Welwitchia University Namibia New Course: Game Developer

The making of a game from concept to finished product can take up to three years and involve teams of up to 200 professionals. There are many stages, including creating and designing a game’s look and how it plays, animating characters and objects, creating audio, programming, localization, testing and producing. The games developer job title covers a broad area of work and there are many specialisms within the industry. These include:

quality assurance tester;
programmer, with various specialisms such as network, engine, tool chain and artificial intelligence;
audio engineer;
artist, including concept artist, animator and 3D modeler;
producer;
editor;
designer; and
special effects technician.

Tasks vary depending on your specialist area but may include:

developing designs and/or initial concept designs for games including game play;
generating game scripts and storyboards;
creating the visual aspects of the game at the concept stage;
using 2D or 3D modeling and animation software, such as Maya, at the production stage;
producing the audio features of the game, such as the character voices, music and sound effects;
programming the game using programming languages such as C++;
quality testing games in a systematic and thorough way to find problems or bugs and recording precisely where the problem was discovered;
solving complex technical problems that occur within the game’s production;
disseminating knowledge to colleagues, clients, publishers and gamers;
understanding complex written information, ideas and instructions;
working closely with team members to meet the needs of a project;
planning resources and managing both the team and the process;
performing effectively under pressure and meeting deadlines to ensure the game is completed on time.