Knights
Programming generalists who jump around as needed, Knights work on this or that or anything else as the needs of the game demand it. They are often found doing gameplay programming because they have an innate sense of design and can interact well with the non-coders on the team. Not only are they very smart, but energizing to be around since they can translate highly technical concepts into language that the other departments can understand. They are future leaders.
Bishops
Bishops are great at what they do but come along with a poor bedside manner. If another team member tries to work with them on a feature, they feel like the guy is taking an unnecessary step to the side for every single step in the right direction. Few non-programmers like working with the condescending and stubborn Bishops, but most companies put up with them because they need what the Bishop offers and they cannot find an alternative.
Rooks
These are the programmers who are extremely, almost frighteningly brilliant in just one or two specialized areas. One usually finds them left alone in the corner, quietly plugging away on that one feature or subsystem. They don’t speak much to others except the occasional kindred engineer. When they finally do bring the weight of their expertise to bear on the problem at hand, the results can be breathtaking. They are a formidable force– often underestimated by spectators and novices.
Pawns
Pawns are the ones who are in over their head. Fresh out of an unchallenging education, they tackle problems in ways that work (mostly) but that are inelegant and far from optimal. Their code is buggy and always specific to the one situation they were able to imagine. When changes are requested, they spend a lot of time and effort complaining, because any kind of adjustment means their inflexible systems have to be rewritten. Sadly, they are very common, and because of this usually viewed as expendable.
Kings
Kings are technical leaders who determine good strategies for the project at hand, but who don’t particularly possess any great spark of inspiration. They are highly competent and understand a wide variety of programming and management issues. They are invaluable to the huge projects that go on in major publishers. But they don’t always care to look beyond: to think about how the industry might leap to the next level, or become a true artistic medium. For the King, low-risk, incremental steps are the order of the day.
Queens
Despite my unfortunate name for them, these are the most powerful and valuable of game industry programmers. Not only do they possess great command of a broad spectrum of knowledge, they also regularly engage fruitfully with others of many diverse disciplines. They can dive deep into the code of specific systems, but they also care about games deeply and think about the future in a way that affects everything they do. Popularity is never their goal and thus they are largely unknown to the gaming public, but industry insiders can always name a few.