Posts Tagged ‘Game Designers’

A look at why Pac Man is the most popular video game of all time

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Pac Man is the most popular video game of all time and most people would consider it a classic. This arcade game was developed by Namco in 1980 and was first released in Japan where it was not a big success, to put it mildly. As soon as it was released in the United States, it became a huge hit both in the United States and in the rest of the world. It inspired not only the sale of many of the Pac Man games, as well as many different spin-off games, but also lots of other merchandise was developed including t-shirts, caps, bags, as well as an animated television series, music and even Pac Man pasta.

Up until the release of Pac Man, arcade video games had mainly consisted of so-called space shooters like Space Invaders or Asteroids. Pac Man opened up the door to a completely new and different kind of video game genre that happened to appeal to both males and females. Because of Pac Man many game designers realized that there was no need to be so conservative when designing new games, and it inspired them to come up with many different genres of games. They started making games that were more diverse, and for the first time they dared to use humor in their game play. In addition, they started to focus on games that would appeal to a wider audience than just teenage boys.

The widespread appeal is a major part of Pac Man’s popularity. Unlike many other video games from the 1980’s, as well as many of the more recent ones, Pac Man appeals to men and women of all ages. Another reason why this video game is so popular is that it is a very simple game that anyone can play, yet at the same time it is not overly simple nor does it get boring easily.

Pac Man has been able to stand the test of time, unlike many other eighties video games like Space Invaders. Hardly anyone plays those kind of games anymore, because they have become very dated and compared to today’s standards they are considered to be very boring. This cannot be said for Pac Man, which remains as popular as it was back in the 1980’s.

Even though these days you can buy many games that are far more sophisticated and of better quality than Pac Man, it is the simplicity of the game as well as its addictive components that makes people love it until this day. It is a game that does not require a great deal of skill, yet it is difficult enough that it needs your full attention. Pac Man has been imitated in a number of different ways, but no game has been able to truly improve on the original. Pac Man is the most popular video game of all time simply because it is the best game of all time.

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Downloadable game review: New Star Soccer

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

In any sports game, the first sign of quality is not with the graphics, but the controls. If player movement mimics the motion-style of real athletes, that is evidence game designers took their time creating the game. Downloadable trial game New Star Soccer reminds me of sports titles on the original NES: the basic strategy is there, but gameplay is firmly two-dimensional.

New Star did its homework on the world of soccer. Leagues from around the globe are included along with powerhouse and minor teams from the U.S. For trademark reasons, there are minor changes in player and team names. Major League Soccer’s D.C. United is represented as D.C. Anited. Colors, cities and players are faithful to real-world counterparts. Prolific scorer Luciano Emilio scored two of my goals in a game against Crystal Palace.

Settings and customization are indeed impressive. For a simple game, New Star Soccer allows players to have teams focused on speed, control, set plays, power or flair. If more of one attribute is emphasized, corresponding attributes are lessened by equal degree. The key to successful play is a meaningful balance between the most important attributes: control, power and dribbling ability.

Poor gameplay is the achilles heel of New Star soccer. Players are either controlled by the AI or at least guided by it. We get only the crudest ability to change direction, pass and shoot. In this day and age, there is no reason for sloppy and archaic controls in sports games. There is simply too much competition between freeware, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft for games of this quality to succeed. There must be half-dozen or more 90’s era games that stand head-and-shoulders above New Star in terms of both graphics and gameplay.

If the designers spent just half the time on player movement as they had copying data from soccer leagues in a hundred differemt countries, we might have a real game on our hands. Sadly, creativity and innovation are not halmarks of most sports games. The trend has long been in copying major leagues as closely as possible, without regard for the desires of the fans or gaming enthusiasts. The trial version of New Star Soccer lasts one hour, more than enough time to realize the game is worth much less than 60 minutes of your day. Due to lack of creativity, poor gameplay and shoddy graphics, New Star merits just two stars out of five.

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Game Designer Education – The Facts

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

If you want to become a game designer then you will need to gain the appropriate education. While some game designers have gained stable employment by simply showing their portfolio, this situation is becoming increasingly rare. Nowadays employers want to see where and what you have studied and where you received your degree. Of course, they will also want to see your portfolio which means working on games in your spare time or as study projects is the best way to present yourself to an employer once you’ve received the proper education. Most good game design schools now incorporate work experience into their courses and as such you will leave school with real world practical experience as well as the knowledge learned at school or college.

Where to Get a Game Design Education

More and more game design schools are popping up around the n so knowing which to choose can be difficult. Some of the better schools and colleges include:

International Academy of Design and Technology

The Art Institute Online

Full Sail University

Westwood College Online

Ex’pression College for Digital Arts

ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN

Savannah College of Art and Design

Johns Hopkins University

Pratt Institute

Animation Mentor

AGA Digital Studios, Inc.

University of Texas at Dallas Arts and Technology

ITT Technical Institute

Digital Media Arts College

Collins College

The above colleges, universities and schools focus on game design and development in specific courses dedicated to the subject.

