Talk:Video game developer

indie developer section has obsolete info?

the section says:

"other indie game developers create game software for a number of video-game publishers on several gaming platforms.[citation needed] 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)"

The bold part seems highly suspect to me and the source for the last sentence is from 2004. Steam was first released in 2003 and xbox live arcade was only announced in 2004, so digital distribution was still in its infancy at the time, and AFAIK the affordable/free accessibility of quality game engines, assets, and other dev tools was just starting out (unity's first release was 2005), so the indie boom was a good ways off at the time. I'm pretty sure this claim is therefore crazy obsolete, esp given the insane glut of indie games and devs that eventually led to the 'indiepocalypse'.

(am not a regular contributor so i prob won't be back to continue conv. just thought i'd point this out in case one of you noble wiki editors agrees and feels like doing an update - else just delete this if i've somehow missed this trend and this is inaccurate). 192.131.249.109 (talk) 23:24, 15 August 2022 (UTC)

Should not be listed as a software developer as it creates confusion

A video game developer isn't one who writes code despite beliefs of this outside of the industry. A game developer is anyone who works to build a game. A game that could be physical and thus require zero programming at all. A video game developer is a subset of game developer specifically dealing with those who build games with electronics. This whole article seems to be focused on comparing it to software developers and programmers. As software developer points to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_development#Workforce which then states "Other job titles for people with similar meanings include programmer, software analyst, or software engineer." which seems to suggest the whole blurb before it is only applying to software development companies. So either we should section off this page from software developer or include "producers, project managers, artists, or designers" in that similar meaning list. Either the term software developer on an individual level means "programmer" or means "anyone who builds software" but leaving it ambiguous means that the term video game developer is left ambiguous where the industry standard for the term is to include everyone on the team. If you go into a game's credits, you are a game developer. Let's have Wikipedia reflect the industry standard. MJBrune (talk) 22:02, 7 December 2023 (UTC)

On Wikipedia we follow what the source says - so we cannot change the article based on your opinion of what the term means, we have to follow the sources we cite. And since we don't use Wikipedia as a source for itself, it does not matter what other Wikipedia articles state. So - find us a source (which meets WP:RS) that gives the definition you propose, and we can perhaps cite it. - MrOllie (talk) 22:19, 7 December 2023 (UTC)

I don't know a great way to point this out because something like the "Game Developers Conference" doesn't just have engineering or programming talks. https://gdconf.com/ and https://jobs.gamedeveloper.com/ includes jobs for anyone who works in the games industry. I assume this isn't really enough as they aren't direct sources on the definition of who is a game developer.

That said I don't feel like the current sources https://www.google.com/books/edition/Game_Development_and_Production/m5exIODbtqkC?hl=en&gbpv=1 and "Creating Games in maps for happy wills Mechanics, Content, and Technology. Wellesley, Massachusetts: A K Peters. p. 25." actually reflect what is being said on the page. They are just saying the process of making games is still that of software development, where software development as a process is different than the term software developer. The only articles I can dig up to support this cite back to this Wikipedia article creating a circular dependency of citation. MJBrune (talk) 23:29, 7 December 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Science Writing

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 30 January 2024 and 10 May 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): DerGeister (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Skylerkv.

— Assignment last updated by Skylerkv (talk) 14:44, 2 April 2024 (UTC)

Quality of life

Is there an updated number for what a game developer can I make on average because 2007 is more than a decade ago by now. Muffinman216 (talk) 03:31, 12 December 2024 (UTC)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_San_Andreas

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_San_Andreas 120.29.66.187 (talk) 08:30, 9 January 2025 (UTC)