An Exploratory Study on Game Developer Needs and Game Studio Challenges

Abstract

This paper studies professional game developers’ experiences in the gaming industry to understand their professional needs and challenges of working in the industry. In this qualitative study we interviewed game developers and studio executives with the objective of learning more about their everyday workplace needs and challenges. The interviews highlighted major concerns in the areas of studio operations, game developer professional needs, game development processes, player research and game design scholarship comprising of theories, research, education. There are fundamental issues in the game development processes and studio operations that can benefit from a research scholarship for game design practices. The results from this study can lead to further research work that supports game developers in their professional design practices.