Video Game Programmer

The following responsibilities are common for Video Game Programmers:

• Creates story lines and character biographies
• Designs role-play mechanics
• Conducts design reviews
• Creates prototypes to show management
• Documents and records game design processes

A Day In The Life

Video game programmers, also known as video game developers, write code for games for a variety of formats.  They take the video game designers ideas and turn them into an enjoyable and playable game by writing the code to create the visuals and mechanics.  They are considered as the creative technical brains behind video and computer games.  Although, they collaborate closely with video game designers, it is the programmers that actually write and create the code to bring the game to life.

Video game programmers typically specialize in one area, like consoles, PCs or cell phones, and in regards to the game aspect they also typically specialize in things like special effects, artificial intelligence or network performance.  They write the code that assists with the characters of the games movement.  They also determine the actions of the players on each level of the game and the difficulty of each level.  They are also responsible for putting the games audio feedback mechanism in place to signal secret items or that a certain level has be successfully passed.

There are also other specializations among game programmers.  Some may focus on programming using interfaces, while others focus solely on gameplay and others focus on only scripting.  However, many gamers do not specialize at all, and rather focus as generalists and work on all aspects and areas of a game.

Typical Work Schedule

Individuals that are freelance can set their own daily work schedules.  While individuals that are employed by video game companies will work a typical full-time schedule.  Some overtime may be required depending on the project and deadlines.

Projected Job Growth

Concepts of video games are rapidly changing with every passing year. The demand for video game programmers has dramatically increased over the last few years and is projected to grow even further in the coming decade.

Typical Employers

These individuals will either freelance or work under contracts for clients.  While others work for video game developing companies or video game publishing companies, like Nintendo, or XBOX or Sony.