What is a Gameplay Programmer? Well when a company is looking for a Gameplay programmer, they are generally looking for somebody that will be handling all of the code that is related to the players game experience. They will be in charge of implementing the main mechanics of the game usually making multiple iterations of them to make sure they work correctly or making tools that can assist in doing this efficiently.
A gameplay programmer can end up working on different sorts of things depending on what the company they are working for demands as some will require knowledge of working with user interfaces or ask to mess around with some AI code or even audio code so to be a gameplay programmer it is extremely helpful to have a versatile skill set so that you can take on all potential tasks thrown your way and also need to be ready to adapt to any new disciplines on the fly for example you may have to learn a new engine because the team has built a new up to date one for the current generation.
Working this role will also require you to work with several different people such as level designers for example, as you will be building a gameplay mechanics around assets they have built. Gameplay programmers need to be organised as they have to be done in time for the games release, so planning tasks out is essential for making sure that things go successfully.
A gameplay programmer can have different meanings depending where you work as some places view it as a junior role and some see it as a senior role this usually depends on what company you'd be working for as a bigger studio such as Rockstar is more likely to see it as a senior role as opposed to a small indie company.
The average salary for a gameplay programmer in the UK is around £29,000 which can rise to £50,000 on the high end and be as low as £23,000. Senior gameplay programmers get a bit more with the average being £49,000 and the high end being £58,000 and on the low end being £31,000. These will vary depending on experience in each role.
Finding job listings can be as easy as googling jobs for the position and you find big companies such as Rockstar and creative assembly advertising for the position as well as others.
Key skills required for gameplay programmer:
• Good Programming skills (C, C++, C#)
• Communication skills
• Organization skills (Planning and scheduling efficiently GDD, TDD, Gantt charts etc)
• Problem Solving
• Adaptability to new things (Engines, languages etc.)
References:
Creative Assembly (n.d.) Gameplay Programmer, Available from: https://www.creativeassembly.com/careers/view/campaign-gameplay-programmer/oaPG7fww [Accessed 26th January 2020]
GetinMedia (n.d.) Lead Gameplay Programmer, Available from: http://getinmedia.com/careers/lead-gameplay-programmer [Accessed 26th January 2020]
Glassdoor(2019) Salary:Gameplay Programmer Available from: https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salaries/gameplay-programmer-salary-SRCH_KO0,19.htm [Accessed 27th January 2020]
Glassdoor(2019) Salary:Senior Gameplay Programmer Available from: https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salaries/senior-gameplay-programmer-salary-SRCH_KO0,26.htm [Accessed 27th January 2020]
Rockstar Games Careers (n.d.) Gameplay Programmer, Available from: https://www.rockstargames.com/careers/openings/position/4375b8a9 [Accessed on 26th January 2020]
Smart Recruiters(n.d.) C++ Gameplay programmer, Available from: https://jobs.smartrecruiters.com/Ubisoft2/743999702932822-c-gameplay-programmer [Accessed 26th January 2020]
StackExchange (2012) What is a gameplay Programmer?, Available from: https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/24482/what-is-a-gameplay-programmer [Accessed 26th January 2020]
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