Work for play: Careers in video game development

Video games aren't only for play; they also provide work. The workers, known as game developers, make a living creating the games you enjoy playing.

Making video games is a serious-and big-business. According to the Entertainment Software Association, in 2009, the video game industry had sales in excess of $10 billion and employed more than 32,000 people in 34 states.

Creating these games is complex and requires the collaboration of many developers, who perform a variety of tasks, from production to programming. They work for both small and large game studios to create games that can be played on many different devices, including console systems, computers, and cell phones.

This article covers career options in video game development. The first section provides an overview of the development process. The second section describes four groups of video game occupations: designers, programmers, artists, and others. The third section covers the skills and training workers need for these jobs. The fourth section discusses the benefits and challenges of working in the video game industry. And the fifth section provides jobseeking tips for a career in video game development. Suggested resources for additional information are at the end of the article.

Lifecycle of a video game

The concept for a video game can come from a variety of sources. Many games start as a new idea for a story or technology the development team would like to explore. Others come from an established property, such as a novel or film. Still others attempt to perfect a style or formula found in another genre or game.

But whatever the impetus for its creation, almost every game follows a similar development process: preproduction, production, and postproduction. The length of this process is often determined at the beginning of the preproduction phase and depends on a game's size and programming needs.

Full-featured games, such as those made for consoles, have more complex programming and, therefore, take longer to develop- usually between 18 and 30 months. By comparison, most games that are played on social media and mobile devices require simpler technology, which results in a quicker development process of a few months.

Preproduction

Work completed during preproduction lays the foundation upon which a game is built. In this phase, the lead designers...