The Collins College has a Visual Arts degree program where students can major in Game Art. It also involves game audio and project management and uses tools like 3D Studio Max and 3D Modeling. They have top class facilities like computer labs, animation labs and video labs. The degree takes about 2.5 years to complete full time and upon completion, will allow you to search for work as a Game Designer.

The Savannah College of Art and Design is located in Savannah, GA and was ranked by 3D World magazine as one of the top 3 animation schools in the USA. They train students using a wide range of tools including After Effects, Anime Studio, Pixar Renderman, Flash and more.

You can choose from an associates degree or a bachelor’s degree at many of these programs. In addition, many game design schools also offer certifications instead of a full degree. You will need to decide what fits best into your plans. Many game designers choose to begin with a certification as they are often quicker and then if they choose to do so later, complete a fully fledged 4-year degree. It really depends on where you’re at now and what your plans are.

Computer game design is a growing industry and as such more and more skilled people are required to fill positions. Computer and console games are becoming more complex as time goes by so by improving your skills and gaining employment at reputable gaming development companies will ensure that you are in a great position to make a career out of this exciting work.

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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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Censorship in video games

Sunday, November 9th, 2008

You take the bad with the good.

It’s a phrase entwined in a thousand fantasy tales; a quest to find the Forbidden Artifact grants the holder ultimate power while rending their soul. A war for rightfully decreed lands yields victory with too many slain men to farm the fields. And as those timeless stories artfully repeat a message to each ear that hears them, their very craft and existence is art itself.

Artists never change; only their medium. The ancient thuds of sticks on logs became a choral opera with woodwind and string accompaniment to dramatic and memorable scripts. Charcoal drawings of early man’s routine life turned into wall-murals as intricate as widescreen Photoshops of today. As the medium changed, so did the content. The content always reflected the current status of culture, because artists are part of that culture and feel a responsibility to record it as they see fit.

And every once in a while, one artist desires to do what has never been done before.

Video games are the art form of the new millennium. It’s not about the presence of interactivity prohibiting games from being art, or art of game play design or manipulating the hardware with advanced coding. The focus is still on where the artistic process all began; the “mere” two-dimensional concept doodles, the simple junction of sound and light and movement to reflect what an artist sees in their head. Not much has really changed since man first drew lines in the sand or drummed around a bonfire; someone had to seed their piece with an idea. But as I said, with the medium changes the content and game designers have been trying to push the envelope for a long while.

When someone mentions censorship in games, most think of violence. Raw, gory violence is a huge deterrent for game publishers, as Mature games can only be sold to an older demographic, and Adults Only games cannot be bought outside of online stores. But there’s little reason why violence can’t be effective as art. People censor violence because they don’t want to see it; it’s too close to home, to real to be seen. For some developers, that’s part of the point; a game with a lot of violence used meaningfully and with purpose will create a better product.

Oh, sure, video games can be fun without violence. But save the violence-free games for the violence-free experience. Like an R-rated film, a game meant to be violent should be allowed to stay as violent and offensive as the artist decrees. Viewers

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Game Design At Nintendo: How To Get Started

Saturday, May 31st, 2008

Prior to the Wii’s release, it was leaked that Nintendo was sending free developer kits to small scale game designers. Following that, they announced that indie game designers could get their hands on these kits for less than two thousand dollars. All this made it obvious that Nintendo was opening the door to fresh talent and ideas. Of course, not just anyone can get involved with video game design at Nintendo, as there are still many requirements that have to be met. Here are just a few of them.

To start with, you have to be a qualified developer to get authorized by Nintendo if you want to design games for them. This requires showing proof of previous development work for Nintendo or even on other platforms. Furthermore, you have to provide details about your business and convince Nintendo that you have secure offices and the equipment, the staff and money needed to fund and complete game development. If you think you can get permission to develop games for Nintendo by yourself out of a home office, you are off your rocker.

If your company makes it through this intense screening process, you might be invited to become an authorized designer. Be prepared to sign off on many non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements at this point. Nintendo is very strict about protecting its technical information and know-how and you will be expected to hold up your end of the bargain. In fact, you will be legally bound to do so.

Once you become an authorized developer, you will have access to Nintendo’s developer resources. This includes private websites where you can interact with other developers. It also means you’ll be able to purchase the necessary software development tools such as the Wii dev kit. Keep in mind, development costs will require thousands of dollars in hardware, and plenty of time. Even for a fairly simple and inexpensive title, indie publishers usually require at least several people on the development team and several months of work before a new game is ready for release.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that not every title will be a hit, or even profitable. Because of this, game designers should have the financial backing to have several titles in the works at any one time. By doing this, the company’s risk is spread and it becomes more likely that at least one of the titles you release will be profitable.

As you can see, although Nintendo has lowered the barrier to entry, getting into game design at Nintendo is only for those who are truly ready. If you are just starting out with your game design passion, maybe try working for one of the many indie game developers that are already partnered with the Nintendo corporation before you try launching your own design company.

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