Making an animation or a video game is a team effort. Many different people, each with their own role and responsibilities, work together to take an idea and turn it into something that reaches an audience. In this post we look at who does what, the skills that help you get work, and how animation and games create opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Roles in creating animation and games

These are the people and companies involved in planning and making a game or animation:

Role	Main responsibilities
Designer	Plans the game or animation: the idea, goals, rules, levels, characters and overall experience.
Animator	Creates the movement of characters and objects, frame by frame or using keyframes.
Scriptwriter	Writes the story, dialogue and narration.
Sound engineer	Records, edits and mixes voices, music and sound effects.
Software developer	Writes the code that makes the game or animation software work.
Tool developer	Builds the software tools (for example editors, plug-ins and game engines) that other team members use.
Console developer	Companies that make game consoles and the systems that games run on.
Contract service provider	An outside company or freelancer hired to do a specific job, such as art, animation, testing or sound.

On a big project there may be hundreds of people. On a small independent (“indie”) project, one person may be the designer, animator and programmer.

Roles after the product is made

Once a game or animation is finished, other people help it reach its audience:

• Publishers – often fund the project and handle marketing and release.
• Distributors – get the product to shops, cinemas, TV channels or online stores.
• Retailers – sell the product to the public, in physical shops or online.
• Consumers and players – the audience who buy, watch and play. Their feedback, reviews and sales decide whether a product succeeds.

Skills that support employment

Artistic and technical skills are important, but employers also look for:

• Teamwork and collaboration – working well with artists, programmers, writers and managers.
• Working in virtual teams – many teams never meet in person. Members work online from different places using video calls, shared files and chat tools.
• Project management – planning tasks, meeting deadlines and keeping within a budget.
• Communication – explaining ideas clearly and accepting feedback.

Team or individual?

Some creators work as individuals, for example a freelance animator or a solo indie game developer. This gives full creative control, but one person must do everything. Working in a team (including a virtual team) shares the workload and brings together different skills, but needs good communication and management.

Animation and games as a business

Animation and game design can lead to employment (working for a studio) or entrepreneurship (starting your own business). Some ways people earn a living include:

• Creating and selling their own games, animated series or short films.
• Outsourcing / contract services – doing work for other companies, for example animating scenes, drawing backgrounds or testing games. Because the work can be sent over the internet, a small studio can serve clients in other countries.
• Making adverts, explainer videos and educational content for businesses, schools and governments.

Why this matters for regions like the Caribbean

Animation and games can bring economic value to small countries, including those in the Caribbean. Creative work can be sold to clients around the world without shipping physical goods, which helps create jobs and earn income from overseas. Games and animation also have educational value: they can be used as instructional materials to explain difficult ideas, and as assessment tools such as quizzes and interactive challenges. They are also a way to tell local stories and share local culture with a worldwide audience.

Example

A three-person indie team working online might split the work like this: one person designs the game and writes the story, one creates the art and animation, and one programs the game and handles sound. They might use a shared task board to manage the project and hire a contract musician for the soundtrack.

For more on general ICT careers, see Careers in ICT.

Video

Veteran game developer Timothy Cain (co-creator of Fallout) explains the main roles in a typical game development team.

Exercise

1. Pick three roles from the tables above and describe what each person would do on a small mobile game project.
2. List two advantages and two disadvantages of working in a virtual team.
3. Explain what outsourcing is and how it could help a small animation studio.
4. Suggest one way a game or animation could be used to teach a topic in another school subject.

Next: Types of Video Games: Game Genres, Game Goals and Game Platforms Explained

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 1: Fundamentals of Animation and Game Design, Module 1: Understanding Animation and Game Design – Specific Objective 3 (“identify the roles and responsibilities of persons in the animation and game design industry”); Specific Objective 9 (“outline the role and impact of the Animation and Gaming Industry on the Caribbean region”); Specific Objective 10 (“discuss the skills that support employment and entrepreneurship in animation and game design”); Specific Objective 11 (“explain the relevance of animation and game designs to entrepreneurship”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Quirino Cristiani animation pioneer.jpg – Unknown photographer – Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)

A man is recording sound effects, 1930s.jpg – Archives of the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle – Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)

Team workshop.jpg – UCT MOOCs – CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.