Essentially an Art Director is in charge of the artists working on a game. To all intents and purposes they are the manager. They oversee the less experienced artists and mentor them, ensure consistency of art created and drive home the goals and themes of the game being produced.
The only problem with the art director position is that it is rather lacking in the creativity side of things. It's a very important role within a company, but it's focus is on managing and getting the best art out of the rest of the team, as opposed to actually producing art on a daily basis. Art directors will still have the opportunity to produce art but their duties are so numerous this is considerably lessened.
It is quite a difficult position to occupy. For example an Art Director working on a film is free to run with any vision they or the director may have whereas on a game, you are wholly limited by the technical limitations of the hardware available. So not only do you have to guide the artists in the desired direction artistically, you also have to then impose constraints on the scope of what they can produce and problem solve these areas where necessary.
All this delegation needs to have strong interpersonal skills. To make it to this position, you'd have to be more than just an exceptional artist. You need to have the whole package. Be a good leader, get on with the team, be able to manage people effectively, monitor progress and evaluate outcomes, all the while taking into consideration the constraints and directions put your way by those you answer to.
Sounds like a tough job.
Personally I'd just want to create art =D
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