beta is the final testing phase before the game is released.
Having a simple map/player engine isn''t anything. Also you say you can do it in a day then that must be a very simple engine you have there, espically if you mean one work day in other words 8 hours.

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Writer, Programer, Cook, I''m a Jack of all Trades
Current Design project
Chaos Factor Design Document

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Original post by Shifter
Though I call myself a game designer, I feel I have designed very little. I play many games and I play games often. I make games my life. I believe I understand aspects of video games that comprise the architecture of all video games.

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Are there any external resources influencing all of this, or do you rely solely on your observations/analyses of games you''ve seen and/or played? What about other forms of entertainment media - film, theatre, music, opera? (No, I don''t go to the opera.)

I recently switched college majors from engineering/science to the humanities, and I''m discovering many themes and frameworks that have already expanded my creative vocabulary.

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Over the course of the game I have struggled greatly to find my place on the team not admitting to being a designer until a year into the project. A lot of my struggle deals with the fact that I do not hold the vision for the game. I am not sole designer and I don’t have last say. The truth is I feel that my place has been overshadowed by the other team members, most notably our programmer.

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In a code-defined business, this is not unusual. Particularly if you lack technical skills, it is virtually a given that other team members will view you with less regard than the individual who crafts the technology that makes the game tangible. On the other hand, if you were Producer in addition to being a designer, then you''d have the authority and perspective to make certain decisions. Don''t let it get you down, though; it takes a certain track record to earn the right to have the last say. Stay with and finish this project, then move on to the next (not necessarily with the same team) and keep adding to your list of accomplishments.

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This continued until about 3 months ago when I realized what I was doing. I was designing this game. Although I wasn’t the sole designer and I didn’t hold the vision for the game, I was designing the game. Every idea and all content came by me and I saw to it that everything was quality and worked well with other aspects of the game. Design is more than creation and vision. I think the major aspect of design is in making sure that everything works together and that everything is the best it can be.

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Alas, I think what you''ve just described is the position usually identified as producer - and that extends beyond game development. The producers of a film are the persons who do everything from ordering lunch to finding funding to meeting with advertisers/marketing, and so on. "Executive Producers" are suspect, but Producers and Associate Producers are the practical back-bones of the project.

Congratulations, you''re a producer!

I was going to say (but Oluseyi''s beaten me to it), you''re not a designer, you''re a producer/project manager.

You''re liasing with all team members, mediating, controlling, managing... the ''general purpose guy'' who doesn''t really have a well-defined role, but the team would fall apart without.

Congratulations; you''re the person most indie teams seem to be lacking. And they''re the ones that tend to fail.