Gamemaker

Gamemakers are people from the Capitol who design and plan The Hunger Games each year and control the arenaduring the games.

Job
The Gamemakers design and control The Hunger Games. They design the arena, the outfits, and a number of the deaths, as well as the animals in the arena and the scenery of the arena. From the tiniest detail to the biggest bloodbath, the Gamemakers are in charge of entertaining the Capitol to the fullest. A dry and boring Hunger Games means that the head Gamemakers' lives are in peril. A bloody and fantastic Games that keeps the crowd on the edge of their seats brings the Gamemakers fame and fortune. Although the Gamemakers are in charge of the Games, President Snow's opinion is what matters most. Seneca Crane used to be the Head Gamemaker, but when he let Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark both survive the 74th Hunger Games, he was killed on orders of President Snow for allowing both Katniss and Peeta to live. Plutarch Heavensbee took his place as the new Head Gamemaker, and used his position to assist in the rebellion and break tributes out of the arena as he in fact did later in Catching Fire, when he had a mission to rescue Katniss and Peeta form the arena. Katniss was in fact broke out of the arena safely with Haymitch, Finnick Odiar, but unfourtantly Peeta was unable to be rescued in time. As a result, the capitol got their hands on him and later tortured him on the whearabouts of the rebellion and Katniss.

The Gamemakers' job is to make the Hunger Games as spectacular, bloody, frightening and entertaining as possible. When the Head Gamemaker feels that the Games are becoming boring, they will introduce some new element such as a forest fire or tsunami or announce a feast to excite the audience to drive the tributes closer together and kill some of them off. They control everything that happens in the arena. The Gamemakers are responsible for the announcements made in the arena by Claudius Templesmith and for sounding the cannons upon a Tribute's death. They also unleash lab-grown muttations into the arena to add another obstacle to survival. These have included carnivourous squirrels, monsterous ape-like creatures and giant wolf-mutts which aside from being extremely dangerous, have a profound psychological effect on the Tributes. The Gamemakers also operate the extensive survaillence system in the arena, ensuring the tributes are being watched constantly. In the case that the Gamemakers dislike a certain tribute they can easily kill him/her off, as seen with Titus.

Known Gamemakers

 * Seneca Crane - The head Gamemaker for the 74th Hunger Games. Later he was forced to eat nightlock berries [in the film]. In the book, it is implied that he is hung.
 * Plutarch Heavensbee - The head Gamemaker for the 75th Hunger Games, who fell in the punch bowl during the training in the 74th Hunger Games. Helped to have all the tributes escape in the 75th Hunger Games
 * Atala - The gamemaker for the 74th and 75th Hunger Games who ran the training center.



Trivia

 * The efforts of the Head Gamemaker are closely analysed by the President to ensure that aside from entertaining the Capitol, the Hunger Games inspire fear and quell rebellion in the districts. If the President is dissatisfied, the Head Gamemaker can face execution.
 * Gamemakers are known to love food and drink in large quantities, as for the exception of one occasion, all the times the Gamemakers are physically present in the book they are drunk and eating food.
 * They have a much bigger on-screen role in the movie. Where they are shown in a control room. They are then shown to create mutts as the games go along.
 * A female Gamemaker was given the name Lucia in the Hunger Games film.