Inside the Video Game Industry Game Developers Talk About the Business of Play

Inside the Video Game Industry offers a provocative look into one of today's most dynamic and creative businesses. Through in-depth structured interviews, industry professionals discuss their roles, providing invaluable insight into game programming, art, animation, design, production, quality assurance, audio and business professions. From hiring and firing conventions, attitudes about gender disparity, goals for work-life balance, and a span of legal, psychological, and communal intellectual property protection mechanisms, the book's combination of accessible industry talk and incisive thematic overviews is ideal for anyone interested in games as a global industry, a site of cultural study, or a prospective career path. Designed for researchers, educators, and students, this book provides a critical perspective on an often opaque business and its highly mobile workforce. Additional teaching materials, including activities and study questions, canbe found at https://www.routledge.com/9780415828284.

Introduction. Chapter 1. Programming. Chapter 2. Art. Chapter 3. Design. Chapter 4. Producing. Chapter 5. Quality Assurance. Chapter 6. Audio. Chapter 7. Business. Conclusion.

Judd Ethan Ruggill is an Associate Professor of Computational Media at the University of Arizona and co-founder and co-director of the Learning Games Initiative. He researches computer game technologies, play, and cultures, and is the co-author of Tempest: Geometries of Play and Gaming Matters: Art, Science, Magic, and the Computer Game Medium. Ken S. McAllister is a Professor of Rhetoric and Associate Dean of Research and Program Innovation for the College of Humanities at the University of Arizona. A co-founder and co-director of the Learning Games Initiative, McAllister is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles on topics ranging from game preservation to critical technology studies. Randy Nichols is an Assistant Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Tacoma. His research has focused on understanding the political economy of the video game industry and its intersections with other cultural industries. Ryan Kaufman began his career at LucasArts Entertainment, and for ten years worked as a tester, designer, and content supervisor on games such as Full Throttle, Rogue Squadron N64, and Republic Commando. He is currently Director of Design at Telltale Games, contributing to titles including The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Game of Thrones.