Ok...before I get too far along in college and have no useful classes...
Author
I need lots of help! I really want to be a game designer (or more precise, work my way up to executive producer/designer). I have been at a community college for 2 years just taking regular classes such as biology/biology labs, algebra/trig, 3 different englishes, economics, theatre appreciation, psychology and so on and so forth. However, my college doesn't offer anything really in game design, just computer programming and web page design. What I need to know is...what do I need to do?
Do I need to go to a school such as DeVry? What classes do I need to take to be qualified to become (or one day become) an executive producer/game designer. On average, how many years will it take? The reason why I am asking is because I know some people on this board can answer these questions whereas I don't even know how to go about getting information from anyone locally.
I know that it is a process to get into that position (unless of course you somehow have the funding to create your own studio right off the bat) which I am ok with! I really want to be part of a team and work my way up. But I DO want to be qualified right off the bat though that if for some reason a studio was hiring an exec. producer/designer, I would have a great shot at it. This is my second year of college so I know I've wasted some time, but I am determined to see this though! It really doesn't matter how long it takes because it is what I want to persue. I don't know what a starting salary is...but I do know Kojima, after all those years of working his way up, lives in apartment that costs him about $10,000/month (1up.com talked about it)!
Any help would be wonderful!
Game Designers usually work their way up either as a QA/Tester, artist, or programmer.
You need to understand that game designer position are extremely competitive, mainly because their names stand on top of the credit list.
As for college classes...there aren't any classes that are specificly for game design. The classes are usually associated with computer graphic, except maybe Full Sail University have game design major and it is the only university I know that have programs specificly for game design.
You need to understand that game designer position are extremely competitive, mainly because their names stand on top of the credit list.
As for college classes...there aren't any classes that are specificly for game design. The classes are usually associated with computer graphic, except maybe Full Sail University have game design major and it is the only university I know that have programs specificly for game design.
I think it highly unlikely that you'd get a job with "executive" in the title fresh out of college. Experience counts for a lot in an industry with such heavy competition for jobs. Regardless of which classes you take, you'll have to work your way up the ladder.
I hate to be a downer, but are you really sure you want to work in the game industry? It's a really nasty pressure cooker of a place to be. I'm quite happy working at a normal programming/software dev job and doing gamedev in my spare time (point being that I have spare time). Some things really should be kept as a hobby. Don't focus on the money - game design, as any other industry, does have high paying jobs, but they're almost entirely exclusive to the rockstars of the gaming world. For every person making a six-figure income, there's hundreds doing tedious test work for a mere living wage. Only go into this industry full-time if you really know you want to make games for a living (which knowledge requires having already done some amount of game development!).
Anyway, if you want to do game development at all (whether as an employee of a gamedev company or just as a hobbiest), you'll need programming experience. Take the programming classes available at your college. See if you can find classes that include manipulating graphics (and the idealist in me says that if you can find classes that don't rely on Windows-centric libraries like DirectDraw, go for them first...). Do learn your trig - it's obscenely useful. So are matrix algebra classes and possibly some linear algebra. English is, believe it or not, useful - crappy writing makes your code harder to maintain and can keep you from making an interesting game world. Hell, I could make a point for biology if you want to make complex interacting systems (especially if there are feedback loops involved). But the important classes are going to be the ones that give you the technical tools that you need.
I hate to be a downer, but are you really sure you want to work in the game industry? It's a really nasty pressure cooker of a place to be. I'm quite happy working at a normal programming/software dev job and doing gamedev in my spare time (point being that I have spare time). Some things really should be kept as a hobby. Don't focus on the money - game design, as any other industry, does have high paying jobs, but they're almost entirely exclusive to the rockstars of the gaming world. For every person making a six-figure income, there's hundreds doing tedious test work for a mere living wage. Only go into this industry full-time if you really know you want to make games for a living (which knowledge requires having already done some amount of game development!).
Anyway, if you want to do game development at all (whether as an employee of a gamedev company or just as a hobbiest), you'll need programming experience. Take the programming classes available at your college. See if you can find classes that include manipulating graphics (and the idealist in me says that if you can find classes that don't rely on Windows-centric libraries like DirectDraw, go for them first...). Do learn your trig - it's obscenely useful. So are matrix algebra classes and possibly some linear algebra. English is, believe it or not, useful - crappy writing makes your code harder to maintain and can keep you from making an interesting game world. Hell, I could make a point for biology if you want to make complex interacting systems (especially if there are feedback loops involved). But the important classes are going to be the ones that give you the technical tools that you need.
