I suspect I work at an unusual studio, but here, there is absolutely no doubt that the smartest, most gifted developers work in our tech (tools) dept. Why? Because our tools are so specialised, requiring a lot of very advanced mathematics, and are used to generate huge amounts of procedural content. Many of the tech guys here have multiple degrees (maths, physics, CS, some combination thereof), a large minority have a higher degree of some type.
There probably is something to the assertion that the closer to the 'metal' you get and the deeper in the engine you go, developers must by definition become far more specialised and expert in their particular subfield. It's a generalist-versus specialist thing, and specialism invariably brings financial benefits, hence a lot of people aspire to work on the rendering tech etc.
Obviously studios differ, but again, where I work there's a lot less of a heirarchy. The GUI guys, for instance, are absolutely OBSESSED by design, and I couldn't imagine them wanting to work on anything else.
Re: WoW's secret sauce: tools
I suspect I work at an unusual studio, but here, there is absolutely no doubt that the smartest, most gifted developers work in our tech (tools) dept. Why? Because our tools are so specialised, requiring a lot of very advanced mathematics, and are used to generate huge amounts of procedural content. Many of the tech guys here have multiple degrees (maths, physics, CS, some combination thereof), a large minority have a higher degree of some type.
There probably is something to the assertion that the closer to the 'metal' you get and the deeper in the engine you go, developers must by definition become far more specialised and expert in their particular subfield. It's a generalist-versus specialist thing, and specialism invariably brings financial benefits, hence a lot of people aspire to work on the rendering tech etc.
Obviously studios differ, but again, where I work there's a lot less of a heirarchy. The GUI guys, for instance, are absolutely OBSESSED by design, and I couldn't imagine them wanting to work on anything else.