Game design life job!?

I want to become a game designer as a full lifetime job not a hobby but everywhere i look people say "yes its my hobby that i do in my spare time"

I am working for a indie company making apple market games the eventually going to make big titles.

Since im 14 im thinking about jobs for life and the best and easiest for me is game design.

Is that a good choice?

so far my team will be bringing me into the team as a level/dungeon designer for our games and one day i want to be either with this company when its as good as bethesda or i want to be in a rpg creating company for big games is this possible?

Should i learn game design in collage?

Thanks for reading all the way to the end, no bad comments please guys.

-Kieranbhoy

 

It would be a great field to go into, considering videogames and other advanced technologys are becoming part of an everyday life style. (or atleast in america) So It prob wouldn't be hard to find a job.

 

Kieran, Im 15 so for a while I have been thinking the same, From my experience so far, School and college will teach you **** all, so far for me its just been home learning and portfolio to get work, I'm taking A levels in Math, Media Studies, Computer Science and graphics at college because then I can have a varied range of back ups. If I do stick with game design I will probably stay indie tho

Good luck

-Charlie

 

+1. Thats probably best way to enter game industry and to have proper backup if you suddenly change your mind.

 

Ok but i probebly should still go to collage to even better and in case for some reason i wouldnt get a job?

 

Yes defiantly go to college, It would be a big mistake not to go to college. The economy is pretty poor at the moment and last thing you want is to have no back up. Study a vast subject, for example: Maths, English, Media, IT. Those kind of subjects will cover a wide range of part time jobs and careers. But if you want to be a game developer learn from home and build a portfolio, College wont teach you anything unique.

Regards
-Charlie

 

Ah ok so i was thinking about how to do the job with an indie company and i thought... Once i know how to create an aright game then it wont feel like work if im not going out since indie company's work from home? that's one of the reasons why i want to work for a big company, also because i want to see my game on tv being advertised

 

You might need to learn a little bit more about the industry, it seems like you haven't been told much about it. But if that is what you really want to do then just stay with a small team and develop your skillset, thats what I am doing. Build up a portfolio, take it to a company and sell yourself

 

What do you mean exactly?

 

i think you get around $90,000 (might be more, not sure) a year in game design, so i'd say so.

 

WOW i thouight it was like $67,000 a year?

 

I say get into what you are passionate about. If you're passion about game design and development then go for it with your heart and soul.

A college degree is probably always a good thing but you're most likely to learning mostly from your actual work experience.
There are other online courses as well that go into game design etc and I think some are well recognised in the industry so you may want to check out some of those too.

 

Being a game developer.. you quite lucky to be getting $50,000 so ive heard

 

Yea... I'd say in-house design jobs paying $90k or higher are very few, and very far between. Last I checked, even lead designers and creative directors with greater than six years experience on AAA projects still mostly fell in the high 70's and low 80's. Designers lag behind programmers, artists, producers, and audio folks at most companies - sometimes by a large amount.

Now, if you want to work freelance in an area with a lot of opportunity (like NYC) $90 is totally reasonable - but to be valuable as a freelancer you really want to be able to contribute both to design and programming. Also, keep in mind that you generally have to make ~30% more as a freelancer than in-house to enjoy the same quality of living (though personally I think the freedom associated with freelance work is invaluable - at least at this point in my life) due to increased tax liability and lack of benefits.

EDIT:

To respond directly to the O.P. - I would say Charlie has given you some great advice. Definitely go to college, but don't go to a "game design" college. I made the mistake of doing so and I deeply regret it - get an education that can be heavily applied to game design and development, but one with other applications as well. If I could go back I would have went for a computer science degree for sure (but I'm working mostly as a programmer and plan to continue doing so).

 

Uh, maybe at some point.

Working in the video game industry has traditionally been a 15% paycut across the board. I'm a programmer in non-games industry and every equivalent game dev job I've looked at pays less than what I make, and probably requires more work. Hence why I don't work for a video game developer.

If you actually land a job that pays $90k in the video games industry, you'd probably be making 110k somewhere else.

In addition, people usually have a pretty skewed idea of what a 'games designer' is. I imagine if you do get hired as a 'designer' you'll likely be 'designing' 1500 "kill 30 rats" quests for the first 6 years of your career.

 

A Game Designer is probably not what you think it is. The design team consists of people like story and lore authors, design doc completion, etc... It's not one single person, it's a team of people inside of the larger development team. Designers are the lowest payed position in a development team. Average starting salary in the US for such a posiiton is around 35--40k / yr last I checked.

 

Why are game developers across the board generally paid less? In my opinion it takes a lot more skill/knowledge to develop a game effectively than a piece of business software.

