Desktop game development is designing, creating, and releasing a game for the PC platform.
This is a multidisciplinary endeavor. Several domains, such as programming, game design, artists, and testing, are all involved in this particular domain. For example, the developers write the different modules’ code in the chosen programming language and game engine. The artists create the artwork and assets for the game. Likewise, the testers conduct quality analysis, and so on.
Although desktop game development can be done by a single person, it is not advised. Most of the time, the game is developed by a group of people. Often each group would have multiple members, and each group would take care of specific domains.
Then once the production is complete, the developers release the game in digital and physical forms. The physical forms are tangible copies of the game with artwork and everything. On the other hand, digital copies are supplied through different virtual stores.
Throughout this entire detailed process, there are numerous roles involved in the process of game development. Below we detail some of them:
Producer
The producer is the person that oversees the entire game development process. They prepare the schedule for production, assemble the team, track the progress, etc.
Programmers
Programmers are the engineers behind the games. These members have strong knowledge of programming languages and understand the features of the game engines. Different programmers may handle various aspects of the game, such as network, input, UI, animation, and sound.
Game Designer
Designers are the initial creators of the game and its virtual world. The game designers devise the game’s core mechanics, the storyline, the characters, dialogues, the world, etc. In addition, these team members also do balancing of different gameplay elements, create the metrics, and design the levels.
Artists
Artists take care of the game’s visual aspect – the characters, environment, and props are all part of these. There are subspecialties within game art creation:
Concept artists are the first visual artists of the game. This set of artists creates ideas based on sketching to draw the initial concepts for characters, props, and environments. These ideas and sketches do not have to be aesthetic to finalize the game’s look.
These artists create 2D sprites for the game for all the different 2D elements. Then, based on the chosen art style, whether pixel, monochrome, or vector, the 2D artists create the game’s environments and levels, the objects and props, and the characters.
This set of artists creates the basic interface of the game. The team considers aspects such as the information hierarchy, platform conventions, and design principles to do this.
There are numerous types of 3D artists, from modelers to lighting artists. First are the modelers, who are responsible for sculpting 3D models for the game. Second are the texture artists, who add elements such as skins and fur to the model. Third, are the lighting artists who devise the light for the game scene based on the mood. Finally, there are the rigging artists who build a controllable skeleton for the game, so the model can be used to create animations.
Animators can come from both 2D and 3D teams. The animators create motion for the characters and environments. Their primary responsibility is to make the character models ‘act’ in a scene, portraying emotions that immerse the player into the game environment.
Tester
The testers are the people who assess the game for quality. The testers do this on different metrics such as performance, compatibility, design errors, etc. The team also ensures all the elements are up to the expected standard and based on the documentation.