[font="arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif"]Hi guys, I'm kinda new to GameDev (been reading posts for a while but recently made an account) and in the future I hope to be a game designer. I'm pretty young (lets say under 16) so I've still got quite a while to get myself educated in the ways of game making. I've made a couple of high level design documents for some games-to-be that I've had in mind. I also have learned a couple of things in C++, but not really enough to make a sophisticated game. I also have some really good experiences that will help me in the future with college like play testing for a pretty huge company, taking game making classes over the summer, going to take a game programming class next year in school. So I've got a pretty good build.

Anyways, I have a few questions. [/font]
First of all I want to know who pays for the development of the game. By that I mean who pays the programmers, the artists and all that. Is it the producers or the game designers or does it vary?
Second, I want to know how a game designer gets hired. Does the producer hire the game designer and tell him to build a game in a certain amount of time in a certain genre?
Third, how does a game designer communicate to his team? Does he directly tell the programmers what to do and tell the artists what to make models of?

Thats all I can think of for now. Also if any game designer out there could give me a way to contact them somehow incase I get any new questions, it would be great.

Thanks ahead of time.

Bump.

Moving to Breaking In. Then I'll answer some of the questions and recommend that Tehg read the FAQs.

tehg, you wrote:

1. First of all I want to know who pays for the development of the game.
2. By that I mean who pays the programmers, the artists and all that.
3. Is it the producers or the game designers or does it vary?
4. Second, I want to know how a game designer gets hired. Does the producer hire the game designer
5. and tell him to build a game in a certain amount of time in a certain genre?
6. Third, how does a game designer communicate to his team?
7. Does he directly tell the programmers what to do and tell the artists what to make models of?[/quote]

1. In a mainstream project, the publisher pays.
2. The programmers' and artists' employer pays them. If they're employed by a game developer (who gets the money from the publisher), then they're paid by the developer. If they're employed by the publisher, they get their paychecks directly from the publisher.
3. No. The producer doesn't pay the personnel. He manages the project. The designer certainly doesn't pay the people, unless he's the CEO of the development company. The publisher producer okays the payments going to the developer. The developer producer gets paid by the developer just the same as other developer personnel. The designer gets paid by the same entity who pays the other development personnel. You should probably read FAQs 10 and 28. You can access the FAQs above.
4. Maybe. The designer might be an employee of a publisher or a developer, or s/he might be a freelancer. You can read FAQs 4, 7, 14, and 63.
5. Yes, most of the time a designer is given an assignment. Read FAQs 37 and 55.
6. In writing and verbally. He writes a GDD and communicates the vision verbally when questions arise.
7. No, not unless he is also the producer.