If you are interested in gaming and have the burning aspiration to acquire new programming knowledge with production expertise, then designing video games is an ideal career option for you! The field of video games presents a host of career opportunities.
The US Labor Department predicts a 30% growth in video game employment within this decade, positioning it as one of the most rapidly growing careers in the country. The majority of these careers take three dimensions: game programmer, game designer, and game artist.
Depending on which role you qualify for or wish to pursue, your responsibilities and duties will vary. For those who want to become a game designer, here are some of the things that you need to know before you make the decision:
- Overview: Video Game Design
- Degree Info
- Getting Hired
- Skills Required To Be A Video Game Designer
Overview: Video Game Design
Video game designers work together with groups of people to develop and design video games. They are responsible for creating characters, puzzles, animations, and art. They work closely with writers, animators, and testers to build a successful and marketable game.
The game design fits under the umbrella of video game development. The use of creativity and design results in creating a video game both for entertainment and, sometimes, educational purposes.
The main goal of video game design is to have a structure wherein the stories, characters, the main goal, the rules within the game, and the challenges are being met or resolved. This is why game design is such an exciting career with a promising outlook.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), video game designers might be involved in the rapidly expanding industry with the increased demand for video games. In today’s standards, there are a lot of games that video game designers can opt for. These include console, mobile, PC, and MMO games.
Duties And Educational Requirements
Education is necessary to acquire new and emerging skills to cope with the diversity of the generation and the market. Educational requirements and skills are different for different game careers mentioned above.
Video game designers invest significant time studying various courses, either physically or virtually. With the growth of the video game industry, more learning institutions continue to make way for careers in this field.
You will need to earn a high school diploma first then obtain a bachelor’s degree and within the industry, such as computer programming and many other computer-related courses. Once you graduate, you will need to enter an internship program to gain experience.
Degree Info
Units in the game design degree course entail project management, level design, technology, and integrated video design. These programs involve game theories, creative content writing, game design projects, and game planning and strategy.
This job requires people with crucial problem-solving skills, attention to detail, effective communication, writing skills, and a passion for video games.
In the recent past, Game Design Studios has started looking for individuals who love the game since they believe that players understand the nuances and other aspects of the game better. This is where passion becomes an integral part of your success.
Having a passion for games and game design allows you to thrive within the game design industry and the gaming community. Your success as a video game designer relies on your patience and willingness to work hard and for an extensive amount of time.
Teamwork And Communication Is Vital
Teamwork is also vital, as video game designing requires collaborative efforts. Many game designers often work with different departments within the company and having good communication, people, and leadership skills is vital to becoming a great video game designer.
Finding An Internship
Gaining experience is not enough to land a job as a video game designer. You will need to build a portfolio and learn new skills as the industry is continuously changing and upgrading.
Always make sure to stay involved in many of the industry’s major players to understand the core aspects of becoming a great video game designer.
This is where your connections and your network come into play. Having people who are already within the community and the industry will help you land a good internship program in some of the best gaming companies out there.
Many employers often hire based on recommendations, but there are still companies that want interns to have the best technical skills as well as a passion for gaming.
Don’t Be Picky
There are also many different websites that offer internship programs and work experience opportunities. This is not the moment for you to be picky when learning more about the job. It is all about absorbing all there is to become a good video game designer.
Take the opportunity as an intern to learn everything there is to know, as you will have better opportunities when you decide to look for a job at a major video game company.
Just remember that you should always be paid for your work, even if you are an intern.
Getting Hired
The hiring process is relatively uncomplicated and straightforward once you have met the requirements and prepared all of the necessary documents. Most of the time, companies would be screening all the applicants through interviews before they are brought in for a final interview.
Many employers would want to have the best applicants possible, which is why learning all that you can during your internship is important. Once you are set, you will then be offered the job, and the contract signing commence.
You should then start your job and, hopefully, become the lead designer that will usher in a successful video game for the company.
One might think that a video game designer is all about sitting in front of the computer all day long, creating different codes for the game. However, video game designers also do a lot of things as they generally work in a managerial capacity on video game projects.
Day-To-Day Activities
They also assist in many other areas of the team, such as managing budgets, project timelines, and work schedules. Their duties and responsibilities vary from one company to another, but most of the time, this includes devising missions, puzzles, and challenges encountered in a game.
The designer also creates narrative features like storylines, character bios, and role-playing mechanics and makes sure that each character is fleshed out and the stories being told connect with the audience.
Conducting periodic reviews of the design and collaborating with sound engineers and artists are tasks that designers perform daily to achieve desired audio and video styles. The designers also plan the games through mock-up screenshots, flowcharts, and mission goals.
Skills Required To Be A Video Game Designer
Apart from the prerequisites mentioned above, which will help you become a video game designer, there are still many other skills that you need to improve to help you land a job.
Most video game designers take responsibility for the visual outline of the games as they are the ones that make the entire framework of the project and make sure that the project goes as smoothly as possible. They are qualified in conventional art capabilities like lining, forming, and color theory.
They are required to apply the 2D/3D computer software for an animation to animate and create the video game levels. They also use motion-capture techniques to include live video game actors and make sure that every line and emotion from the characters translate well into the screen and into the game.
Not only are video game designers required to be skilled at the technical aspects of the job, but they also need to be perfectionists when it comes to the overall results of their work.
How Well Does Video Game Design Pay?
Video game design is a very competitive market. Most people working within the gaming industry will have to work many hours to secure a starting position. While it may seem like it is a difficult industry to get into, you are also completely rewarded with good pay and earn a reputation for creating and designing a good video game.
Take, for example, the game designers of Riot Games and CD Projekt Red, where they excel at game design and making sure that the game that they develop and publish remains superior to their competitors.
This elevates the industry, but it also helps the designers become competitive, which makes their hard work truly pay off. The average annual pay for this role in the US is $130,000, although this varies with experience and background.
Conclusion
A video game design career is a growing career opportunity. With rapid innovations brought on by technology, these jobs can only be on the rise. The job also pays well with the right qualifications and skills.
Remember that if you want to be a video game designer, you have to be enthusiastic and ready to learn new skills!