A Day in the Life: Video Game Developer

Last updated 10 months ago

1 question

Instructions

Read through a Day in the Life of your new job. Use the word bank to drag and drop the missing words into the correct spot to complete the worksheet.

Required

It’s a no-brainer: if a video game is no fun, nobody is going to buy it! A big part of your job involves making sure that a new video game has all of the elements that appeal to consumers: a gripping story, engaging characters, and fun, high-quality 1.______________________ . Today, while you are getting ready for work, you prepare to tactfully tell your team that the game they have been working on for months requires significant improvements. You arrive at the office at 8:00 am and review the plot outlined in the original 2.______________________ . The concept works, but something is off. You go into a small testing room, put on headphones, and begin to play the game. It feels too much like a rewrite of an old theme that might work, but doesn’t! The narrative is weak, you can’t identify with the main character, and the graphics overwhelm the story. Overall, you conclude, the game is just too predictable. After playing several levels and making notes on the script and storyboards, you must go to the team meeting and deliver the bad news: this game needs a 3. ______________________ ! You take time to jot down some positive suggestions and possible plot enhancements before heading to the meeting. The team is a bit disgruntled at first, but as the creative juices begin flowing, there is great 4. ______________________  and excitement. The new story is forming before your eyes. You begin diagramming how the game will progress, noting suggestions from everyone. You go back to your computer and flesh out the plot, writing the script and interspersing 5. ______________________  of possible graphics. By noon, you feel as if you have a good start—or restart, in this case. Although you love your work, it is disappointing when a project does not live up to your expectations. However, being willing to start again is one of the reasons you have succeeded as a game developer. The other reason is your creative ability to get into the minds of the consumers who buy your company’s games. After lunch, you focus on smaller details, often leaving the computer to sketch out your ideas by hand at the large 6. ______________________  table. A couple of hours later, you review what you have produced and email it to the other developers for comments. This is a team effort, and every designer contributes to the success of the final product. You prepare a new timeline for the development strategy. You type up what you think will be a reasonable schedule, considering all the changes the team has to make to the original game. The programmers will receive instructions on which levels to reprogram and the testing team will need plenty of time to de-bug the game before it can be marketed to consumers. Before heading home for the evening, you make a phone call to the company’s advertising agent to discuss how this delay might change plans for the promotional material and ad campaign. It will take many extra hours to finish this game in time for the company’s firm deadline, which is just before the holiday season. However, your team doesn’t mind working overtime because everyone knows that the revised game will be more fun for your consumer base. Producing quality entertainment is the team’s highest goal. You can’t wait to continue developing this game tomorrow!