The World Of Game Design
By Ronnie Rodgers
Introduction
Game design is one of those careers that many people including myself have a lot of questions about. Most people stereotype it as a job for people who are nerds, but it's more than that. It requires lots of skills that go far past the technical aspect of it and requires focus and attention to detail. Here's a little taste of the world of gaming and game design
Who's All Here?
A game designer is only a part of a whole game development team. There are many others who contribute to turning a simple idea into a final product. A game designer helps with the story, character development, and programming. A visual artist may help add vivid colors into these characters and help design the look of the world. Sound designers and music composers bring their musical pieces into the mix, appealing to the hearing sense of the game. Only by working together can a game be finished.
The Idea
All game designers cannot start working on a game without a simple idea or draft to start it all! Most start a basic idea of what they want to make and then build upon that.
The Story
After a basic idea is done, a story must be written for the game. This is the most essential part of a game, as it really speaks to the person playing the game. How will characters be introduced? What problem will the main character face? How will he/she solve the problem? Will they gain a special item to help them solve the problem? All of these questions and more must be answered by the developer.
Programming and Media
After the story and character designs are made, it's time to start programming the game! Game programmers write various codes (usually in the popular C++ format) to make the game physics, objects, and pretty much the whole thing that holds it together. Game modelers model characters and game assets used inside the game using 3D animation software.
Game Design Requirements & Salary
To be a game designer, you must have AT LEAST a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, or Computer Engineering. Both of these fields can take up to four years to complete or longer depending if you ant to move on to get a Master's Degree in these fields. Game Design is hard work, but it does come with decent pay for all of your creative works. The salary of a game designer is about $36,023-$95,856. That's only in general. The total pay a year is $126,900 average. Various factors affect your pay such as experience, company size, and location.
Conclusion
Video games are a great addition to the various forms of entertainment we have today. They can make us feel like a hero. They can transport us into a whole different landscape of wonder and amazement and make us share emotions with the very character that we are controlling. Like us, they are always changing and can inscribe memories that stay with us forever.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - Robin Williams Ads