Game developing is all about the passion about games, as the pay are about 15%-50% lower than normal software developing
Also game developing studios recuit people with a lot of experience. Small studios like Three Rings recruits entry level programmers, most studios recruit people of at least 3 years of programming experience, and big studios like Blizzard Entertainment recruit people that have at least 6 years of programming experience IN GAME INDUSTRY.
Also game developing studios recuit people with a lot of experience. Small studios like Three Rings recruits entry level programmers, most studios recruit people of at least 3 years of programming experience, and big studios like Blizzard Entertainment recruit people that have at least 6 years of programming experience IN GAME INDUSTRY.
More Psychology [why people like/hate certain gameplay elements] and Calculus/Statistics [gameplay balancing] would definately help. Programming can't hurt.
College isn't trade school though. Make sure you get a good general education [and enjoy yourself] just in case things don't work out exactly as planned. They quite often don't.
College isn't trade school though. Make sure you get a good general education [and enjoy yourself] just in case things don't work out exactly as planned. They quite often don't.
Author
Alright guys I appreciate the help, but I am still a little lost. Should I be taking classes that only pertain to technology? I mean...I have taken a bunch of those but I couldn't tell you the first thing about how to start developing a game. Are there any schools out there or courses that you all have taken that you could suggest??
Well I also had the same thoughts just like you. But currently I am a computer science major, and keeping my options open. I'll probably graduate in a year and I try to take as many game related courses as possible. You may also consider looking for volunteer programs in your university that may suit your interest. Like right now, I am volunteering for the Oceanography department in my school, and we are to come up with a Flash game that'll atrract visitors. And that'll all needs to be down in one semester!
I do agree this industry is a risky field, but that doesn't stop a college student like us from trying :)
I do agree this industry is a risky field, but that doesn't stop a college student like us from trying :)
As far as I know, there's three main ways to become an "executive" game designer, assuming that by "executive" you mean a designer at a large company:
1. Get hired at a game company at an entry level position (programmer, artist or Q.A. tester). Work extremely hard for many years within the industry, slowly building up a name for yourself and making contacts. Then apply for a game designer position at an existing company, or start your own company using people you've met within the industry and with your reputation with a publisher to land you some start-up capital.
2. Start a small indie company. Release many games, the first few which will remain obscure (because you don't have any market presence). Hope for a big hit that will give you the money and reputation to expand your company or get hired as a big game designer.
3. Become famous in something that could cross over into gaming, such as scriptwriting or writing. Use your name in the other industry to cross over into the gaming industry.
My opinion is the first is the most likely to lead to a big game designer role. It's also true that all three paths are hard work and involve quite a few risks along the way. The chances of someone being hired in the game designer position in a medium to large company these days with no experience are very slim. Even if you do decide to go down the first path, you've still got many other people aiming for the role of the designer.
Assuming you want to work your way up to the designer position, it depends on which entry level role you want to start in. Pretty much anything that lets you experience what the industry is like is a possible path to the role of a game designer, as long as you are motivated. It depends entirely on what you are interested in, and what you are good at.
I'd still keep a wide variety of classes though. You've got a really good mix in there, and I think a variety of interests is the mark of a good game designer. Understanding programming would be beneficial, but I wouldn't learn that to the exclusion of your other classes.
Keep in mind though that it will take a lot of hard work, will probably take years, is unlikely to involve earning copious amounts of money, and there is a good chance that you might decide that life in the game industry is not for you once you've experienced it for a bit, so don't put all your eggs into one basket with your choice of classes.
1. Get hired at a game company at an entry level position (programmer, artist or Q.A. tester). Work extremely hard for many years within the industry, slowly building up a name for yourself and making contacts. Then apply for a game designer position at an existing company, or start your own company using people you've met within the industry and with your reputation with a publisher to land you some start-up capital.
2. Start a small indie company. Release many games, the first few which will remain obscure (because you don't have any market presence). Hope for a big hit that will give you the money and reputation to expand your company or get hired as a big game designer.
3. Become famous in something that could cross over into gaming, such as scriptwriting or writing. Use your name in the other industry to cross over into the gaming industry.
