Ok folks, we're back again with the second part of our Game Development Series. This one titled, what else, Game Developers. Here we will cover what a Game Developer is, what they do, and offer additional resources about the field and how to get yourself involved. If you take a look at the sidebar, you will notice a list of schools related to game design and development. So, sit back and let's get started.

In a nutshell, a game developer is a person, (individual or business) who, well...makes games. Also called software developers.

Now that's a better question to ask. Let's get into it and explore what this position entails. Game developers may specialize in one particular environment, console, e.g.; Sony Playstation, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Wii, DS, PSP, PSP GO, and so on.

There are also developers that specialize in a particular type of game as well, e.g.; pc games, shooter, action and you get where I'm going. Some focus on porting games (from one system to another), some focus on translating games (from one language to another), and a small few do other developmental duties, unrelated to what we're covering at the moment.

Yes. There are Third-Party Developers and there are Independent Developers. There are also In-house Developers.

Third-Party Developers are game developers that are hired by publishing companies to design a game for one or multiple systems. The publisher and developer have major roles and say as to the design and development of the game, but at the end of the day the publisher is boss as they are paying the developers (sucks in a way I know).

Arrangements between the two are covered via contract. In the contract it specifies certain milestones that the developer is being held to. In a sense, a preliminary check list throughout the making and completion of the projected title (game). Milestone can be 4 or even 8 weeks, which the publisher would then check on the progress made by the developers at that time. Depending on the progress, the publishers can see how near to completion they are, and if for some reason, the development team has veered off the publishers path. This is also the time when the publishers ante up the money for it's development team through royalties.

One major draw back to running a third-party development team/company, is the fact that you will rely solely on the funds of the publisher to keep your operation afloat. This kind of venture is the reason why some small development teams don't last too long. Most common strategy for successful third-party development teams, is to sell the company to the publisher, retaining payment, and becoming an in-house development team. Pretty slick huh?

In-house developers have more freedom than third-party developers in the sense that now their ideas are more in tuned with the publisher, relieving the publisher from having to check that the 'third-party' is adhering to the set plan saving the publisher money in the long run.

 An example of publisher playing big brother to development companies: Activision retained the following development companies: Raven, Neversoft, Z-Axis, Treyarch, Luxoflux, Shaba, Infinity Ward and Vicarious Visions. Now, these companies may be owned by their publishers, but they each maintain and act a a single entity, much like they were before the aquisition. Also it's a fun note t oknow that most publishers are more forgiving when/if their own development team goes over budget as opposed to the third-party counterparts.

• In-house development teams that work for a console hardware manufacturer are known as 'first-party developers'.
• A company that is closely tied to a console manufacturer is known as a 'second-party developer'.

• Confusingly enough though, the publishers themselves are sometimes referred to as 'third-party developers' in the light of their relationships with the console manufacturers. This distinction of first, second and third party developers does not generally apply to PC games development.