Within game companies, like EA and Ubisoft, there are hundreds of different jobs within each department, each with a unique and important job which all helps to get a game completed.
A huge company like EA usually has lots of smaller companies that they then pay to develop games for them, and then EA would publish the game under their name. 8,400 people are claimed to work at EA, with these jobs ranging from the CEO, which |
essentially manages the workflow of the whole company, and decides which of the daughter companies games, such as bio-ware's Mass Effect they will publish. Within EA, they will also have their own design team, which themselves will create and design games which they can then publish on their own. An example of one of these games is FIFA 15. Figure 1 shows the job outlines at EA.
Within each one of these branches, there will be a number of jobs, for example within the senior management team, there will be team leaders, which lead a team of artists and developers, and the already mentioned CEO. The administration team are similar,
as they will give jobs to the other people in the company and manage what everyone below them is doing. These people will also gain contract from other development companies such as DICE and then go on to publish their games.
as they will give jobs to the other people in the company and manage what everyone below them is doing. These people will also gain contract from other development companies such as DICE and then go on to publish their games.
The individual designers and artists within EA are given tasks by the administration team as to what they want developed, then the game designers that work at EA will work to create what is wanted. Within the technology branch, you will find the employees that work on the game engine, and how the overall final product looks, such as lighting, importing the 3D models into the game and ultimately making everything work with the game engine they are using. In the art branch, you will find concept artists, graphic designers who draw out characters and make it easier for the 3D modelers to create the 3D models, as they have something to work from. In the design branch, you will find the 3D modelers and other people who work on the more final pieces of work.
At the other end of the spectrum, smaller companies like Climax Studios (logo taken from their website), based in Portsmouth, are entirely focused on game development. Within climax studios, they employ a number of different artists
to work on individual parts of the game, such as the characters and environment. Whereas the huge EA has over 8000 employees, a smaller company like Climax will only have about 120. Climax studios will usually have leaders of each different part of the game development, such as there will be a leader for the design, technology and overall production. These leaders will then work with the individual artists and designers to make sure they are doing their work.
Climax doesn't have the power to publish games itself, which is why these smaller design studios work with big companies like EA and Ubisoft to get the games published and to get their name out there.
A bigger publishing company like Ubisoft will usually reach out to smaller companies such as Climax to make their games for them, and these two companies will work closely in the development of the game. When the development of the game has finished, Ubisoft will publish the game for them.
Even smaller than a company like Climax are people called freelance designers, which wait for a company like Climax to ask then to make something for them, for example you will find individuals who specialize in different aspects on game design, and a small company would employ these people to carry out work for them.
The problem with using smaller companies to make your games for you, it can take a lot longer to actually make the game. For example the game that climax studios recently made, Assassins Creed: Chronicles took over a year to make, maybe because of their small workforce. Whereas a huge company with thousands of people working on a game at once, the game is bound to be made faster. This is because if you have lots of people you can assign each one of them a little job, and because there are so many people doing little jobs it will be done lots faster than if you just had a small workforce.
When working for a small company, your working hours could be shorter and you could have more breaks, as the feeling of the whole office is generally more relaxed. On the other hand, if you were working for EA they would most likely be lots stricter, as you have responsibilities and people are relying on you more. Bigger companies usually have between 60-80 hour work weeks, including weekends, whereas a typical smaller company only typically have between 30-40.
I think that employing people like freelance designers and smaller companies is an extremely and efficient way of creating a good game, for example with EA publishing your game, you won't have to worry about the publishing or marketing of the game, but simply just focus on the game play. Another advantage of EA contracting other companies is they can employ highly skilled people to get the job done quickly and to a high standard.
to work on individual parts of the game, such as the characters and environment. Whereas the huge EA has over 8000 employees, a smaller company like Climax will only have about 120. Climax studios will usually have leaders of each different part of the game development, such as there will be a leader for the design, technology and overall production. These leaders will then work with the individual artists and designers to make sure they are doing their work.
Climax doesn't have the power to publish games itself, which is why these smaller design studios work with big companies like EA and Ubisoft to get the games published and to get their name out there.
A bigger publishing company like Ubisoft will usually reach out to smaller companies such as Climax to make their games for them, and these two companies will work closely in the development of the game. When the development of the game has finished, Ubisoft will publish the game for them.
Even smaller than a company like Climax are people called freelance designers, which wait for a company like Climax to ask then to make something for them, for example you will find individuals who specialize in different aspects on game design, and a small company would employ these people to carry out work for them.
The problem with using smaller companies to make your games for you, it can take a lot longer to actually make the game. For example the game that climax studios recently made, Assassins Creed: Chronicles took over a year to make, maybe because of their small workforce. Whereas a huge company with thousands of people working on a game at once, the game is bound to be made faster. This is because if you have lots of people you can assign each one of them a little job, and because there are so many people doing little jobs it will be done lots faster than if you just had a small workforce.
When working for a small company, your working hours could be shorter and you could have more breaks, as the feeling of the whole office is generally more relaxed. On the other hand, if you were working for EA they would most likely be lots stricter, as you have responsibilities and people are relying on you more. Bigger companies usually have between 60-80 hour work weeks, including weekends, whereas a typical smaller company only typically have between 30-40.
I think that employing people like freelance designers and smaller companies is an extremely and efficient way of creating a good game, for example with EA publishing your game, you won't have to worry about the publishing or marketing of the game, but simply just focus on the game play. Another advantage of EA contracting other companies is they can employ highly skilled people to get the job done quickly and to a high standard.