’s storyboard, they create the movements for characters and vehicles. They add personality, emotion and realism to the game.

Animators also have a good understanding of programming and game engines. As game animation is often a complicated combination of different types of movement, animators make libraries of the movements, so they can reuse them for each character. They work in a way that makes best use of the game engine’s technology and maximizes the opportunities for game play and interactivity.

• Art: draw and reveal attitude, emotions and mood through a character’s movement, have spatial awareness and a feel for movement over time
• Knowledge of gameplay: understand how movements will appear when played within the context of the game
• Knowledge of games engines: understand how to create an animation that works within an engine’s technical constraints
• Communication: be able to respond to direction and share ideas with other team members
• Organization: work within the production schedule, manage files and meet deadlines
• 13+

3D modelling artists create the models for all 3D art assets within the game – characters, weapons, vehicles, furniture, trees, rocks and so on. They often start with a brief or 2D drawing from a concept artist and build their 3D models from that.

Sometimes 3D modelling artists will specialize in a given area, depending on the individual game studio or game project requirements.

• Using 3D software: create artwork using a range of programs, know the latest technologies and techniques
• Using game engines: implement art into game engines, understand their technical constraints and possibilities
• Art: have strong artistic ability, good understanding of form, colour, texture, and light, know how these elements work together
• Knowledge of gameplay: imagine how a character or vehicle will be experienced when a game is being played
• Collaboration: work well with the other artists, designers and producers
• Organization: work within the production schedule, manage files and meet deadlines
• 13+

Level designers understand what makes good gameplay. They design the game – but only a portion of it, normally referred to as a ‘level’.  They take the specification defined by the gameplay designer, and get into the detail - the actions, events, objects and environment. They also design the characters and the ways they behave.

The level designer first sketches ideas on paper or using 2D drawing software. They imagine the playing experience, putting themselves in the position of the player, mapping out all the possibilities. They need to think about the logic and flow of events and actions, the conditions that need to be met for certain things to happen and the challenges the player will encounter.

• Creativity: come up with new challenges and missions
• Knowledge of gameplay: imagine the game, see it visually and develop the gameplay mechanics
• Knowledge of programming: understand programming, have some scripting language competence (C++ LANGUAGE)
• Physics: understand how objects respond according to the laws of physics
• Art: have a strong spatial awareness with 2D and 3D design skills
• Communication: work with other artists and the design team and share the vision with games developers
• 13+

Gameplay programmers write the code for the interactions that make a game fun to play. While lead designers decide on the combat, gameplay programmers make it happen.

They work with level designers to see what needs to be done to make the gameplay work. They write the rules that govern what objects do and pay attention to balancing and tuning of the way the game plays. They also fix bugs and optimize the game for playing.

• Programming: be at least intermediate level in programming, finesse levels and seamlessly integrate scripts
• Knowledge of gameplay: imagine the best gameplay or game mechanics for the experience
• Knowledge of game engines: understand games engines and their abilities and limitations (C++ LANGUAGE)
• Collaboration: work closely with the lead designer, gameplay programmer, AI programmer, art department and other programmers
• Communication: work with the team, establish and document best practices for scripting and delivery of assets
• 13+

Assistant game producers help the production team with the day-to-day running of projects. This means their role is varied, as what needs to happen can change on a daily basis.

They are usually responsible for filing and archiving games assets such as concept artwork and the videos and photographs needed for marketing and press releases. They might help with planning the production of the game and checking that all the deadlines in the process are being met.

They have a good understanding of where the project is at, at any point. They help with submitting games to publishers, oversee the process of adapting games to the needs of different countries (localization). 

As the game enters the final stage of development, they might organize press visits, releasing game demos and setting up photo shoots.

• Being willing: be flexible, take instruction, do whatever is need to help the team get their jobs done
• Communication: explain clearly both in writing and verbally, get on well with the other members of the team
• Playing games: have a passion for games, knowledge of the industry and a good understanding of how a game is made
• Organization: plan, set goals and prioritize
• Attention to detail: be accurate in filing, labelling and planning schedules
• Project management: organize all aspects of the game’s production and keep it on track
• 13+

Gameplay designers are responsible for the central part of the game experience – how it plays.  They design the mechanics of the game - how high a character can jump, how long it takes to accelerate to maximum speed or when you can gain points. They plan and define the game’s structure, its rules, characters, objects, props and vehicles and think about different modes of play, like story mode or multi-player.

