What is a Gameplay Programmer?

A little bit about the job role.

After researching around the area I discovered that the role of a ‘gameplay programmer’ varies throughout the games industry. It seems that it is dependent on the company as to what work you are expected to undertake, but one thing is common across all gameplay programming roles and that is the responsibility for writing the code that directly touches on the game experience. Examples of a gameplay programmers task might include implementing:

• A melee combat system.
• A health regeneration mechanic
• The player movement and jump controls.

Many companies offer the role as a gameplay programmer as a junior position, as it often requires less experience than the role of a game engine programmer. One reason for this could be that you are only expected to produce a system that works on a single game, where as game engines require systems that need to be used over multiple games simultaneously. Another reason is that engine code requires advanced knowledge to write, and it must meet strict quality and performance standards. For these reasons the role of a gameplay programmer is often used as gateway to a more sophisticated position in the game engine team. However both roles require a different skill-set, as you often need to be more creative as gameplay programmer. In other circumstances the role of a gameplay programmer is considered to be a senior position, this is because you’re directly writing the code that most effects the player’s experience within the game. It is often that the better the company’s games consider, the more senior a position they consider a gameplay programmer.

Information from current available positions.

To gain more knowledge about what skills are needed and what tasks you are expected to undertake I decided to search for jobs in the field. I searched through multiple different job listings and decided to take note of skills and responsibilities that were common amongst them all. I noticed that this criteria sometimes depended on wether the company was looking for a junior or senior gameplay programmer. The data that I found can be seen below.

Skills / Requirements.

• Strong C++/C# programming skills.
• Strong mathematics skills.
• A passion for making and playing games.
• Work well in a cooperative environment.
• Good communication skills, both verbal and written.

Responsibilities.

• Iterating, bug fixing and seeking to continually improve aspects of the game.
• Keep up to date on state-of-the-art software engineering methods, practices, and technologies.
• Work well in a cooperative, multi-disciplinary team environment.

A gameplay programmer’s salary.

The salary of a gameplay programmer varies depending on things such as the experience you have, the company you work for and location you are in. I found that in the UK the average salary for a gameplay programmer is about £30,000. But it can be as high as about £50,000 and as low as £20,000.