So I want to be a game designer...

News & General Discussion
1

I’m sure that this crops up on the forum from time to time, but it’s difficult to get a specific answer just searching through old posts…there seem to be alot of pretty well informed people on these boards, so I thought it would be a good place to look for answers…

Here’s the brief: I’m 19 years old, just in my second semester of University, but realized that what I’m studying just isn’t for me. I’ve always liked video games, been making video games forever (from Warcraft 2 to Warcraft 3 to Battlefield mods, Flash and so on) and really would like to do this as a career.

But it’s a bit tough to find some real info on what’s necessary to be a game designer. Now, I’m not talking about doing Art or Programming, but actual design. I’ve been looking on lots of top game company websites about the careers, and for most of the design jobs they only really require prior experience designing parts of a title (Blizzard and Activision, which I would consider pretty high end companies require 2-5+ years of experience working on AAA titles…)

So how do I get my foot in the door and show that I can make games? I’m guessing it’s important to have a portfolio showing you can design and complete games, but what about education? Flipping around the web, it seems like there are lots of Game Design programs at post secondary schools…but how useful are these? How much do game companies value a degree?

I’m guessing even if you do have these requirements, to get in the business you have to start small, like designing levels or weapons or something…but again, I really don’t know how it works. Obviously an employer isn’t going to hire someone who made some solid indie games to be lead designer on a AAA title.

Anyways, just looking for some guidance. Gonna talk to some advisors at my school, but I’m guessing lots of people here have some good info…thanks any help.

2

Most successful game designers I know started out as level designers.

If you’ve designed levels in mods, use that to try to break in as a level designer. You’ll want to be able to articulate why you laid things out the way you did. How it impacts gameplay. Etc…

Show documentation about how you planned these levels. If you have detailed design docs, all the better.

It also doesn’t hurt to know a scripting language.

3

Maybe look for a job as a junior game designer?

4

Why are there no links to things you have done?

5

Degrees and qualifications are useful for a lot of reasons, but generally won’t mean much to game industry employers (although sometimes they like to be able to put a tick next to “has degree”) Game related courses don’t impress the person looking at your CV (and can even put them off in some cases) so if you are angling for that route make sure you’re doing it for the skills you’ll learn, and not the piece of paper you’ll get.

You’re generally going to start as a tester or a level designer.

Testing doesn’t sound (and isn’t) very glamourous, but gives a chance to see a project from the ground up, be part of the team, and if you can demonstrate you have the skills for design the path is there.

Level design is more practical if you have a strong portfolio of mod work and level building.

6

By simply making them. That`s the only valid proof to show that you can make games :slight_smile:

7

The resource for all your questions about breaking into game design is Sloperama, written by a long time industry professional.

8

Generally you’re never going to walk into a pure designer position unless you have a proven professional track record(see the job postings you mentioned). Game design degrees are mostly a waste of time and money, but you’ll probably at least enjoy what you’re doing. Keep designing stuff, but pick something that makes you actually valuable(art, code, sound, etc). Everyone has ideas and concepts, but much fewer have the ability to manifest and implement their ideas. Get on a mod team and contribute. Get a job at a small indie/casual/web/mobile/low-tier studio and start building up a portfolio of experience. Work your way up the ladder like pretty much every other designer in the industry.

9

Though the idea of working for a big name game company may sound cool at first, there’s a lot of reason to avoid going that direction.

First of all, you are expendable. Anyone can be replaced at any time for less money with better quality/quantity of work. Unless you can prove there’s some reason to keep you (ie, you specialize in one particular area, and, do it well), there is very little job security.

You will probably be subjected to excessively long hours with little or no added benefits. This is especially true at “crunch time” when a game’s anticipated release date starts to draw near. (Check out some of the bad press on companies like Electronic Arts regarding the treatment of employees, for more on this…)

Finally, be careful once you have a contract with one of these companies. Based on what’s in the fine print, any sort of game concepts or code you create while employed may cease to be yours… even if you created it at home on your own equipment. While it’s primarily done to protect trade secrets, these kinds of policies have been abused in the past, and probably will continue to be abused in the future.

And, since many companies now track the internet activity of their employees (including the seemingly private stuff done from home), it’s unlikely they won’t somehow find out about any projects you’re working on outside of work.

This isn’t to say that the entire industry is like this, but it’s becoming the norm for a lot of big name companies out there.