 

Its because so many people want the job, so they don't need to pay a lot

 

I started working professionally as a games designer in 1997. I was on £10K ($16K at the current exchange rate) a year in London, a very expensive place to live. There is a lot of competition and few places, so starting money is usually poor. Even with experience, a designer will be paid less than an artist and much less than a programmer.

Qualifications are nice, but being able to demonstrate your ability is much more important. I would suggest going to college, but perhaps study programming (not games programming as it reduces your options). You might prefer the programming, but even if not, the knowledge will help you as a designer (there are also a lot more games programmer jobs, less competition for places, and a lot more money). Quite a few designers have an architectural background, so that is another option.

I would also suggest you make your own games with Unity. You'll find out if you actually like making games, will have a portfolio to show potential employers, and will pick up some of the skills required. English is another skill you need as you will be writing a lot of documents as you rise up (you'll almost certainly start as a level designer), design docs, etc.

 

Not to be a debbie-downer, but aiming to get a job in the game industry is kinda like aiming to get into professional sports. It's not impossible, but there are a lot of people who want to do it, it's very competitive, and not that many positions out there. I went to art school in the hopes of working in games or film, and managed to make a career out of it, but for every success story there are 1000 people who wash out. It's worth pursuing, but I strongly encourage people to have a plan-B.

 

Aiming to get a job in game design because it sounds fun and easy is a recipe for failure. kieranbhoy, do you even know what a game designer does? How do you know you'd like it? If you think it's just sitting around coming up with fun stories, and then everyone else does all the work, then you're completely wrong.

 

As much as I agree with you. I think you should mellow out on that approach, No point in crushing peoples dreams.

 

OMG, a successful person speaking sensibly about their own success. Apparently you haven't been listening to our politicians talk about education or actors, singers, and athletes when they get any sort of time at the podium for motivational speaking engagements (that they're paid for). After all, ALL people can be highly successful in their chosen field, if they just work hard enough at it. Pay no mind to those seemingly talented and college educated bartenders and clerks down the street, they obviously just "didn't want it badly enough or work hard enough to get what they wanted". It's not like it's a competitive market with a limited set of jobs and finite amount of resources...oh wait...

 

Charlie, the problem is that I think many people equate being a 'designer' with being 'in charge' of the entire game. Its a bit like people wanting to be a four star general right off the bat. You have to get through ranks 1-9 first! Whats even worst is that many people on the boards have an expectation of creative freedom that even big-name developers don't have in reality.

Also, your statement is a bit odd for someone with the following quote in their sig: 'Nothings eating me, I'm quite happy to keep smashing their dreams...'

 

I understand the whole working through ranks thing, Personally the business is not for me, I would always stay indie if I stuck with game.

And the signature thing is just a joke to do with Frank Nothing serious

 

That is not crushing the dream of becoming a game designer. It is crushing the dreams of thinking it is easy and fun. It definitely isn't easy. And while it can be fun, there is a lot of hard work, some of it very tedious.

It can also be very unstable. I have been made redundant 3 times because companies have had to reduce size considerably to survive, and often that wasn't enough. That is a fairly common experience.

Also expect to have to move around as jobs are scattered. I have had design jobs in London, Liverpool, Oxfordshire, Isle of Wight, Newcastle and Cheshire. Not too bad when you are young, but not so great when you want to settle down.

And there really is a lot of competition. As an example from when I worked for Acclaim. Our studio employed about 120 people. It was common to have more than 120 speculative job applications per day. Many game studios have no external signage just to stop people turning up uninvited. I had an interview at Rare. They told me they had already had 400 applications for that design position, so I was lucky just to get an interview.

But someone does get the jobs, although you will have to work very hard for it.

 

+1 that is the kind of post I think would be nice for Kieron to hear, Rather than just putting it bluntly. Is what I meant.

 

Want to be a game designer? Learn a lil 3d and bring those models of yours into Unity and start doing some games. Unity is one of the easiest way to make your games.

If you're a good game designer, your game is going to be a success even if your 3d models aren't very good due to lack of 3D knowledge. Think minecraft!

I mean, if you want to boss around a team of 3D modelers and Sound artists, try to think that each one of them have many many years of practice and studying in their own fields, do you think they will like being bossed around by just whoever? no sir'e!

Bah, anyway, I think you can totally make it, though, you are young and full of possibilities. If you truly enjoy game designing, you're all set, but yeah, you'll have to justify yourself somehow, get some visual communication degrees, get some experience and whatnot, make it happen!

 

Since i been to a "college" (roughly the same thing just with another name) in Sweden studying game design here are my views.

