For each of my Major roles: 3D Environment Artist, Narrative Designer & Joint Programmer, as well as my minor role, Sound & Music Designer, there are many implications for what each role entails. I will break down what I am expected to do, with sources, and what I will most likely end up doing.
3D Environment Artist
Environment artists make awesome places in which games can be played. They create fantasy landscapes – spooky dungeons and moody wastelands – and real-world places like offices and playgrounds too.
screenskills.com
They often start with 2D art created by a concept artist and turn it into a believable environment in 3D. Sometimes they use photographs, sometimes their own imagination. Environment artists carefully consider the level designers’ gameplay requirements. They find out what’s mission-critical and ensure those elements are included.
Why this role? I chose to take on the role of a 3D environmental artist to help set up the props in the overworld, where the player could drag and drop the items and learn their significance to the protagonist. I am confident I will be able to create some objects that will tie in nicely with the childish and fantasy theming of the game.
Programs & Resources I will be using for this role: Blender, Photoshop, Adobe Stock, and Pinterest.
Expected Tasks
The skills that are typical of this role are as follows (C.G. Spectrum, 2023):
- Producing high-quality organic (e.g., shrubs) and hard surface (e.g., buildings) models and texture maps in line with the brief and reference material, including interpreting abstract ideas
- Presenting work in a turntable-style environment with acceptable lighting for progress reviews and approval (including scale reference)
- Ensuring consistency of UV mapping and polygonal subdivisions
- Working closely with Design and Art Directors to ensure their geo (and textures maps) are working as they should be and addressing mesh fixes as required
- Optimising the topology of assets in their scene so the environment runs at a manageable frame rate
- Mapping out scenery elements and props that help drive the story of the game
A Pipeline I’ve created for this role
I can use this as a guideline to follow as I continue to discuss with my teammate Hayley about the world objects.
Narrative Designer
A Narrative designer is the type of game designer who is responsible for bringing the game world to life by integrating the story into the player’s moment-to-moment experiences. Good narrative design helps the player feel “seen” by the game, acknowledging the player’s actions.
gamedesignskills.com
Why this role? I love writing stories in my free time, and Hayley was not as confident in doing the Narrative and Dialogue. I feel much more confident in creating a compelling story, as I’ve done some narrative work last year for a project.
Programs & Resources I will be using for this role: Inky, Twine (for prototyping), Google Docs
Expected Tasks
The skills that are typical of this role are as follows (Game Design Skills, 2023):
- Producing a high-quality game script that can be understood by all teammates
- Adapt and quickly update the game as the story changes, supporting mission, level and quest designers to ensure the narrative remains on track.
- Chart the player’s internal story against the game’s plot and work hard to keep both intentionally aligned.
- You’re expected to be a jack of all trades. You’re guiding your team to deliver on the story and script goals, but you’re also assembling prototypes directly for story sequences within the game.
- Have traditional writing skills and the ability to help structure dialogue and provide direction for voice acting.
A Pipeline I’ve created for this role
(Joint) Programmer
Gameplay programmers write the code for the interactions that make a game fun to play. While lead designers decide on the combat, gameplay programmers make it happen.
They work with level designers to see what needs to be done to make the gameplay work. They write the rules that govern what objects do and pay attention to balancing and tuning of the way the game plays. They also fix bugs and optimise the game for playing.
screenskills.com
Why this role? Hayley and I wanted to tackle this role together, so we have decided for both of us to be programmers. Since this isn’t our strength, it will be a huge learning curve for both of us.
Programs & Resources I will be using for this role: Visual Studio Code, GitHub, YouTube
Expected Tasks
The skills that are typical of this role are as follows (C.G. Spectrum, 2023):
I’ve highlighted the ones I’m likely to do next semester.
- Liaising with game designers and developers in setting up technical resources
- Researching and developing the suite of software and platforms that will be used to support the game
- Ensuring the game design is fully realized and performs to maximum capacity
- Creating procedures and production documents
- Working to tight schedules and keep to budget
- Producing prototypes in the early stages of production
- Conducting quality assurance tests and respond to feedback
- Collaborating with all departments to smooth over technical issues, problem solve and create solutions during the production pipeline process
- Responding to the technical needs of all departments
- Working in teams towards common goals
- Providing ongoing tech support after the game has been launched, work on upgrades to the game
A Pipeline I’ve created for this role
(Joint) Sound & Music Designer
Sound designers create the soundtrack for a game. This includes the music and foley – sound effects like gunshots, footsteps, crashes, cheers, heavy rain. They make the gameplay more exciting by adding mood, tempo and emotional depth.
They usually start by creating a library of sound effects. They might work with a composer, with actors or go out and record sound. They edit, mix and master them to produce the soundtrack for the finished game. As the audio elements are added to the game engine, the sound designer also tests them to make sure they work as intended.
screenskills.com
Why this role? I create music in Beepbox and its mods in my free time, and I wanted to contribute some music with the ability that I have. I feel confident that I can deliver a good OST in this role, as it is a hobby I am passionate about.
Programs & Resources I will be using for this role: Beepbox (and mods), Soundtrap, YouTube, Sample Focus
Expected Skills
The skills that are typical of this role are as follows (ScreenSkills, n.d.):
- Music: compose and perform music
- Sound engineering: know how to record, edit, mix and master
- Knowledge of gameplay and platforms: imagine the game, have a sense of timing, understand how audio can improve gameplay and even drive gameplay
- Knowledge of game engines: understand the technical constraints of engines and how sound files become integrated into them
- Communication: work with game designers, other audio artists and QA technicians
A Pipeline I’ve created for this role
Bibliography
ScreenSkills (n.d.). Environment Artist in the Games Industry. [online] ScreenSkills. Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/games/art/environment-artist-games/.
Spectrum, C.G. (2023). Environment Artist Job Description, Salary, Skills & Software. [online] www.cgspectrum.com. Available at: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/environment-artist.
Game Design Skills. (2023). What Does a Narrative Designer Do? And How to Become One? [online] Available at: https://gamedesignskills.com/game-design/narrative-designer/#narrative-designer-vs-game-writer.
Squire, C.L. (2025). You’ve got the job… now what? When I first started out as a narrative designer, I landed my dream job working at a huge and generally very well-respected studio, working on an exciting new IP. Looking back, I’m unsure how I got the job… I like to think I WOW-ed them in my interview by dropping some. [online] Linkedin.com. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/smile-more-method-narrative-design-production-pipeline-squire-v7qoe/.
Thomas, I. (2022). Job Functions in Game Narrative – Ian Thomas – Medium. [online] Medium. Available at: https://wildwinter.medium.com/role-functions-in-game-narrative-9d4b4daace3b.
ScreenSkills (n.d.). Gameplay programmer in the games industry. [online] ScreenSkills. Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/games/programming/gameplay-programmer/.
Spectrum, C.G. (2024). Game Programmer Job Description, Salary, Skills & Software. [online] www.cgspectrum.com. Available at: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/game-programmer.
Slashcev, A. (2024). 💬 What is the process of creating a narrative in games? [online] Linkedin.com. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/aslashcev_what-is-the-process-of-creating-a-narrative-activity-7200431278842687489-i–g/
ScreenSkills (n.d.). Sound designer in the games industry. [online] ScreenSkills. Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/games/audio/sound-designer-games/.