My opinion is the first is the most likely to lead to a big game designer role. It's also true that all three paths are hard work and involve quite a few risks along the way. The chances of someone being hired in the game designer position in a medium to large company these days with no experience are very slim. Even if you do decide to go down the first path, you've still got many other people aiming for the role of the designer.
Assuming you want to work your way up to the designer position, it depends on which entry level role you want to start in. Pretty much anything that lets you experience what the industry is like is a possible path to the role of a game designer, as long as you are motivated. It depends entirely on what you are interested in, and what you are good at.
I'd still keep a wide variety of classes though. You've got a really good mix in there, and I think a variety of interests is the mark of a good game designer. Understanding programming would be beneficial, but I wouldn't learn that to the exclusion of your other classes.
Keep in mind though that it will take a lot of hard work, will probably take years, is unlikely to involve earning copious amounts of money, and there is a good chance that you might decide that life in the game industry is not for you once you've experienced it for a bit, so don't put all your eggs into one basket with your choice of classes.
My first advice to you is - don't count on your collage. You might want to get that computer programming classes it offers to get some programming theory and basic programming skills(I am taking a dishevelled guesswork that you have really poor programing skills or none at all)
If you accept to sign in to a class or a course and let a teacher turn you into a game designer, you better wake up. That's not going to happen. You need to do alot of studing by yourself.
You can use the man's best friend - the internet - to learn game design, but don't think you can just type "game design" in google, click "I'm Feeling Lucky", and get a tutorial that will make you a pro(Just tried it, and what I got looks like an overview article about the industry).
I know this is a harsh post, but life are hursher. You are not asking "I want to make my own game. Where to begin?". You are asking "I want to make big $$$ in the gaming industry. Plan something for me".
If you accept to sign in to a class or a course and let a teacher turn you into a game designer, you better wake up. That's not going to happen. You need to do alot of studing by yourself.
You can use the man's best friend - the internet - to learn game design, but don't think you can just type "game design" in google, click "I'm Feeling Lucky", and get a tutorial that will make you a pro(Just tried it, and what I got looks like an overview article about the industry).
I know this is a harsh post, but life are hursher. You are not asking "I want to make my own game. Where to begin?". You are asking "I want to make big $$$ in the gaming industry. Plan something for me".
2 things...
first, allow me to give you the insight to my recent computer science diploma i earned. one thing people definately dont realize is that computer science programs usually dont teach you how to 'program' in the sense of real world programming. they are teaching you to be 'computer scientists'. they are loading your face down with theory that you will never probably touch again unless you go into grad school. but they are training you in hopes that you will come up with the algorithm that sorts faster than log(n/2). they arent teaching you that you need to find out what the customer needs, put in a good design, or anything like that. i only did 1 GUI program all throughout my 4 years there. the rest was coding algorithms and solving problems.
second, if you want to use your college to make your game design dreams come closer to a reality, start learning some opengl/sdl/directx/whatever you want to do something small. while you are doing that, go find a club on campus that does game design, programming, graphics (in the sense of opengl/directx/cg coding) or whatever. become friends with them because they already know people. from this, you will be able to learn a lot more and a lot quicker than if you just relied on your CS courses. hope this helps.
and dont go to a tech school. you miss out on the fun parts of college :).
*EDIT*
and btw, i make more money at my programming job doing webapps than my friend working at EA :P
first, allow me to give you the insight to my recent computer science diploma i earned. one thing people definately dont realize is that computer science programs usually dont teach you how to 'program' in the sense of real world programming. they are teaching you to be 'computer scientists'. they are loading your face down with theory that you will never probably touch again unless you go into grad school. but they are training you in hopes that you will come up with the algorithm that sorts faster than log(n/2). they arent teaching you that you need to find out what the customer needs, put in a good design, or anything like that. i only did 1 GUI program all throughout my 4 years there. the rest was coding algorithms and solving problems.
second, if you want to use your college to make your game design dreams come closer to a reality, start learning some opengl/sdl/directx/whatever you want to do something small. while you are doing that, go find a club on campus that does game design, programming, graphics (in the sense of opengl/directx/cg coding) or whatever. become friends with them because they already know people. from this, you will be able to learn a lot more and a lot quicker than if you just relied on your CS courses. hope this helps.
and dont go to a tech school. you miss out on the fun parts of college :).
*EDIT*
and btw, i make more money at my programming job doing webapps than my friend working at EA :P
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