Feature: 'Question of the Week Responses: Unsung Heroes'

In today's main feature article, we present the responses to the latest Question Of The Week, which asked: "Is there an individual or a particular job role which you consider an unsung hero in terms of video game innovation, and why?” We intended both specific industry figures and whole classes of game professional to be referenced in the replies, and indeed, this was exactly what happened in this round of QOTW responses. One of the responses, for example, deals with the sometimes undervalued nature of one particular vocation: "While the role of the game writer has certainly been undervalued, compared to its huge contribution to advancing innovation in games, I think the biggest unsung heroes are definitely the level designers (or mission designers). They are the ones who really connect the player to the core of the game and make possible the innovative features for which a game's designers and programmers receive so many accolades. There are exceptions, with some sports games or puzzle games that do have uniquely identifiable levels, but really no other development discipline has such a direct effect on the player's experience within a game, in my humble opinion. Thinking back to Super Mario Bros, X-Wing, Homeworld, Halo, and many of my other favorite games, all had outstanding level and mission design that made possible the evolutionary features of those titles." -Coray Seifert, Large Animal Games You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the subject, and free registration is not required for this feature, making it easily linkable.