If you want to be a game designer yes go to a game design school. BUT choose the right one, a lot of them are most likely pretty crappy. But there are some things you need to learn about game design and by just studying at home you wont get feedback on what you think about it. So you might learn things but learn them the wrong way. On the side of the regular design studies study some other things like either graphics, programming and/or project management etc. The more you can do as a designer the bigger is your chance to get a job.

But you have to consider this. For every designer on a project you will need maybe 2-5 coders and 2-5 graphics people. So if you just want to get into the business it might be wiser to study graphics or programming. But also remember that to get into the industry you have to be HIGHLY motivated and it will require a lot of studies.

 

AND how to make tea + coffee.

 

Hee hee, very important skill that one

 

Im looking to go into game design as my career also. I am attending a university now to get a degree in Computer Science. I have been an artist all my life however, and have many drawings/paintings/ and now 3d models to show off. I am also going to get a minor in Business and/or creative writing. I am planning to have all of these at my disposal, so when I go in to an interview, I will try to stand out as the best of the best. I will have a degree in programming, experience with modeling and animation, know how to run a business, have a minor in creative writing, and have a portfolio for a few games showing that I know how to put it all together and make it work.

Simply put, when I go into an interview, I want them to see me as the pinnacle of what they want and need.

edit: I almost forgot. I am going to a State University. DO NOT PAY people to teach you about making games. When I was looking into schools, I toured some schools that were private schools that gave actual degrees in game design. When I went into their "offices" for teaching, the computers they were using had the same programs we are. They were teaching people Unity and Blender. I was about to pay them $136,000 for them to teach me something I have now learned by myself, and for them to give me VERY VERY limiting degree.

Computer Science degree - $36,000 and then use some scholarships and that could go down to only a few thousand. Many doors are opened beyond games, for a plan-B.

Game Design Degree - $130,000 and no in-state scholarships applied because it was a private school. Meaning humongous student loans you will be paying off into your 30's. ONLY a game design degree. And for things I can learn at home on youtube.

 

All of those degrees are great, but in this industry, unless you are good at what you do, that piece of paper means nothing.

 

The degree's are just to get my foot in the door. Convincing them I am good at it is an entirely different story. But with experience in all of those fields comes improvements, and hopefully when I am ready to apply for a game design job, I will have enough experience to know what to do, and how to do it right. Thats why Im going to school for them, so I can learn how to do it

and was just warning for whoever see's this post to not waste money on a private institution.

 

Thank you dogzerx the first good post that made me think oh i can do it. All ive been hearing is basicly No you will not geta joib in game design.

Yes i love games
I will learn almost anything i need to and in my opinion as long as i have enough money to have a good(ok) house and good things then im fine.

 

@ everyones posts-
I love games
Dont care about bossing people around i would actually like to be told what to do in game design.
I WANT to move around alot if its for my job
And yes i do know what i game designers job is like i know its not to boss people around and stuff i know that i have to work VERY VERY hard but i want to say hey i made this game this, part ect.

So im working for an indie game company at the moment and im hoping that i wil be good enough to get a job in a big/ok/known company in the usa. Will i be able to if i get REALLY GOOD?

and please no more NO you will never answers.

-Kieranbhoy

 

The thing is i dont know if i have a plan b that will be a good job. Ive been wanting to make games since i was 5.

 

my opinion : Do indie games till you make it big. Like Valve, the makers of Portal, eft 4 Dead and Half-life.

Valve's first game was Half-Life. Gabe Newell and and Mike Harrington made the majority of the game by themselves, using the Quake Engine. Basically, it was an indie game. They made all of their own resources by themselves, and Half-Life took off. The success of Valve's first game paved the way for Valve to become a major game development company, and develop Triple A titles like Half-Life 2, Pportal, Team Fortress 2, Steam, etc.

This is why I think if you make one game, and you pour all of your time and effort into it, and with proper execution, you may one day actually OWN your own software development company, like Gabe Newell does now.

 

Cool thanks

 

I don't think anyone has said "NO" - or even anything along the lines of impossibility. It will be very hard to break into a large company as a designer is all anyone has told you.

That said, if you get "REALLY GOOD" of course it will be possible. Go to your favorite companies job postings on a regular basis, you'll see many of them quite regularly have design positions available - meaning, if you are good enough, there are quite regularly opportunities to work at those companies.

One thing you should definitely keep in mind is that the larger the company, the more specific your experience has to be. Sure, the job postings may say "REQUIRED: 3+ Years as a game designer" - but if you are applying for a position as a content designer for an MMORPG they are really, really going to want to see some relevant design work. That doesn't mean work on an MMO, but quest design and implementation in some similar game (the guy I know working on a AAA-MMO as a content designer had a portfolio filled with Neverwinter Nights levels for example). With Unity, it would be pretty easy to make a quick, bare-bones single player RPG using basic MMO mechanics that you could use just to practice MMO design.

