Jobs in Game Programming
Computer and video game programmers are another important part of the team. Their job is to take the general concept, the art, music and sound effects and turn these elements into the code that runs the game. A person working in this type of job knows how to take the various elements required to put a game together and convert them into a mathematical code that a computer understands.
The game programmer’s job is to determine how fast an object in the game should be moving, as well as how they accelerate and decelerate.
They need to determine what happens when two objects collide, as well as how the particular setting of the game affects the physical objects in it. If the setting is another planet where the gravity may be lighter or denser than on Earth, the way objects move is different than it is in our world.
The game programmer’s job is to think about how all the facets of the game work together to bring the designer’s vision from the idea stage to reality.
The challenge for computer and video game programmers is to write the steps involved in creating the game as simply as possible. Adding extra instructions or layers of code means that the game will slow down, and today’s sophisticated game players want and expect that their experience will be fast-paced without being too difficult for them to follow.
Game programmers don’t work on all aspects of writing the code for a video game. They may specialize in one of the following areas:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Game Engine
- Game Graphics
- Sound Engineering
- Tool Programming
The artificial intelligence programmers focus their efforts on making the characters in the game behave as realistically as possible. They are responsible for coming up with code that determines how the characters will respond to the person playing the game.
Engine programmers are responsible for writing the software that makes the game run.
The engine programmer is also concerned with eliminating details from the game that make it slower for the player to run.
Graphics programmers work on projects involving making sure that the work of the animator plays back properly when on the screen. Sound programmers are involved with the sound designers to make this portion of the game works in the way the designer intended.
Tool programmers work on software for artists, sound and game designers to use. These tools can be used to convert elements like art, game play and sound into data that works within the game code, or so that the game developers can take a sneak peak how the elements they are working on will look in the finished product.
This career choice within the computer and video game industry is a good choice for people who have an aptitude for mathematics. They also need to have good communication skills, since they need to be able to understand and interpret what the developer and other team members are trying to create.