Animator

Animators in video games are responsible for portraying and showing movement and behavior within video games. They bring the characters to life through movement and they do this through developing 2D & 3D images and making them work within a game engine and the limitations

of the platform that the game will be released on.

3 things that a successful animator will be able to do is;- They will be able to accurately interpret emotion, expressions and

feeling from watching video clips, seeing actors perform. They will be able to directly capture this performances and turn them into animation

sequences for a video game. - A good animator will know when to improve the animation of certain

movements say an actor didn’t perform as well as they did. Without taking anything away from the the actor, more just clarifying an actors

movements. - A good animator will also have the ability to act very well on his own

initiative and be able to be creative when working solo on a certain project or part of a project. That links into being able to accurately

interpret what is asked of you in a brief.

In terms of ways to make it into game animation, you don’t really hear of many cases where people have entered into it without some form of

degree level knowledge of software for animation. Unlike music or audio where more people have entered in with more of a self taught

background.

However there is a few ways to gain experience within the industry. You can either enter into some sort of degree graduate program or you gain experience creating more independent games where instead of a team

of animators its more just you working on your own.You can refer to the case study spoken about above about Edmund

McMillen, as he also was the art/animator for Super Meat Boy.

Audio Engineer

An audio engineer is the guy who controls the mood of a video game, arguably movies can apply to this statement as well. Basic skills needed to be

an audio engineer is an understanding of music theory and song structure. Other things needed is the ability to record sounds and mix them down

effectively. These are the basic things needed to an audio engineer.

3 Things needed to be a ‘Good’ engineer though are as follows;- An audio engineer should be able to translate whatever is described by a

client or written in a brief accurately into a solid project.- A good engineer will have a very extensive knowledge of music to draw

influence from all kinds of sources. - Most importantly a good engineer will sometimes not follow certain rules

when it comes to mixing & structure. These little things set yourself apart from other producers & engineers.

There are no specific ways to get into audio engineering. As there have been so many ways that people have broke into the business. If you refer to my case study on Noisia detailing their involvement in the game DmC 5. There background came from a very self taught method progressing into gaining popularity in the underground Drum & Bass scene. But they come from a very different path that the composer for The Last of Us took, Gustavo Santaolalla. He came from producing film scores, in the process winning Oscars for his work. But they both ended up producing video game scores. This shows the variations in the paths you can take. Alternatively you can go completely academic and complete college courses/degrees or anything of that ilk.

Game Designers devise what a game consists of and how it plays. They plan and define all the elements of a game: its setting; structure; rules; story flow; characters; the objects, props, vehicles, and devices available to the characters; interface design; and modes of play. Once the game is devised, the Game Designer communicates this to the rest of the development team who create the art assets and computer code that allow the game to be played.

3 Key Qualities a Game Designer Needs:

- Able to communicate effectively: Games Designers need to be able to express their visions with the art directors, programmers and lead designers within the development team. You may have the greatest, unique ideas but if you cannot implement them into the game due to a lack of communication skills with the others in the development team, your ideas will not matter.

- Have decent knowledge and experience in 2D and 3D animation programs: An important part of communicating your vision with other people in the development team is to be able to visually show your ideas. It is also helpful to understand how your ideas can be implemented into the game through knowledge of the programs used.

- Have excellent understanding of game play theory, storytelling and narrative development skills: A Game Designer must be able to know what aspects make a game’s gameplay enjoyable. You also need to be able to create well structured stories to implement into the game to make the game interesting.

How to approach the job role:

There are a number of approaches to this job role, there is no set route. However, this is no entry level job. Game development is a highly complex, intensive process which can last up to two years or more, requiring teams of programmers, artists, project managers, writers, musicians and many others.

- The main way is to gain a degree. You will also need to have gained a reasonably high level of industry experience and knowledge. Employers will expect to see your portfolio of work, which can take the form of completed game projects or written game design documents and proposals.

- Another way is to work up within the games industry. A number of Game Designers started within the QA section of the development process as a Game Tester. This can give you a good grounding in the development process, access to software and tools, and an insight into the different job roles.

GAME DESIGNER

Existing Game Designers

AAA Game Designer - Ricky Cambier

Ricky Cambier is one of the main game designers at Naughty Dog that was involved in The Last of Us. He spent a lot of my time in the crafting environment, figuring out what parts the characters would go to, what places they would visit. He also worked on some of the script writing to overall make it better. Cambier was heavily involved in the story, level design and motion capture of the game. He wanted to make The Last of Us a more grounded, emotional experience for the player than it has been in previous games he has worked on by the way the story is structured, the movements of the characters through motion capture and also through the excellent level design. Cambierʼs contribution to The Last of Us helped the game become one of the most memorable story-based games of the current gaming generation.

Indie Game Designer - Edmund McMillen

Edmund McMillenʼs most well-known games are the Flash-based game Meat Boy, and its much-lauded sequel Super Meat Boy, which has been released for the Xbox 360 platform and PC. McMillen is also known for the award-winning games Gish, Aether, The Binding of Isaac and Coil. Gish won Game Tunnel's 2004 Adventure Game of the Year, as well as Indie Game of the Year. McMillen was the gamer designer as well as the artist and animator when creating Super Meat Boy. His duties involved how the game mechanics feel, level design, creating the assets/content of the game, animations and storyboard designer. His unique visual style is very cartoon-like and flat, rarely does he create 3D artwork. His visual style is very “flash game” style, simple 2D textures and visuals that are repeated throughout the game. His concepts and ideas are usually quite dark and graphic, but many people enjoy his games for those reasons.

GAME DESIGNER