Gameplay designers are a bridge between the technical and arts teams. If the gameplay is too difficult to achieve technically, they figure out what’s possible and re-write the specification accordingly. Likewise, if the programmers develop the game engine in a way that means new, exciting things can be done, the gameplay designer works out how to incorporate those into the game. They also train testers to play the game, making sure that they understand what’s expected of the finished product.

• Knowledge of gameplay: imagine the best gameplay or game mechanics for the experience
• Diplomacy: know when to compromise in the face of many different opinions about how a game should develop
• Knowledge of game engines: understand games engines and their abilities and limitations, have some programming skills and knowledge of UX and UI (C++ LANGUAGE)
• Collaboration: work closely with the lead designer, gameplay programmer, AI programmer, art department and other programmers
• Communication: explain how the game will be played in a way that everyone understands
• Project management: plan the production of the elements of the game

UX designers make sure a game is nice and easy to use (as distinct from being easy to win). They ensure the players get clear and effective feedback from the game. Their main concern is that players don’t get frustrated by a game being badly explained.

UI designers are concerned with the user interface; the point at which the game and the players interact. They create the look and feel of things like the heads-up display (HUD) showing the score, lives, and levels. They make sure that the menus and commands are clear.

UX designers tend to focus more on the information a player needs for the game to flow well. UI designers tend to focus on how that information is communicated. They make it look good and sound great.

• Empathy: imagine what it’s like to be a player, think about if the game is usable, champion the players always
• Art: create things that look good at the user interface and fit the style of the game
• Animation: design motion to enhance the UI design
• Communication: give very clear information to players, collaborate with the rest of the design team, understanding what game designers (or programmers) want to do, communicate how you intend to solve the presentation
• Analytical thinking: design things that can be built, know what your engine and tools can do, assess the circumstances, find the best solution
• 13+

Concept artists are responsible for the style and look of a game. They are the first to draw the environments, enemies and player characters. Working with a brief from the producer, their sketches are used to help 3D artists, producers, programmers and publishers understand how the game will look.

The drawings of the concept artist are a vital part of the game’s development as they are the starting point of all the artwork and an important part of the marketing plans.

• Art: be very good at drawing by hand, understand of composition, draw in a way that matches genre styles such as fantasy, sci-fi or cartoon
• Creativity: imagine how a character will look, starting from a written brief
• Using art software: create 2D and 3D art using a range of programs, know the latest technologies and techniques
• Communication: work with the other artists and in the team, share the vision with designers and game developers
• Knowledge of games: understand gameplay, have market awareness, appreciate how art will be experienced as a player
• 13+

Environment artists make awesome places in which games can be played. They create fantasy landscapes – spooky dungeons and moody wastelands – and real-world places like offices and playgrounds too.

They often start with 2D art created by a concept artist and turn it into a believable environment in 3D. Sometimes they use photographs, sometimes their own imagination. Environment artists carefully consider the level designers’ gameplay requirements. They find out what’s mission-critical and ensure those elements are included.

At entry level, environment artists learn about the technical constraints of the game engine. something more experienced artists are expected to consider all the time. If they create an environment that’s too detailed, it could cause the game to lag. Consideration of technical aspects such as polygon count within the environment can prevent that from happening

• Art: be good at drawing, have strong understanding of form, colour, texture, and light, know how these elements work together
• Knowledge of environments: understand architecture, have good awareness of city spaces and landscapes
• Using game engines: know how to work with art within game engines, understand their technical limitations, keep up-to-date with their possibilities
• Collaboration: communicate, work well with the other artists, designers and programmers
• Organization: work within the production schedule, manage files and meet deadlines
• 13+

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Texturing artists make 3D models believable by mapping textures onto the object’s surfaces. They also add an extra dimension with imperfections – rust to oil cans, scuffs to trainers, rips to fabric and reflections to windows.

They are concerned with making surfaces realistic, to help the player forget that they are in a computer-generated world. They may use a combination of hand painting, photos, digital and 3D art to create unique custom textures. They use materials, shaders, mapping and an understanding of how these interact and respond.

• Using software: create artwork using a range of programmes and know the latest technologies and techniques
• Using game engines: implement art into game engines, understanding their technical constraints and possibilities
• Knowledge of materials: understand how they behave in different conditions, what they look like and use of shader tools
• Art: have strong artistic ability, understand form, colour, texture, and light and know how these elements work together
• Collaboration: work with the other artists as well as other games development staff such as designers and programmers
• Organization: work within the production schedule, manage files and meet deadlines
• 13+

Technical animators make it easier for great animation to happen. There are a lot of technical challenges in creating animation for games. Where movements are complex, for example, they can slow a game down. Or they can take so long to create that the game becomes too expensive to make. Technical animators say: “How can we solve those problems?”  By acting as a bridge between the programmers and the animation team, they work out how the tools and game engine can be developed to overcome the challenges.

