Every video game these days has "director" and "designer" credited as different people.
Why do those positions have to be held by different people? What does a director do that is different from what a designer does?
difference between a game director and a game designer?
A Game Director is more like a Producer or a Project Manager. They're the most senior person on the team, but not directly in charge of anything (besides delegating). They decide how and what the rest of the team will work on. The lead game designer will report to the director, which gives them the ability to direct the design.
Every video game these days has "director" and "designer" credited as different people.
No, they don't. Not "every" game has both positions credited.
A director is a more-highly-paid game designer, with managerial responsibilities and visionary power.
A director is a more-highly-paid game designer.
Not always. Not all directors have design experience. Some companies i've worked at the director has transfered over from QA, art, coding or design. Or has managed to get their foot in the door on some kind of grad scheame as an assistant director with no design experience. Or sometimes they have been a production manager in a non games related buisness. Also they don't always get paid more. Some are on relatively low pay whilst some (particularly the ones credited in AAA games) take the big bucks.
Not all directors have design experience.
Correct. The title is not well defined in our industry. It's usually a title chosen by the individual, or bestowed on the individual based on unknown criteria. Someone could be "director" of any department (HR Director, for instance). Since the OP was contrasting the title with "designer" I gave him an answer based on the assumption that the two titles were comparable or related. (The OP was likely asking about "design directors" or "directors of design".)
There is always an exception to every statement, including this one.
Author
An example would be Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The designers for that game are Richard Lemarchand and Neil Druckmann, and the directors for the game are Bruce Straley and Amy Hennig.
What did the directors do that was different from what the designers did?
An example would be Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The designers for that game are Richard Lemarchand and Neil Druckmann, and the directors for the game are Bruce Straley and Amy Hennig.
What did the directors do that was different from what the designers did?
You could ask Richard. http://interactive.usc.edu/members/rlemarchand/
I've never worked with a Game Director. But I'm a designer and I've worked with the same Creative Director for 2 years. Here's what he does from what I can see:
The Vision - "Tone Hammer" is a popular phrase he uses because everything must fit the tone. If anything doesn't fit his Vision (Tone) of the game then it's hammered out
Management - He gets everyone from ALL TEAMS talking and on the same page. That means 3D World, Lighting, Design, Production, Gameplay, Online, AI and UI.
Punch Bag / Buffer - When executives aren't happy then he's the first person that knows it. He also absorbs the heat on behalf of the team.
Overall Design Scope - When deadlines approach he has to make the tough decision on what stays and what gets cut
Plays the Game - The Creative Director makes a point to play the game EVERYDAY. He writes notes on what he likes, what he doesn't like and sends it to the right person
Press - Deals with the media, social networking sites, marketing details so each one is advertising the game correctly and consistently
Overall, this is the guy that knows what the game should be but doesn't have the time to sit down and design it all himself. He oversees the design along with the rest of the game and makes changes throughout development.
As a Designer my time consists of:
Paper Design - 15% (Done very early and edited as you update the game's design)
Implementation - 30% (Building levels, scripting, balancing and setting up game play elements)
Iteration - 30% (Making changes to the stuff I've implemented based on feedback)
Bug Fixing - 5% (Even the best of us have a few bugs we need to fix)
Play testing - 20% (Playing the game)
Author
So a game director is a lot like a movie director. They create a vision and then lead a team of people to fulfill it.
So a game director is a lot like a movie director. They create a vision and then lead a team of people to fulfill it.
The position is not well defined in the game industry. The title might not be used at a company, and at another company it might mean something different from what you wrote. It's usually a title chosen by the individual, or bestowed on the individual based on unknown criteria. Most times, when the title is used, a director is a more-highly-paid game designer, with managerial responsibilities and visionary power.
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