I guess what I’m trying to say here, is that if you want complete control over the design process of a game, develop it outside of the industry, using whatever resources needed to get the job done. (software, hardware, friends/relatives, hired locals, business connections, etc…)

Otherwise, go out and get further education and practice in one particular area of game design (character design, prop design, level design, audio, graphics, textures, lighting or programming) and specialize in it until it hurts.

It’s way to easy to get stepped on if you try to get into the industry with nothing but big ambitions and little-to-no experience.

10

19 years old? Easy, download Unity, some 3D app (I suppose Blender to start), and off you go…Get some p/t job or whatever you need to eat and drink and do it!

(Speaking as a 38yo with a family to support etc, and just now getting around to it - much easier when you’re that age! Basically at this point I’m chipping away at the odd project, and hoping to win the lottery some day hehe)

11

Bones3D - that really doesn’t ring true with the experiance I’ve had in the industry.

You’re expendable and replaceable in any industry - if you’re not good at your job. As for the contracts, I’m familiar with the clauses you’re talking about, but you can generally clarify the meaning and the intent of companies is not to steal your game ideas. Companies don’t give a rats ass, half the guys I work with are making indy games or have iphone apps. There are some potental conflict of interest areas but for the most part the people who run studios understand their employees enjoy making games.

Working in a big games company gives you perspective, experiance, a chance to work with people way better than yourself, lets you make contacts and see cool stuff you wouldn’t see on your own. It also pays bills far more reliably than indy projects.

12

It’s quite hard to get into the gaming industry.

Lots of ppl with lots of talent.

You have GOT to have an amazing portfolio, be able to present yourself, etc.

I studied gamedesign for a few yrs, and what I learned did help me a lot, so some kind of education in that direction is a plus.

Second what I found is that having connections helps :wink:

If you put in effort at networking with people who are involved in the gaming industry, your chances of getting in will go up steadily. Visiting conventions and what not, is never a bad idea.

It also is very rare that they hire someone directly as ‘a’ or ‘the’ gamedesigner. A lot of developers have multiple gamedesigners, and most of them are multitaskers, not just gamedesigners. Only at the big companies most of the time.

As I’ve read before, leveldesign is a good setup to get into gamedesign, but still you probably need more skills than just that. So try to combine it with 3d modelling, or sound design or concept art. Find something that works for you, and show them that you can make it work for them.

All of the above is from my experience, and what I’ve found out by talking to quite a bunch of gamedesigners, company bosses, etc.

13

Really good read, going through it all right now…

Yeah, looking at lots of job postings and one thing that really stands out is “be able to explain why you did ect ect.” Also, I know AS 2.0, Python, bits of C# and now Javascript, but not exactly a master at any of them.

https://jobs.ea.com/jobs/jobposting.aspx?postid=a0z50000000IfjmAAC

Here’s a random posting I pulled up, and if you look at the requirements, they don’t actually ask for prior experience…but even if they don’t ask, I’m guessing they still want a portfolio or something.

And to everyone else, I read through all the posts, very useful information, thanks for all the detailed responses!

14

Well they’ll want something!

Flip the whole thing on it’s head for a moment - what would you want to see from someone to prove that they can come in and be a junior designer on your team?

The big ticket items are generally :

a) they don’t give the impression they’ll be an insufferable jerk to work with (you’d be amazed how many people fail at this one)

b) they show a clear talent and interest in the field

c) they are hungry to improve

The thing with that list is that if you embody B and C, you’re generally generating portfolio content already, because that’s what excites you. To put it another way, you obviously have some reason why you think you can make games, how would you prove it to others?

15

Most of the ‘game designers’ I know started off in QA for a smaller studio. There they provided outstanding feedback on the games they tested and showed they had what it took to transition into a lesser design roll like level building. From there they worked their way up. The rest all migrated from some other aspect of game development into design, or showed their talent in the indie scene well enough to attract job offers.

I don’t know a single person working a non-QA job in the industry with a ‘game design’ degree.

16

I don’t know how to land a job as a games designer

I do know a bit about the skills you would need:

  • Writing
  • Communication
  • Marketing
  • Psychology

I’d see if you can take some classes on those subjects while your still at University.

Of course you need a feeling for technology and the process of making games but it seems like you have that.

17

I purchased recently this book and I am very satisfied with it. I think it could give you a good foundation…

Also, here was an excellent blog about game design with lectures, homework, and further readings…

Best,
Jules