The processor can often be very difficult to upgrade and, with this in mind, you should try to buy as fast a system as you can afford. There are two main manufacturers of processors on the Windows side of things: AMD with Athlons and Intel with Pentiums. We won’t get into a big discussion or try to...

A computer is obviously a necessary item for game development. As was previously mentioned, there are many great deals that can be had these days for a minimal investment. Unless the needs of your software indicate you need a high-end system, a general-purpose off-the-shelf system usually will do. When...

The equipment you will need to create a computer game depends on the type and scope of your project. The right setup can range from a very minimal investment to tens of thousands of dollars for the latest and most powerful computer and peripheral setup. To get started, you need to own a basic computer...

Before we can make anything, we need to have the proper equipment. And while it may sound expensive, setting up a game development studio doesn’t have to be. With Moore’s Law (this basically predicts that the processing power of computers will double every 18 months) continuing to hold true, the...

Overview If you browse most game development magazine and Web sites, you will find most “old timers” grumbling about the death of the one-person development team. In general, with the increase in hardware processing power, the game development industry has gone the way of Hollywood movie studios,...

A development team is made up of a variety of individuals who create the necessary components for a successful venture. Contrary to popular perception, game development is not always about fun and games, and because of budget concerns, team members will often spend many hours on the job working in a...

The play testers are often confused with beta testers, although play testers actually test only the playability of a game and critique areas such as movement or graphic elements. Again, these positions are often filled with individuals who perform other tasks on the team. Unlike beta testers, the play...

Beta testers test the playability of a game and look for bugs that may occur when the game is executed. This is one of the most undervalued of the positions and should never be filled by the person responsible for programming the game. In reality, because of tight budgets and deadlines, this is also...

There are several secondary positions that can be important to the development cycle as well. Depending on the budget, these positions may or may not exist at all or could be filled by other members of the team.

A producer oversees the entire project and attempts to keep everything moving along as smoothly as possible. He often acts as an arbitrator to help patch up any problems between team members. For instance, if an artist wants to increase the color palette and a programmer wants to decrease it, the producer...