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I wanted to ask if there is a typical structure for a team developing a computer game and, if so, what are the specific roles of the team members.

Also, what is the size of such a team (in terms of order of magnitude, 5-10? 10-100? more?).

Is there any literature on this topic?

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What sort of game? Tens (hundreds?) of thousands of games have been written by a single individual. Grand Theft Auto requires a team of probably several hundred. Your question is too broad to answer reasonable. – Bryan Oakley Jul 28 '12 at 12:49
This is perhaps better (and likely already answered) on gamedev.SE – Telastyn Jul 28 '12 at 13:29
@Bryan Oakley: What I was interested in was who develops the scenarios, the plot, the story, whether there are actors who record dialogues, and how this is all put together with the actual implementation. You are right that the question was too broad but I am amazed how fast questions get closed with very little feedback and very little time to react to that feedback. If I had been given some time I would have tried to improve it and make it more specific. Anyway, thanks to Michael for the information. – Giorgio Jul 28 '12 at 16:01

closed as not constructive by Bryan Oakley, Telastyn, ElYusubov, Walter, Bernard Jul 28 '12 at 14:18

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There are many different kinds of computer games and, correspondingly, many different appropriate sizes and structures of development teams. Some examples:

  • A simple game can be developed by a single idealistic amateur or hopeful indie game developer who does everything, perhaps outsourcing graphics and sound. Many mobile games are of this type. I believe Minecraft started out like this.
  • A somewhat more complex game at a small development company may be developed by a team consisting of one or two graphics guys, two or three developers (perhaps dividing work into frontend and backend), one game designer and one project manager (the latter roles may be part time or done by the same person). Most indie and mobile as well as many Facebook games are done on this scale.
  • A "triple A" title, the kind of game that has TV ads and sells millions of copies, will nowadays be developed by a team of up to 300 people with multiple levels of hierarchy for each area (game design, graphics, sound, coding, testing, infrastructure, overall project management) and highly specialized roles. Racing games have dedicated full-time car designers, for example.

Simply run some games you like and look at their credits to get a look at the structure of the development team - most will list individual roles.

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+1. This answer makes the question sound more reasoneble – superM Jul 28 '12 at 12:14

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