Hiring a game developer

So you have a great game idea and are looking for a game developer to bring your idea to reality. Unlike app development, game development requires several individuals with different expertise.

At a minimum you need the following experts in your team:

  • Game artist
  • Game designer
  • Game developer

Game artist

A game artist is responsible for creating the characters and animations for your game. If your game is a 2D game, he/she will create sprite sheets that contains animation sequence such as walking, running, jumping, etc. If your game is a 3D game, then he/she will create 3D characters for your game. Price wise, it is cheaper to hire a 2D game artist.

Game designer

A game designer is responsible for the gameplay. He/she is responsible for making sure your game is interesting, well balanced and addicting. A game with nice graphics will fall flat if the game does not have good balance.

Game developer

A game developer is responsible for turning your game idea into something playable in mobile devices. He/she will use the artwork and gameplay and make your game a reality.

Most of the time, individuals (like yourself) simply hire a game developer and try to do the artwork and game design themselves. This is not ideal but sometimes you may not have the budget to hire all three.

Hiring a game developer can also be costly. If you don't have the budget, then create a small version of your game. For example, if your game has 3 levels, start off by producing simply 1 level and few game characters. If you find that people like your idea, then produce the other game levels.

Developing a game is very hard. Even a simple 1 level game will take time to develop. Always factor in the development time plus the testing time.

Finally, the most important part of a game is the GAME PLAY. You can hire the best artist and the best programmer, but if your game play sucks, then your game will go nowhere.

Harold Serrano

Computer Graphics Enthusiast. Currently developing a 3D Game Engine.