How is a video game made? Video games are played on many kinds of machines, such as computers, game consoles and phones. Some video games are played on a TV at home. Some game systems let players switch games by putting in a cartridge. Making a modern video game is a job for people working together. Let's meet the people on the team and look at the tools they use. Making a game takes a lot of different jobs.

Now let's look at an early game. Pong was a simple game with two paddles and a ball. Atari released the arcade game Pong in 1972. Atari engineer Allan Alcorn built Pong after his boss asked for a simple game based on Ping-Pong. The first Pong machine, in a Sunnyvale, California, bar, stopped working because it was full of quarters. Atari sold a home version of Pong through Sears, a big store chain.

Game studios rely on teams of people to make video games. Designers, programmers and artists are three of the jobs on a team. Game designers plan how a game is played. Programmers do the technical work that makes a game's ideas work. Each person on the team does a different job, and the game is made by all of them working together.

Artists make the pictures in a game, such as its characters. Some art is made by hand, one pixel at a time. These small pictures are called sprites, and games use them. Other artists use programs such as Blender to make 3D models and other art for games. Artists are one of the groups that make a game.

Animators make the characters and objects in a game move. A game also has sound effects and music, and people on the team work on them. Writers help make a game's story and characters. Every one of these jobs is part of making a modern video game. Animators work on the characters and objects in a game.

Here is a job that builds the world. Level designers build the places and levels that players play through. A player moves through a level, and a level designer is the person who builds it. Level designers work on a team with the designers, programmers and artists.

How does a team know if an idea is any good? It builds a prototype. A prototype is a simple early version of a game that a team builds to see if an idea works. Designers also have people play a game, and they use what they learn to change it. So a game can change a lot before it is finished.

Testers do a different job. Game testers check a game for bugs and other problems while it is being made. Testers check for bugs and other problems while the game is still being made. Checking a game for bugs and other problems is the job of a game tester.

The team also needs tools. A game engine is a software platform with the tools a team uses to build a video game. Unity is a game engine used to make both 2D and 3D games. Unreal Engine is a game engine best known for its detailed 3D graphics. Godot is a game engine that can make both 2D and 3D games. Teams use these engines to build their games.

Some tools are made for beginners. GameMaker is a game engine for 2D games that has beginner-friendly tools. Construct 3 is a tool that runs in a web browser and lets beginners make 2D games without programming. Easy coding tools let kids and other beginners make their own games.

Words to know

• engine: building tools
• prototype: early version
• sprites: small pictures
• animators: movement makers
• programmers: technical workers