So You Want to Be a Game Designer?

One of the questions most people have, who are interested in developing video games, is - "just how do you become a game designer?". This question can be a little tricky to answer, since the definition of what a game designer actually is, tends to vary between different companies in the industry.

At one company, a designer might be up to his head in statistics, and be the person who balances gameplay by writing formulas that are later implemented in game.

At another company, a designer is someone who places enemies in the game, and not much else.

At yet another company, a designer is someone who programs gameplay in C++.

So, there is considerable variation in what "game designer" actually means, thus making the question "how do I become a game designer?", hard to answer.

Therefore, I am going to offer up my definition of what a game designer is, and what they actually do.

A Game Designer is -

1. Someone who contributes to the high-concept game design, and who designs specific gameplay features and content for the game.
2. Someone who has developed an eye for fun gameplay, and has the ability to get inside the players head.
3. Someone who can take what they've designed, and implement it.

I think that that is a pretty serviceable definition.

So, going back to the original question, if you want to become a game designer, the first thing you need to learn, is how to program.

If you don't know how to program, then all of the great ideas you have in your head, are going to be just that, ideas in your head. Something that no one can play, including yourself, and, more importantly, something that you will never be able to get feedback on.

If you never get feedback on what you've designed, then you will never grow as a designer. It is nearly impossible to predict what is going to be fun, without having it in front of you to actually play.

So, how do you learn to program?

Well, the first thing that I would recommend, is starting off by learning scripting for a game that you enjoy, that supports user created modifications.

The learning curve for learning a games scripting language is going to be much more shallow than learning a language like C++, and you will be able to see ideas, translated onto the screen, much more quickly.

However, one of the disadvantages of learning a scripting language, is that you are going to be fairly stuck in the genre of the game your are scripting for. For example, if you have an idea for a racing game, it's going to be hard/impossible to do it using the Neverwinter Nights engine(an RPG).

Once you get to that point, it would be a good idea to learn C++.

That's the first point on the list of what a game designer needs to know. In the next few days, I am going to be covering the second two points.

Thanks for reading,
Brian

Brian Gilman is a Game Designer with credits on Call of Duty 2, and Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare.

If you are interested in learning how to make your own games, game design, and what it takes to be in the industry, check out his website at -

http://www.GameDesignInsider.com

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