Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
World Builder
World builders, also called environment artists/modelers, are responsible for
creating the look and feel for the worlds the gamer plays in. They create the
towns, houses, roads, forests, and so on that may be needed for the project.
Typically, those who work in this specialty have a solid understanding of the
following areas:
the term
world
builder
was adopted
by science fiction
writers and their
fans to describe the
worlds they create in
their stories.
Architecture
Landscaping
Interior decoration
Capabilities of the game engine being used
Q/a (Tester)
Q/A, QA, or Q&A refers to Quality Assurance. This division is responsible for the
very important task of testing the game. Some companies have their own Q/A
departments, whereas others use a third-party company because they feel this
can be a more objective way to get accurate testing.
The testers begin their task as soon as the first playable version of the game
is available and continue right up until the product is released. If a game is sold
with mistakes and flaws, months of work and large sums of money spent on
making the game can be lost because the game will quickly gain the reputa-
tion, through reviewers and gamers, of being flawed and worthless. That kind
of disaster is akin to car manufacturers selling an automobile that must be
recalled due to faulty parts.
Testing sounds tedious and boring, however, if this important step is not fol-
lowed through, hard work by a lot of people will be discounted. Even if a game
is released with errors and then repaired and rereleased, not many gamers have
confidence in the game makers at that point.
Technical Director
As the name implies, this person works primarily with the technology associated
with the production. Like the art or audio director, this individual oversees and
manages all things technical, and all the programming leads (supervising various
aspects of programming, such as the game engine, gameplay, physics, interface,
and so on) report to this individual. This person is the über-technical lead.
