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Careers For Supervising Game Designers?
LeoDV writes "As probably 99.9% geeks out there I wish I could make my own videogame, and I avidly read the article "How Do You Become A Console Game Programmer?" and found the replies very interesting and engaging. I, however, have only very basic programming skills, and no artistic skills. What I want to do isn't program my own game, but design it, with an army of minions doing the programming and art for me. I know it's quite impossible to show up at a games company with a resume and say "Hi, can you give me a team of 20 experienced people, I want to make a videogame?" But part of me knows that it happened before (Ubi Soft hired Michel Ancel, creator of Rayman, at 17). So, is it at all possible to land such a job without those skills, at some point? If it is, what (short graduating in CS or prostrating myself) are my best options?" So, what experience qualifies you for a design position, what skills should you actually have to make games successful, and is this approach hopelessly naive?
Knowledge of programming does not make a person a game designer. Knowledge of games does -- what makes them fun, how they work (which is not the same as knowing how the code works), how to envision something that can be done with the resources available, how to communicate an idea, and understanding what will and won't sell.
There are such careers and they go by lots of names -- producer, creative director, lead game designer, etc. But they don't just hand them to people with no skills. Producers deal with schedules, criitcal paths, publishers, marketing, contracts and more. Some are actively involved in the design, others spend all their time managing. Creative directors can oversee several designs or projects at once, setting look and feel of the game, making sure gameplay stays on focus, managing designers, setting schedules, and sometimes actually designing. The best ones hire smart game designers and give them as much say as possible. Game designers do everything from documenting everything in the game, creating levels/scenarios, writing dialog and scripts, working with artists and programmers to accomodate their needs, to writing even more documents. Depending on the structure, they may only be following orders or may have a large say in the shape of the final game.
Getting any of these jobs means working in the trenches first. You have to learn the skills and prove you have them (usually with a published title) before anybody is going to trust you with this kind of job. That means being a game tester, writer, level designer, junior designer or whatever and clawing you way up.
How do I know this? Because I'm one of these people.
Remember, everybody has a "great idea" and everybody thinks they can be a designer. Far fewer can actually do the job.
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NO SIG
... But patients is required. It is unlikely that you'll be able to step directly into a role with a significant level of responsibility immediately, unless (as someone pointed out) you know someone in the Industry quite well.
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(I should know, I've taken the long route. Hi Simoniker, how're the states treating you
Design is a great place to be, but it is also the focus of a lot of the tensions of games development. It's an incredibly dynamic environment, and games development is full of a lot of creative talent. People skills are as important as creative and technical skills, and you'll have to be ready with an open and flexible mind. You'll need to be able to pick up just about anything, from audio design to particle systems to simulating wingtip stall on an Apache. Designers come from all backgrounds; creative, technical, whatever. It doesn't matter, as long as you can communicate a clear vision and get down to business creating it, you can design.
This is a fairly typical route into becoming a Games Designer; it seems to have worked for me
Start in test. Plenty of places need testers. The easiest way to a fast promotion into Design is through a dev company, rather than a publisher (the less corporate the better; it is easier to talk to the management for starters.)
Learn the industry, how the teams work, how the tools work. This takes time. Do it in small steps, get good at it. Testing games is a great place to learn about games development, although don't imagine it to all be fun and games!
Make your voice heard in the company. Don't try to tell people their jobs (you're on the bottom rung, remember?) but don't hesitate with an opinion. Ask if people need help with their design work, start putting together mission descriptions / puzzle designs / game pitches etc. Show that you know what goes into making a good game, and more importantly that you know how it can be implemented.
Eventually, quite often dependant on the timing of contracts and signing new projects (remember that games are more and more commercial!) if you ask you'll become a Junior Designer. From here, it's hard work and more listening and learning. Show that you have what it takes to finish a game, that you can create fun and can get other people to work to your vision, and you will move up.
For me, the Tester to Lead Designer road took 4 years, roughly. Most would probably consider that a little quick: I certainly have no illusions or pretentions to know all there is to know about design. I've got 4 published games, and a 5th on the way; I'm certainly no Miyamoto (yet!)
Don't imagine for a second that games design is an easy career path; it is very hard work, but incredibly rewarding at the same time. If you like games
Hope that gives you some insight.