This is my first post on game dev. I just recently joined yesterday. My question is if programmers can make graphics, sound, levels, etc...then do you really need all of the extra positions? Are they just there to speed up production,put in more quality, etc.? I am new to game development so dont flame if it sounds like im bashing other positions.

One man can do the entire job, but usually a programmer is good at programming, but not as good as a musician at creating music nor as good at creating art as an artist. If you want a quality product, you need to get the best you can to do each phase. And of course, more people makes the work go faster.

It's to boost the quality and time it takes to make the games, one guy could make everything in theory, but it would take ~50 times longer. If you're a single-man team, expect to spend at least as much time doing art as the time doing programming, though, if you want it to be a good quality game in total.

Have you ever seen some of the "programmer art" floating around the web?

shmoove

I'm still not even sure what I want to be yet so im studying a bit of everything now. I'm at a good age to start too. Im thinking about programming more than other positions just its not as creative as an artist.

It depends on how you define need . . . the programmer(s) is the only essential member of the team if your only goal is to produce a game; it takes far more training to produce a minimally working program than it does to produce a 3D model that looks vaguely like what it's supposed to, or write a story that sort of makes sense. In essence, writers, artists, mappers, etc. do just "speed up production and put in more quality". However, the amount they typically increase the quality by is often so massive that it makes the difference between a horrible game and an amazing one. Anyone can open up paint and make a texture that will be acceptable to the computer, but it takes real talent (or at least training) to make one that will not be really ugly. Because assembling any team with multiple people can be difficult, you will often see home-made games with so-called "programmer art"; often times the code of the game is capable of displaying something of professional quality (as measured several years ago, anyways), but they most often look like all of their art was done by a drunk ten-year-old, because most programmers are not artists. A team with only programmers can make a game that is playable, and may even be fun, but it is unlikely that it will be pleseant to look at.

EDIT:

Quote:Im thinking about programming more than other positions just its not as creative as an artist.

It depends on what you are programming; some areas of programming are very creative. Not that you should let that sway you; if programming doesn't sound like much fun to you then it probably won't be...

Yeah ive seen all the qbasic "art" from programmers.

Well I'm taking qbasic, visual B, and visual C in highschool for my next 3 years. I might even take Advanced Placement Computer Science but it have to get rid of b or c. So anyways I am taking programming so if say I want to do level design ill know how to program a bit to help others or whatever.

Quote:Original post by ShdwMarth
Well I'm taking qbasic, visual B, and visual C in highschool for my next 3 years. I might even take Advanced Placement Computer Science but it have to get rid of b or c. So anyways I am taking programming so if say I want to do level design ill know how to program a bit to help others or whatever.

What is Visual B / C? Here is my sincere recommendation:

Starting to learn programming early in high school is a great position to be in. Make the best out of it by learning C++. If your school doesn't offer C++, take something that closely resembles it, like Java, and learn C++ in your free time. If you stick with it, you should have a very high proficiency in the language in 3 years when you enter college -- this will put you in a much, much better position than your peers.