New game designer

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12 comments, last by zizulot 6 years, 4 months ago

I'm an new game designer and hope to be excellent in this field any pointers in how to do that? :)

 

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Youtube, books etc , be prepared its going to be long trip if you dont have previous expierience.

One tip would be to play bad games, try playing the worst rated games on a platform and try and figure out why you don't like them.

Video Game Programmer.
5 years in industry.

19 hours ago, Net-Ninja said:

One tip would be to play bad games, try playing the worst rated games on a platform and try and figure out why you don't like them.

Great tip, but sometimes problems not in design, Bugs etc

On 11/24/2017 at 11:40 PM, AliceWhat said:

I'm an new game designer and hope to be excellent in this field

Are you sure you're using the term "game designer" to mean "one who designs the play of games" - or did you mean to use the term "game developer" instead (that term is different - it means "one who makes games" or "one who's involved in the making of games")?  What kind of advice are you looking for?

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

Don't try to be just a game designer, you aren't likely ever get anywhere with that.  They don't really exist in the way that you are imagining.  You would be best off becoming a programmer or artist and becoming a part of the "design by committee" method used by the modern game industry.  As a pure designer, even if you had been doing that for longer than the computer game industry has existed you would be unlikely to ever find that job.  If you are insistent on being a pure game designer, there is really only one way to do that.  You would have to found your own company from scratch.

"I wish that I could live it all again."

12 hours ago, Tom Sloper said:

Are you sure you're using the term "game designer" to mean "one who designs the play of games" - or did you mean to use the term "game developer" instead (that term is different - it means "one who makes games" or "one who's involved in the making of games")?  What kind of advice are you looking for?

I was saying game designer but people are telling that I should get into game developing as well so I'll need advice on that too. 

11 hours ago, Kavik Kang said:

Don't try to be just a game designer, you aren't likely ever get anywhere with that.  They don't really exist in the way that you are imagining.  You would be best off becoming a programmer or artist and becoming a part of the "design by committee" method used by the modern game industry.  As a pure designer, even if you had been doing that for longer than the computer game industry has existed you would be unlikely to ever find that job.  If you are insistent on being a pure game designer, there is really only one way to do that.  You would have to found your own company from scratch.

Thank you for the advice I'll do more research on this.

4 minutes ago, AliceWhat said:

I was saying game designer but people are telling that I should get into game developing as well so I'll need advice on that too. 

What do you want to do?

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18 hours ago, AliceWhat said:

I was saying game designer but people are telling that I should get into game developing as well so I'll need advice on that too. 

What people? You mean people here on gamedev.net? If so, you should realize that the focus of this site is on programming. Yes, there are people interested in various aspects of development, but the majority are trying to learn programming so they can make their own games, and their advice is always "learn programming so you can make your own games." 

18 hours ago, Lactose said:

What do you want to do?

Exactly. Rather than following advice from other people, you should follow your own passions. It doesn't hurt to try programming, art, music... so you can understand a bit of what the other people on a game dev team go through. But if your heart yearns for design, that's what you should work on.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

I would recommend not worrying about what you want to be called and start working on some projects of your own to figure out what all is involved with game development. You could read books and articles on the subject but you'll never really be able to fully absorb or apply them without experience of your own to rely on. I suggest looking for a beginner-friendly game engine and diving in. That is to say, something with a lot of resources and tutorials that makes it easy for a beginner to jump right in and make games. Some possibilities include Unity, Construct, Game Maker, RPG Maker, and Phaser. When you start making games, start small. It is more important for you to finish a game in the beginning than it is for you to make a good one. The reason is you'll be exposed to the entire development process in a nutshell and problems that might not be obvious early on can be avoided with some foresight in future games you develop. Furthermore, after following a tutorial or three, when you start your first handful of games you're going to run into things you don't know how to do and that's a good thing. It will propel you to learn more about that specific topic until you can get pass it and move on. It will happen over and over and be frustrating at first but before you know it you'll find you have a pretty solid understanding of what is going on and less of a need to seek outside sources of knowledge.

 

After the stage where you've made some simple, and probably pretty bad, games and you feel like you have a better grasp on the process in general then I'd recommend you start actually studying. Look for in-depth coverage on the topics that interest you and learn about why you are doing the things you're doing in development rather than just how. But even if you're not interested in other areas of development and plan on working in a team on a specific role, it pays to understand at least the basics of what everyone on the team is doing. It means that your work will compliment theirs better since you understand the limitations of what they can and can't do. Also, if you end up on a small team or by yourself it will let you wear all the hats you need to in order to get the job done.

 

Most all, have fun! Making games can be incredibly hard work but it is uniquely gratifying to make fun and exciting interactive experiences. You'll encounter many stumbling blocks along the way but keep at it and before you know it you'll have a title of your own published and be calling yourself a game developer.

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