Video game developer

1.2 Second-party developer

A video game developer is a software developer that

specializes in video game development the process
and related disciplines of creating video games.[1][2] A
game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks[3] to a large business with employee responsibilities split between individual disciplines, such as
programming, design, art, testing, etc. Most game development companies have video game publisher nancial
and usually marketing support.[4] Self-funded developers
are known as independent or indie developers and usually
make indie games.[5]

Second-party developer is a colloquial term often used by

gaming enthusiasts and media to describe two dierent
forms of game development studios:
1. Independently owned studios who take development
contracts from the platform holders and what they
produce will usually be exclusive to that platform.
2. Studios that are partially or wholly owned by the
platform holder (also known as a subsidiary) and
what they produce will usually be exclusive to that
platform.

A developer may specialize in a certain video game console (such as Nintendo's Wii U, Microsoft's Xbox One,
Sony's PlayStation 4), or may develop for a number of
systems (including personal computers and mobile devices). Video-game developers specialize in certain types
of games (such as role-playing video games or rst-person
shooters). Some focus on porting games from one system
to another, or translating games from one language to another. Less commonly, some do other kinds of softwaredevelopment work in addition to games.

In reality, the resulting game is rst party (since it is

funded by the platform holder who usually owns the
resulting IP), but the term helps to distinguish independent studios from those directly owned by the platform holder. These studios may have exclusive publishing agreements (or other business relationships) with
the platform holder, while maintaining independence.
Examples are Insomniac Games (which previously developed games solely for Sonys PlayStation platforms
as an independent studio), ADK for SNK consoles,
Rareware for Nintendo and later Microsoft, and Game
Freak (which primarily develops the Nintendo-exclusive
Pokmon game series).

Most video game publishers maintain development studios (such as Electronic Arts's EA Canada, Square Enix's
studios, Activision's Radical Entertainment, Nintendo
EAD and Sonys Polyphony Digital and Naughty Dog).
However, since publishing is still their primary activity
they are generally described as publishers rather than
developers. Developers may be private as well (such as
how Bungie was, the company which developed the Halo
1.3
series exclusive to Microsofts Xbox).

Third-party developers

See also: Third-party software component

1
1.1

Activision in 1979 became the rst third-party video

game developer,[7] where the term second-party originally referred to the consumers. A third-party developer
may also publish games, or work for a video game publisher to develop a title. Both publisher and developer
have considerable input in the games design and content.
However, the publishers wishes generally override those
of the developer.

Types
First-party developer

In the video game industry, a rst-party developer is part

of a company which manufactures a video game console and develops exclusively for it. First-party developers may use the name of the company itself (such as
Nintendo), have a specic division name (such as Sonys
Polyphony Digital) or have been an independent studio
before being acquired by the console manufacturer (such
as Rare or Naughty Dog).[6]

The business arrangement between the developer and

publisher is governed by a contract, which species a list
of milestones intended to be delivered over a period of
time. By updating its milestones, the publisher veries
that work is progressing quickly enough to meet its deadline and can direct the developer if the game is not meeting expectations. When each milestone is completed (and
accepted), the publisher pays the developer an advance
1

2 QUALITY OF LIFE

on royalties. Successful developers may maintain several

teams working on dierent games for dierent publishers. Generally, however, third-party developers tend to
be small, close-knit teams. Third-party game development is a volatile sector, since small developers may be
dependent on income from a single publisher; one canceled game may be devastating to a small developer. Because of this, many small development companies are
short-lived.

these developers self-publish their games, relying on the

Internet and word of mouth for publicity. Without the
large marketing budgets of mainstream publishers, their
products may receive less recognition than those of larger
publishers such as Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. With
the advent of digital distribution of inexpensive games
on game consoles, it is now possible for independent developers to forge agreements with console manufacturers
for broad distribution of their games.

A common exit strategy for a successful video-game developer is to sell the company to a publisher, becoming an
in-house developer. In-house development teams tend to
have more freedom in the design and content of a game
compared to third-party developers. One reason is that
since the developers are employees of the publisher, their
interests are aligned with those of the publisher; the publisher may spend less eort ensuring that the developers
decisions do not enrich the developer at the publishers
expense.

Other independent developers create game software for

a number of video-game publishers on several gaming
platforms. In recent years this model has been in decline; larger publishers, such as Electronic Arts and Activision, increasingly turn to internal studios (usually former independent developers acquired for their development needs).

In recent years, larger publishers have acquired several

third-party developers. While these development teams
are now technically in-house, they often continue to
operate in an autonomous manner (with their own culture and work practices). For example, Activision acquired Raven (1997); Neversoft (1999), which merged
with Innity Ward in 2014; Z-Axis (2001); Treyarch
(2001); Luxoux (2002); Shaba (2002); Innity Ward
(2003) and Vicarious Visions (2005). All these developers continue operating much as they did before acquisition, the primary dierences being exclusivity and nancial details. Publishers tend to be more forgiving of their
own development teams going over budget (or missing
deadlines) than third-party developers.

