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Career in game development: What professions exist in the gaming industry. Part 1.

We continue the series of articles "Career in game Development", in which G5 Games recruiters talk about how to find a job in game development. Many people think that game dev is only for programmers or techies, and to get into this field, you need to be an avid gamer. Let's see if this is the case. What professions exist in the gaming industry, is it possible not to play games and work in game development, and is there a place for humanities in this promising niche?

Sooner or later, each of us faces a situation when we need to decide which area of professional development to choose for ourselves. And, as a rule, we all want the work to be interesting, the tasks not boring, and the salary was decent. And to balance work & life. And an endless career ladder. And... there are many more such "to". 

Game dev is exactly the area in which you can cover most of the items on our vish–list. This is not just a separate IT field, but a whole Universe in which everyone can find their place and become part of a unique game creation process. 

Let's figure out which experts are behind all this?

Game Designers – come up with a game and set its basis: the plot, time and place (setting), characters, mechanics on which the gameplay is based, graphics, text, sound. Their task is to combine the elements of the game so that the player feels real delight. 

 Artists and animators (Game Artists & Game Animators) are the creators of the visual symphony of the game. This is probably one of the most numerous classes of game dev representatives. Artists give the game a visual style, create characters, locations, and interface elements in the game. Animators animate the art drawn by the artists, make it move, adding various visual effects.

Programmers are real code magicians. They write scripts, create and optimize game engines, ensuring smooth and inspiring player interaction with the virtual world. 

Producers and project managers (Game Producers and Project Managers) - as captains of ships, they stand at the helm and set the vector of development of the game project. They are responsible for planning, budgeting and coordinating the project team.

Game Testers are detectives in the world of game dev. Their task is to find and identify bugs and errors, ensuring that the game will be flawless.

Game Localizers – do not just translate, but give the game a new life in another culture. They adapt it to the cultural and ethnic characteristics of different countries so that players from all over the world can understand the idea of the creators as accurately as possible. 

Game Project Analysts (Game Project Analyst) are numerical geniuses of game developers who study data, analyze player behavior and determine the effectiveness of various game elements. They help to optimize the game using facts and figures.

When the game goes into production, specialists from the marketing department take over. They play a key role in the successful promotion and monetization of games. It is thanks to the work of marketing that the game becomes recognizable and makes a profit. What professions can be found in this department? Let's look at some of them using the example of our company.

Marketing Research Managers – plan and conduct marketing research, analyze the market, trends and consumer preferences.

Graphic and video Designers (Graphic Designers and Motion Designers) – create creatives (banners, videos) for various advertising campaigns.

User Acquisition Managers – research and select the most suitable platforms and channels to attract the target audience, plan and launch advertising campaigns, interact with advertising agencies and partners, conduct A/B testing of various approaches and strategies to effectively attract users.

Monetization Managers – work on strategies for monetization of game content.

Social Media Managers – interact with the community of players and create content for social networks to engage the audience.

Business Development Managers are looking for new opportunities for the company's growth. They establish strategic partnerships, analyze the market, identify trends in the mobile gaming industry and develop business expansion strategies.

Support Managers make sure that players feel comfortable in the virtual world. 

It is impossible to ignore the specialists of the service departments, without whom it is impossible to imagine any modern IT company.

System Administrators - set up and maintain network equipment, optimize the operation of the IT infrastructure.

The HR department, represented by recruiters and HR People Partners, helps to find the best specialists, keep them in the company and motivate them.

Brand/Event Managers - develop a brand strategy, work with influencers, and organize events.

Accountants are engaged in the financial operations of the company.

Of course, this is not a complete list of professions in game development. It may vary from company to company, but this does not negate the fact that this is a very wide area with a large number of diverse areas for development.

How can you choose from a wide variety of professions what is right for you? We recommend starting by analyzing your soft and hard skills. In other words, you need to understand what qualities you have and what you would like to develop in the future.

Below are a few professions and the key qualities that define them.

If you can easily come up with exciting and original ideas, and also know how to communicate effectively with a variety of people – be it a developer or an artist, then you should consider the direction of game design.

If your favorite tasks are related to algorithm analysis, you like to dive into the code, find errors in it and optimize performance, then most likely you should think about the profession of a programmer.

If you have creative thinking, you like to draw / animate art, not a day goes by without thinking about new ideas – most likely, you will be able to unleash your potential as an artist, animator, graphic designer.

Are you attentive to details and can you find even the most obscure bug in the game? And if you still like to develop and compile reports, then you may be interested in the position of a tester.

If you have experience in managing corporate culture, conflict resolution, empathy is inherent in you, and the "word" is your working tool, then you can try yourself in the HR direction.

If you have a strategic vision for product development, are able to work in multitasking mode, are ready to take responsibility for the work of others, while not being afraid to delegate tasks, and time management is your forte, then you should think about the positions of the managerial direction: producer, product manager.

Of course, in addition to soft skills, you need to own specialized tools to work in your profession. You can try to master most of them yourself to understand exactly what is easier for you and what is worth giving up. Here is a list of basic tools specific to some roles that may be useful:

As you can see, game development is not only for engineers and people with a technical background. A wide variety of skills and abilities are needed here. To find out exactly which jobs you can apply for, we recommend that you look at our career website and vacancies in Kazakhstan. Stay tuned! In the next article, we will talk about how to start your journey in game development. 

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Мықты мықты!

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Впечатляет!

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Впечатляет!

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Крутая статья, спасибо за такую обширную информацию!

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Спасибо, что интересуетесь :) Рады стараться и быть полезными.

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