Game development companies in Singapore, the United States, Belarus, Germany, and any other country work within the same industry, the same patterns, and the same goals. Whether it is a game for education, wellbeing, or just for fun, its success depends entirely on the creators – its team.
With startups, the process of creating a perfect team for game development can go two ways: natural when people organically join the project if the need appears, and from-scratch when the idea-maker recruits the whole team of experts for the startup development. Luckily, whether one gets game development services on-board, waits for the right applicants to come up, or searches for the perfect candidates in different places, the actual roles and responsibilities inside of the team remain the same. Now, let’s look into the tips on forming a perfect team for a startup iOS and Android game development company.
Key Roles in Game Development
The game development lifecycle is similar to any development project. It runs in reiterations and always involves a mastermind who controls the whole operation – a project manager. A project manager is a must-have in any startup iPhone app game development, even if the main idea belongs to a designer, developer, or engineer. The manager can organize the process correctly to ensure that the game grows day-by-day, the budget is met, and the communication among the team members goes smoothly. Lack of such administration is a common mistake for startups who believe that a person who codes, creates designs, and works on the game progress daily can also take care of finances, timeline, numerous meetings, and even communication with potential investors.
Of course, if your startup consists of only a video game developer and an architect, then you do not need a third person to control you. But once the scope of a project gets bigger, it is wise and extremely beneficial to find a talented PM for the sake of the project’s efficiency and saving the game development cost. Now, once a project has a head, let’s see what the hands stand for.
Game designer
Game designers are the drivers in any iOS/Android game development company. They do not necessarily have the considerable coding skill since they work on creating the game story, its twists, and role characters. They also work on the world of the game: its rules in terms of interactions as well as physics, for instance. These are designers who would, in a small startup, work on the levels of difficulty, scoring logic, ledges, and game objects. However, in a larger iPhone app game development, each of these roles can be represented by different people.
You might also find a specific role of level designer – a person whose responsibility is to work on player engagement. These designers plan each level carefully to hook the players and keep them focused on the tasks, challenges, etc. throughout the game. Such team members are quite beneficial if your budget allows. The reason for this is that level designers, while increasing game development cost, can actually make the project unique. They do heavy research on the game topic (historical époque, maps of the ancient times, distinctive attributes of a tribe, scientific research on the species, etc.). Their job is to find specific triggers for the game in a particularly set environment. They usually end up with brilliant ideas like the Mario game, which has lots of levels, perfect rules that can be bent but not broken, and a wide range of rewards.
Game developer
Of course, a video game developer is among the must-have roles for a startup project. Without their coding skills, a game would cease to exist. Developers or programmers work on the ideas created by game designers. They receive conceptual ideas and turn them into fully playable games. The difference between software and game developers comes in their skill set. A good game developer should have:
- strong background in programming
- creative mind
- abstract thought
- remarkable math skills
Game developers are involved in selecting and building the game base engine, as well as scripting all game events and interactions. They also work closely with designers when game physics and 3D rendering stages come in place. With the help of additional staff members (like sound experts), they populate the game with sounds, voice-overs, and sound effects for movements, gestures, etc. UI, custom tools, connection, specific gestures for the selected console/computer/joystick, and many other elements of the actual game development belong to these specialists. As a rule, video games require several developers to get peer review and a second opinion. There would also be specific experts working with AI or UI at larger startups, but smaller games can start with a couple of programmers.
Game artist
This is an umbrella term that may include a wide range of specialists. Most often, a game artist is a person who works on a game color palette, the overall feeling of the game world, and its characteristics. These experts are highly detail-oriented because their job is to make the feel and look of the game world smooth and solid for the players.
Game artists do not necessarily have any coding experience, and they are rarely video game developers themselves. However, a small Android game development company may call a ‘game artist’ an individual working with animation, 3D models, game concept, special effects, and even paper-based development of the game. For a larger project, the game artist role can be handled by several people, including:
- Animators who work with movements in the game to ensure they are realistic.
- 3D artists/modelers who ensure that all 3D objects in the game act naturally, and their perspective is correct. These experts are especially important for VR app development.
- Special effects artists who are high-skilled in adding natural elements such as lightning, water, rain, etc. to a game.
While sound experts are rarely associated with the artistic team, they actually are a part of it. Sound-makers can be composers, music and sound fans, and even sound engineers who know everything about the sound of a stick, a step on the grass, and the background noise of mild rain. They are similar to the sound-effect specialists in movies; yet they often do not get the same credit. The sound artists work on making the game feel natural because, in the absence of sounds, a game cannot feel ‘right.’ These specialists also work on voice-over recordings for game characters, soundtracks and mood music as well as sounds for the game menu, game opening, etc.
QA/Testers
Whether it is an Android enterprise app development project or an Android game development company working on the new product, they both employ testers – experts who know how to push the limits of software to find its weak spots. As a rule, testing takes up to 40% of the total game development time, so it is essential to get a highly-trained professional on your team. Video games have their own specifics when it comes to testing, since besides the automated tests on the game performance or usability, testers need to actually go through all the levels to verify all possible scenarios and bugs in it. Consider getting help from game development companies in Singapore if you are tight on budget and in need of a highly-qualified specialist.
How much does game development cost?
The total game development cost heavily depends upon the salary of every team member and their seniority. A junior game designer with fewer skills but a stronger will to learn and produce can be a better asset for a startup than a highly-skilled senior expert with ten-year experience in the field. Consider also outsourcing for your startup project since the US and the UK designers have the highest salaries, while working with game development companies from Singapore can be more affordable and hence beneficial for a minor project. A smaller game can cost as little as $10,000, which is a reasonable sum for crowd-funding or just funding. However, if your startup aims at VR games, for example, be ready to allocate at least $35,000 since VR technology requires greater commitment and higher skills from a video game developer.
The bottom line
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how a perfect game development team looks like. A small startup might consist of only two originators, while large game development companies in Singapore would employ dozens of people just to work on the game sound. The key roles and responsibilities described in this article are definitely a must-have for any startup; they constitute the dream-team for a video game startup. However, it is always up to you whether you find like-minded developers to work for the idea or go for an outsourcing path to get the project up and running in a year. Carefully evaluate the scope and budget of your project to ensure that your startup game rocks the world and does not end up in a drawer.
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