Archive for December, 2008

The Passions of a Video Game Designer

Friday, December 19th, 2008

Do you love video games? Do you spend hours playing on your new X-Box 360, or PS-3? Do you believe you have a great idea, and can develop the best game to hit the industry till date? In that case, you should consider becoming a video game designer.

Video gaming has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry over the last two decades. And with a number of people buying games, even at $50 a game, apart from the consoles, this industry has seen tremendous growth. Coupled with the advancement in computing technology, games have evolved a lot from the black and white games of the 70’s and early 80’s.

Today, games are lot more interactive, and creative using all the latest graphics, and real looking images and scenes. So much so that certain games do not look animated anymore, but seem like an extension of real life. This has increased the demand for more creative games, based on highly interactive and creative plots. This has seen a surge in demand for video game designers with numerous opportunities within various game companies, and studios.

While there are various things that go into the making of a good game designer, the most basic thing is the love for video games. The most eligible candidate would be one who has a passion for games and plays every type of game. He or she should also be among the first to complete and follow the games religiously. The person should be able to recognize the game by just listening to its background track.

After all, with so many people being hard core fans of the games, the game publishing companies would hardly be excited by a candidate that hardly plays any games, and has no exposure, and doesn’t know the intricacies of the gaming industry. Such a candidate should also show aptitude for quick problem solving, and must be able to work under pressure, maintaining tight deadlines.

The reason being that though the quality is very important, the video game industry is very volatile with something or the other is releasing every other day. So to stay ahead of competition, one has to act very fast.

A video game designer is compared to the director of the movie. A person aiming to become a video game designer, should be creative, and have a flair for writing with loads of experience. Video game designers are often people who have studied in related fields like literature etc. To be able to write huge volumes that will define the game, covering every minute detail is a big task, and hence usually experienced people are preferred.

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Philosophy and psychology and its place in gaming

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

There once was a time in the history of gaming when nearly everything that hit the market was fresh and new. Graphics processing wasn’t anywhere near the levels they are today, so developers, the really clever developers, focused on the medium as a sort of experimental art form, or concept games if you will. Often, these games played themselves out as logic puzzles, feeling as if they had come from an alien race. Other times, they were unique self reflection tools. In its early years, Activision was a company founded on exploring the possibilities of the new electronic art frontier, and it really shows with their 1983 release of Alter Ego.

Designed by Dr. Peter Favaro, Alter Ego was one of a few handful of games designed by psychologists. The game is split is in to two parts, a Male and a Female version. It starts out asking you to fill out a quick survey about yourself. From there the game progresses from birth to death. Almost in its game play, although very intuitive once picked up, the game plays out by asking the player to choose cards. Each card brings up a scenario that asks the player to pick a mood and an action accordingly. At the end of scenario the game assesses the outcome, and gives the player the results, often coupled with good advice for living. This continues on until each stage of life is complete, or the player meets an early demise.

A very realistic and thoughtful portrayal of life, Alter Ego’s scenarios managed to capture many of life’s subtleties with earnestness and good humor. Although primarily text based, which could seem like a chore, this game still has the ability to become a deep rabbit hole for the player, giving real insight in to just how our actions affect our futures and who we are as a person. This game doesn’t push a black or white view point, it gives solid practical commentary on life and its ambiguity. The rabbit hole becomes an existential experience, each game just as unique as the player.

Another game in this genre is Mirror Mind, released two years later from Electronic Arts in 1985. Designed by Timothy Leary, Mirror Mind takes has a whole other approach, as it is about understanding outside of yourself. Featuring a whole case load of scenarios, from “Why am I attracted to the type girls that I am?” to “Why is my career a failure?” It doesn’t really function so much as a game, as it does as a tool for seeing how the player views others. Where Alter Ego teaches the player about themselves through interacting

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Video Game Jobs – How To Become A Game Designer

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

For those that don’t want to be stuck in the basic coding of a video game, never witnessing the visual interpretation of your work, the role of game designer might be a better fit for you.

While, programmers are directly attached to basic code and game engines and artists are in charge of bringing all visual aspects to life, the game designer is a mash-up of everything and one of the most important roles in the video game industry.

Your job as a video game designer will be to craft the basic concepts of the game. Often, you will need to have a degree in writing or a similar field and a great deal of experience in doing so. A lot of game designers graduated with English degrees and worked in journalism, magazine, or fiction before turning to video games. However in the video game industry, versatility is key. If you can also have experience in programming and visual design, you’ll be a lock for a great job in game design.

The job itself involves mapping out the course of the game. A game designer will often work on the basic concepts, writing up how a game will operate, how it will work, and what will happen over the course of a game. One of the most famous game designers of all time is Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario and Zelda. His schooling was in the arts and most of his job involved creating characters and game concepts, detailing intricately how he wanted his game to work.

Those details are then passed on to the programmers and artists who will start to create the engines to do what the game designer envisions and the characters to do it. A game designer is something akin to a director of a major film. Your job could include almost anything on that set, and you’d better be capable of doing it, because you are the most important person involved.

The job is probably the most fun you can have in the video game industry though. As a game designer you get the chance to pitch, develop, and write your game concepts into reality, turning those amazing ideas you had on the basement couch with your buddies into the next great video game. Your job duties are immensely varied, with everything from writing to programming to visual design and you’ll be involved in most aspects of the game’s design.

Strong leadership skills and the ability to keep track of multiple tasks will do you well in this role, and a creative streak of gold. The video game industry is always looking for the next great game designer and it could very well be you.

But if you’re looking for a position that isn’t at the top of the ladder, or that doesn’t involve so many duties there are many more to choose from. You might be a born math whiz and find programming as your niche, or a born artist, only interested in helping create the characters for video games. There are many different aspects of the video game industry for you to look into.

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