2 Quality of life
Video-game development is usually conducted in a casual business environment, with T-shirts and sandals
common work attire. Many workers nd this type of
environment rewarding and pleasant professionally and
personally.[9] However, the industry also requires long
working hours from its employees (sometimes to an extent seen as unsustainable).[10] Employee burnout is not
uncommon.[9]

An entry-level programmer can make, on average, over

$66,000 annually only if they are successful in obtaining
a position in a medium to large video game company.[11]
An experienced game-development employee, depending
on his or her expertise and experience, averaged roughly
A developer may not be the primary entity creating a $73,000 in 2007.[12] Indie game developers may only earn
piece of software, usually providing an external soft- between $10,000 to $50,000 a year depending on how
ware tool which helps organize (or use) information for successful their titles are.[13]
the primary software product. Such tools may be a
In addition to being part of the software industry , game
database, Voice over IP, or add-in interface software; this
development is also within the entertainment industry;
is also known as middleware. A good example of this is
most sectors of the entertainment industry (such as lms
SpeedTree developed by Interactive Data Visualization
and television) require long working hours and dedicaInc.
tion from their employees, such as willingness to relocate
In addition, accessories like headsets may be known or/and to develop games that do not appeal. The creative
as third-party headsets; the company manufacturing the rewards of work in the entertainment business attracts
headset may be dierent from the console company. For labor to the industry, creating a competitive labor market
example, Turtle Beach is a third-party headset manufac- which demands a high level of commitment and perforturer for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Also now in- mance from employees. Industry communities, such as
cluding the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.[8]
the International Game Developers Association (IGDA),
are conducting increasing discussions about the problem;
they are concerned that working conditions in the industry cause signicant deterioration in its employees qual1.4 Independent developers
ity of life.[14][15]
See also: Indie game and Independent video game
development

2.1 Crunch time

Independents are software developers which are not Some video game developers (such as Electronic Arts)
owned by (or dependent on) a single publisher. Some of have been accused of the excessive invocation of "crunch

3
time".[16] Crunch time is the point at which the team
is thought to be failing to achieve milestones needed to
launch a game on schedule. The complexity of work ow
and the intangibles of artistic and aesthetic demands in
video-game creation create diculty in predicting milestones.

[6] Ahmed, Shahed. Naughty Dog discusses being acquired

by Sony. GameSpot.
[7] Stream of video games is endless. Milwaukee Journal.
1982-12-26. pp. Business 1. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
[8] Video Gaming Headsets, Sound Cards, Audio Processors. Turtle Beach. 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2012-11-07.

Most game-development engineers and artists in the

United States are considered salaried employees; as [9] McKay, Brett; McKay, Kate (September 29, 2010). So
"exempt non-hourly-paid professionals, they are not subYou Want My Job: Video Game Producer. The Art of
Manliness. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
ject to state laws governing overtime.[17] An exception
is California, where software developers are specically
[10] EA: The Human Story from LiveJournal
protected by a minimum hourly wage to be considered
[18]
exempt. In 2008, due to the amendment to California [11] Top Gaming Studios, Schools & Salaries. Big Fish
Labor Code Section 515.5 by Bill SB 929,[19] the miniGames. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
mum wage was $36 per hour (or $74,880 per year).
Attention to crunching was drawn by a 2004 blog post
entitled ea_spouse.[20] The protest against crunch time
was posted by Erin Homan (ancee of Electronic Arts
developer Leander Hasty), who contended that her life
was being indirectly destroyed by the companys work
policy. This led to debate in the industry but no visible changes until March 2005, when Electronic Arts announced internally that it was planning to extend overtime pay to some employees not currently eligible. Hasty
and Homan later joined an independent development
studio (1st Playable Productions) and founded Gamewatch, a website for discussing the game-development
environment industry-wide. As senior game developers
age and family responsibilities become more important,
many companies are moderating the worst crunch-time
practices to attract better-quality sta.[21]

[12] The Game Industry Salary Survey 2007 however, dierent regions and costs of living will add a wide range to
the minimum and maximum pay scales. Most larger developers such as Ubisoft will include prot-sharing plans,
royalty payments or performance-related bonuses to reward their employees. from GameCareerGuide.com
[13] Game Developer Salary Survey 2014: The results are
in!".
[14] Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work: 6 Lessons from IGDA
[15] The Game Industry - Push.cox from IGDA
[16] No fun for game developers?" from CNet News
[17] Exemptions from Minimum Wage and Overtime from
Texas Workforce Commission
[18] California Code of Regulations Title 8 Section 11170
[19] SB 929 Senate Bill

See also
List of independent game developers

[20] 'EA Spouse' Weblog Raises Issues On Game Development

Quality Of Life from Gamasutra
[21] Crunch Time from RockBand.com

List of video game developers

Video game industry practices

References

[1] Bethke, Erik (2003). Game development and production.

Texas: Wordware Publishing, Inc. p. 4. ISBN 1-55622951-8.
[2] McGuire, Morgan; Jenkins, Odest Chadwicke (2009).
Cre ating Gmes: Mechanics, Content, and Technology.
Wellesley, Massachusetts: A K Peters. p. 25. ISBN 9781-56881-305-9.
[3] Bob, Ogo. Electronic Game School. Teacher.
[4] Bates, Bob (2004). Game Design (2nd ed.). Thomson
Course Technology. p. 239. ISBN 1-59200-493-8.
[5] Gnade, Mike (July 15, 2010). What Exactly is an Indie
Game?". The Indie Game Magazine. Retrieved January
9, 2011.

5 External links
Breaking into the game industry from the IGDA
I Have A Game Idea!" and Design Career Preparation from game industry veteran Tom Sloper
Quality of Life in the Videogame Industry

6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

Video game developer Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_developer?oldid=760007509 Contributors: Peter Winnberg,

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6.2

Images

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6.3

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