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This is one of more than 30 interviews with professional game developers. For more, visit Which game job is right for you?.
david_c_galloway_game_systems_programmer
David’s been bending computers to his will for 30 years. What’s his secret?

Meet David C. Galloway, Video Game Systems Programmer

David Galloway began his game programming career on the Commodore 64 home computer, and has created game play code for top-shelf franchises like Assassin’s Creed and X-Men.

But his real super power is in building game system code – the core programming that drives a game engine. From math libraries, to 3D animation systems, to the code that empowers Atair to free climb across Cyprus, David writes the code that turns lifeless polygons into living, breathing 3D worlds. Read more »

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How much are Game Developers paid? There are many jobs on a video game development team, and “game developer” can refer to any of them: programmers, artists, designers, audio engineers, and more. Game developers are paid well above national average income levels, but some are paid more than others. It depends on job title, years of experience, region, and other job-specific factors discussed below.

The following graphs show average game developer pay, and each section includes links to learn more. The data is pulled from several authoritative sources (see endnote for references), and is updated every 6 months.
Read more »

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This is one of more than 30 interviews with professional game developers. For more, visit Which game job is right for you?.
Profile picture of Dan Posluns, Video Game Programmer
Dan’s got a trick for getting the attention of the big game studios. How does he do it?

Meet Dan Posluns, Video Game Programmer

Dan Posluns began his adventure in the cold northern lands of Canada, but journeyed to the USA to pursue a career programming video games. He’s worked on top franchises such as Spore, The Simpsons, The Sims, and LEGO Star Wars, and has written code on multiple platforms including handheld and mobile. He speaks with us today about what it takes to become a game developer, and how you can start your own quest programming games. Read more »

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Which degree is required to become a Game Designer?
Which degree is required to become a Game Designer?

Is your quest to become a video game designer? If so, you might feel that you’re facing a difficult journey with many decisions to make. Should you go to a video game college, state college or private university? Should you focus on programming, design, or art? Is a 4-year degree enough or is more required of you?

There are many roads to take, and many educational paths to choose. Which one leads to your dream job making games?Read more »

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Imran Khan Kaki
Imran knows what it takes to break into India’s game industry. He helped build it.

Imran Khan Kaki is an award-winning game developer and early pioneer in India’s video game industry. He continues to play a role in the growth of the Indian game dev scene and runs a large studio in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

He speaks with us today about the growth of game development in India, and offers advice for Indian students who want to build toward a game dev career at home or abroad.Read more »

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This is one of more than 30 interviews with professional game developers. For more, visit Which game job is right for you?.
Jason Bay poses with a zombie by Rich Werner, 2D Artist
This is me, posing at PopCap’s Seattle offices with one of Rich Werner’s zombies. “Braaaaaiiiins!”

Meet Rich Werner, 2D Artist/Animator behind “Plants vs Zombies”

Rich Werner has been using his art to make games come alive (or at least, undead) for over 15 years. He’s well-known as the artist behind Plants vs Zombies, an award-winning franchise that’s sold millions of units across a dozen gaming platforms.

Rich left his job at PopCap Games in 2012, and set out on his own to spawn a new breed of indie games. Today we talk with him about his role as a self-employed video game artist, and what it takes to succeed as a 2D Artist – whether you want to work inside of a game studio, or out on your own.Read more »

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This article is part of the Video Game Developer Salary series. See the annual pay for all video game jobs here.
young video game artist
Does video game art pay better than finger painting? Or is it just slightly less messy?

Table of Contents

  1. Game Artist salary: Overview
  2. Game Artist salary: Factors
  3. Game Artist salary: Details
  4. Other factors that affect Artist salary
  5. Demand for Game Artists
  6. Should I become a Game Artist?

When I started playing video games way back in the 1970’s, the “art” was pretty terrible. A game’s screen could only show a few colors at a time. Often, the “character” you were playing was little more than a colored square. Games were so simple that it was common for a single developer to do everything by herself – all the design, all the coding, and all the art.

Over the years, that changed. Gaming systems grew more powerful, exploding from two dimensions into three-dimensions in full color. At the same time, the video game artist’s job became too much for one person to handle. Now, the job that was once done by a single artist has split into many different art specialties. Each one has its own tools and techniques that take a lifetime to master. But when it comes to the paycheck, not all art jobs are created equal.

How much do video game artists make? And how much could you make as a game artist?Read more »

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This is one of more than 30 interviews with professional game developers. For more, visit Which game job is right for you?.

Meet Merric Shank, Video Game Associate Producer

Merric Shank, Video Game Associate Producer
This dapper fellow explains why “soft skills” are a hard requirement for managing a game team.

Merric started out as a video game tester, and eventually grew his career into a Senior Producer. We’ve asked him to reflect on the several years he spent as an Associate Producer (abbreviated as AP or sometimes PA) to give you some insight into what it takes to land that job and build a successful career.

It’s worth noting that this advice applies to a PA job at a game developer, which is different than a PA job at a game publisher. There’s definitely some crossover, but a PA at a game developer works much more closely with the game team every day and often serves as the development team’s project manager. Read more »

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This is one of more than 30 interviews with professional game developers. For more, visit Which game job is right for you?.

Meet Nathaniel Hubbell, Video Game Special Effects Artist

Nathaniel Hubbell, Video Game Special Effects Artist
Nat takes bare-bones games and fleshes them out with stunning visual effects.

When it comes to animation, Nathaniel is a consummate “jack of all trades.” Whether it’s his work on big-budget franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Spore, or X-Men, Nat has leveraged his skills in animation, rigging and special effects to make amazing visuals that shock and awe gaming audiences everywhere.

Today, we talk with Nat about what it takes to become a VFX (Visual Special Effects) Artist in video games, and what you can do to get started down his path.Read more »

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This is one of more than 30 interviews with professional game developers. For more, visit Which game job is right for you?.

Meet Darby McDevitt, Video Game Writer

Darby McDevitt, Video Game Scriptwriter
Darby makes his own luck by working hard and saying “yes” at every opportunity.

Darby McDevitt is a scriptwriter for the hugely successful Assassin’s Creed series of games. But he doesn’t only write for games. He’s also released several prose fiction works, has been published in national literary journals and anthologies, and has released several music albums. He’s also written, produced, directed, or designed the audio for a number of successful films.

That should give you a hint about how Darby approaches his career: passionately. The best way to get good at something like writing for video games is to do it, and do it a lot.

Darby talks with us today about how his passion for learning new things and taking on more responsibility got him into the game industry – and continues to open new doors. It’s a lesson he hopes you’ll take to heart.Read more »

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