This book illuminates the internal workings of the notoriously complex and secretive computer game industry through twenty critical interviews with industry insiders. Aiming for an x-ray view of the video game industry, the authors have spoken to everyone from individual game developers to volunteer play testers to CEOs in order to elucidate industrial economics, corporate/company structures, gender topographies, hiring and firing practices, marketing strategies, and other equally integral but mystifying mechanims of industrial organization. Critical analyses of the major themes arising out of the interviews will anchor clusters of interviews that specifically addressprogramming, art, animation, game design, production, quality assurance, audio, business and legal. A glossary of job titles and a comprehensive overview of the history of the game industry help students figure out where they might fit within the industry, while also illuminating all of its complexities.

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