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Computer gaming is unique among art forms in that it has undergone a transformation from a solo medium to a collaborative one. For the most part, theater has always been a group effort, and novel writing has always been a solitary activity. However, since the early 1980s commercial computer games have changed from being developed by a single designer/programmer/artist in a room alone with a computer into projects undertaken by large teams in similarly large offices.
This change has had a number of significant effects on game development: management has become much more of an issue; games have become considerably more expensive to develop, limiting the quantity and type of games that get made; the games have changed from representing a distinctly personal vision to that of a group; and the position of lead designer/programmer has been distributed between two separate people. While the first three of these effects may be inherent to the way that computer games have changed as a medium, the last change seems to have come about accidentally, and, to my mind, is not a change for the better.
On one hand, it makes sense from a management perspective that development tasks be divided in the most logical way possible. On cursory inspection it might appear that designing gameplay is an entirely different discipline from actually implementing it. But on the other hand, there are many advantages to including a multi-talented designer/programmer on a team, regardless of the team's size.
A designer who programs will be able to implement the design...