• Supporting others: serve the needs of the animators by ensuring they have the tools they need to do their jobs.
• Problem-solving: spot potential animation problems, research new technologies, have conversations and find solutions.
• Programming: diagnose software problems and understand games engines well enough to develop them so they work more effectively. (C++ LANGUAGE)
• Communication: listen to the animators and programmers, share knowledge and write technical documents.
• Animation: be skilled in creating animation. Technical animators can't provide support or tools unless they understand how animation is made.
• 13+

Graphics programmers are dedicated to ensuring the game looks as good as it possibly can. They want fire to look like fire, water to look like water and skin to look like skin. This means making the graphics as detailed as possible without impacting on the speed and playability of the game. The job is all about math, rendering and optimization.

• Graphics: implement techniques and processes that meet the artistic, design and technical requirements of the game
• Maths: understand the logic and maths that underpins most graphics processes
• Programming: write strong code that’s easily understood by fellow coders (C++ LANGUAGE)
• Innovation: imagine and develop ways of improving the graphics
• Knowledge of games engines and platforms: understand the different constraints of games consoles, PCs, handhelds and mobiles
• Communication: work with other programmers and artists
• 13+

Technical artists (TAs) make the work of the artists easier. They develop the games engines, so they work as well as possible for the people making the art. If an artist wants to create something complex, TAs will say if it’s possible from a technical point of view and think of the best way of doing it. In some studios, where the animation team needs some complex rigging (creating a moving skeleton), they may call on the TAs to do it. They act as a bridge between the artists and the programmers.

• Supporting others: serve the needs of the art department and ensure the artists have the tools they need to do their jobs
• Problem-solving: spot potential problems, find solutions to art related problems
• Programming: diagnose software problems, understand games engines, workflows and graphics rendering and develop them so they work more effectively
• Communication: listen to the artists and programmers, explain and write clear reports
• Art: understand each of the major art disciplines. TAs can't provide support or tools unless they understand the process
• 13+

VFX artists add the wham, bam, crash and wallop to games. They create anything that moves that isn’t a character or an object. They create dust, water, explosions and superpowers. VFX artists use digital art software, alongside traditional art insights to create realistic effects that are stunning, like a tornado, or subtle, like slow moving clouds.

• Art: understand composition, colour, texture, and light, and know how these elements work together
• Physics and advanced maths: understand how elements like water, light and dust behave in different conditions
• Using software and games engines: create artwork using a range of programmes and physics software packages, know the technical capability of the game engine and the latest technologies and techniques
• Collaboration: work with the other artists, share the vision with designers and games developers
• Time management: work on projects to tight deadlines, prioritize tasks.
• 13+

Programmers work at the heart of the game development process. They write the code that controls the game, incorporating and adapting any ready-made code libraries and writing custom code as needed. They test the code and fix bugs.

As game development is increasingly complex, there’s an ever-growing body of specialist programmers. Just as important are generalist programmers who are chiefly concerned with identifying the most stable and efficient means of coding and seeing the scripts are clean and reliable. They also need to be able to turn their hand to whatever is needed, such as writing code that makes better use of the available storage within the graphics engine, for example.

Generalist programmers work with the QA technicians to identify weaknesses in the system to write more reliable code.

• Maths and physics: use advanced mathematics, understand physics concepts like collision and particle dispersion
• Programming: pick up script languages easily, write clean portable code (C++ LANGUAGE)
• Knowledge of games engines and platforms:  understand graphic integration, collision detection, data transformation, database management
• Communication: work with the specialist programmers, keep detailed technology documentation to record changes made to the engine
• Timekeeping: take instruction and work to deadlines
• 13+

Physics programmers create software that forms the basis of crashes, collisions and other things that move. When, for example, a car drives through water or bursts into flames, the effect needs to be similar to what would happen in real life. Physics programmers write the code, based on the laws of physics, to make this happen. It requires high-level knowledge of both physics and programming. It also requires a sense of gameplay and the right blend of realism and fun.

• Physics: have a firm knowledge of algebra, trigonometry and math as well as the laws of physics
• Programming: be able to program in new scripting languages and systems (C++ LANGUAGE)
• Knowledge of games engines and platforms: understand the programming requirements and constraints of games consoles, PCs, handhelds and mobiles
• Knowledge of gameplay: understand how the physics effects will add to the player’s enjoyment of the game
• Innovation: develop cutting-edge systems and use them in creative ways
• Communication: share expertise with other team members like testers and animators 
• 13+