I was talking to Sreh tonight, and from this the question "is it okay to just design games?" popped up. That's all I do, really. I design games and compose music for them- but does one need to be able to make graphics or code, too?

Not if there's someone to do it for them =)

I always work alone on my games (I design and code everything).

It's harder that way, but you have more control IMO.



But if the project is too big (RPG for example) you may want to concentrate entirely on design and find some programmers to help you with the engine and stuff...

is it okay?  for surely!
is it okay just to make art?  or just to program?  or just compose music?

it's perfectly rad, imo, to just do any single discipline.  however, it's not okay to not have a solid understanding of how the others operate - else you risk creating something that is incompatible/unachievable by some other discipline.

keep doing your deeds as you do them, and be proud of your talents.  if anything, a "narrow" focus such as you claim to have gives you the advantage of being able to really concentrate your growth.

anyhow, it may be pretty irrelevant in this forum, but in professional game dev, it's incredibly rare for any team member to not just focus on 1 discipline (and at times even a small facet of a single discipline - such as level design within the game design discipline).

Speaking of that, CosMind, how useful is it to be in the situation that indie dev'ers (solo, at least) end up in - being quite good at programming, and at graphics, and at level design, maybe sound too, art, etc... but probably not excelling - to professional, single-focus standards anyway - in any one? I keep imagining interview scenarios where the guy across the table says "But we're not asking you to do a bit of programming and a bit of design and a bit of graphics, we're asking you to do just one, and better" or somesuch.

Should those of us aiming for an industry job start thinking about really specialising in something? I imagine you'd recommend that we should know exactly what our aims and target department/etc should be before we start thinking about a job in such fields, of course, but the truth of solo development is that we end up with a bit of a mish-mash of skills; a much broader range, perhaps, but rarely as sharp. What difference does it all make?

I guess the gist of all that is; Is it OK to not just design? Or just model/draw/map/etc?

I'd really like to hear the correct answer to that question too.

in short, yes.


and, of course, dude ;D  it's fantastic to not just design.
just keep in mind that it's very, super, highly unlikely that you'll ever find yourself in a professional position not focused on just 1 discipline.
which is why you should indeed keep rocking them all, but discover your strength and grow it to perfection.  because that perfection is what you'll be "tested" on when gunning for a pro gig.


it's amazingly useful to be quite good at the myriad.  it gives you that grand understanding of the whole picture.  which in turn turns you into a much better communicator within your team.  and also allows you to be one who can envision the entirety of the game, and help/inspire others in all disciplines.

but, it's dangerous to not excel "to professional" standards in at least one of them.  well, of course not dangerous as if you're life's at stake, or you'll skin your knee :P but a grave danger to your chance of standing out when gunning for a professional role.

Thanks for noting that. I was literally a second away from dropping my game developing dreams for a second there. I've really set my mind on death from old age, not death by lack of skill ;)

Ah well, there's always QA, right?

Right!?

curious, are some of these responses an aversion to specializing?
or are they lack of confidence?

i'm not quite sure that i'm grasping the intent of some of the reactions.