Want to be a level designer on a large FPS project? Get FPS level design experience, now. No reason to wait, open up UDK and start building maps.

I highly, highly suggest you start going to:
http://gamedevmap.com/

Once a month or so I would literally go through every company on there (whether you've heard of them or not) and just check to see what their current positions are. It doesn't take as long as you'd think - and it is incredibly helpful in terms of gauging what the industry as a whole needs, and what they expect of you for those roles. It's also a great way to find companies you've never heard of working on projects that are exciting.

You probably won't jump straight from iOS/Mobile games to a AAA project at a company you love though. Don't dismiss the smaller companies working on console games - they are an important stepping stone (and you may find that you actually love working at one and lose all desire to move on).

Personally, I always assumed I would one day be working on a systems design team for an MMORPG - I honestly didn't care which MMO, I absolutely love the genre (mostly the mathy side of the genre, spreadsheets keep me up at night). Now I'm working full time as an indie designer/programmer and I really couldn't be happier. The programming was a quick internship to get some experience, which turned into a full-time contract job offer about a year ago, which is now turning into what I'd really love to do for the rest of my career. The atmosphere when you are working on a team of 1-10 people is so much different than it is at a large company. Sure, I'm technically employed to fill a programming role on the vast majority of projects - but even on those projects I get to be a very large part of the design process as well. Moreover, I'm not constrained to one relatively specific role as a programmer - I do everything, I learn a tremendous amount still every month, and after a year (and a few months as an unpaid intern) I'm still excited to go to work every day.

I honestly don't think I would enjoy working at a large company nearly as much. One day I may get bored and try to make the transition to a large project - if for no reason other than to say I tried it before I go back to freelance indie work - but for now, I'm quite happy.

 

Ok good post but do you sit in your house making the games or do you like go out to a big place with the 10 people?

 

Most of the time I work remotely. I go into the city (NY) on occasion though. I could go in significantly more frequently if I wanted, but it's a long day for me to work in the city (I live in central NJ) - leave the house by 6:30AM be lucky to be home by 8:30.

There are certainly plenty of indie gaming shops that are in-house 5 days a week though; I just happen to work freelance. The vast majority of the time, hopping on Skype with screen-share and a tablet out is perfect for discussing new features.

 

You ask a question, but don't want another no answer when most people haven't been saying no. It is very difficult to get a good job as a games designer, but you can if you apply yourself. Prove that you can do the job by doing it on your own and presenting that as a portfolio of work.

On the subject of getting a design job in USA when you are not from USA. That will be even more difficult by a long way. USA has very strong limits on allowing foreign workers in. Most companies will only put in the work for getting a programmer as they are high value and harder to get hold of. Canada is a very different proposition. Tax incentives have grown the games industry massively there, and it is getting harder for them to find top level recruits.

 

Either way, college will prepare you for both. A college degree can only help your chances of being successful, whether it's in game design or some other field.

If you enjoy making games, put the time into it to be better than the rest. That will help you in the 1 out of 1000 equation.

At 14, you've got a good head start on a lot of folks, just keep at it.

In the meantime - go to college.

 

I would just like to reply on this one. If you use indie way and develop game by yourself, you can succed just as creator of Minecraft did IF you have great gameplay idea. Thats the key. Not a little redisigned Oblivion, GTA with changed characters or anything like it, but rather something totaly new, maybe even new game genre. If you have idea, just stick to it, learn while developing and you are on much better track than being in any game company where you are affraid every day for losing you job.

 

This might sound a bit dodgy and I may be wrong.. but it might be a nice thing to start a gossip thread on. It seems to be easier to make money now if you have the right marketting.. take doodle jump for example.. They are probably millionaires from such a simple game.. its kind of unfair that people spend years developing rpgs and mmo's when you can just make an IOS app..

It just seems that getting rich is getting easier?

Discuss? :L


But yes kieran, Dedication and an idea will get you a long way

 

@CJS.... i envy you..... u r just 15.... and have awesome skills.... hats off to you man....

 

Lol :L Thanks haha

 

If you want to get rich with indie game design you have to know market very very well. You have to predict how your game will behave in market. IOS market has changed. getting rich with IOS game today is 1000 harder than three years ago, take in consideration that you are developing very similar game that they did. Most of popular IOS games today are popular becouse of proper marketing as you pointed out, which is counted in thousands of dollars. For indie developer designing IOS games is like a lottery. Unless you are ready to make a deal with devil sized credit for marketing your chances are small.

With decent PC game you have much better chance to get some guaranteed income.

 

oh, IN-HOUSE game developing, yeah probably not alot, idk.. i would just go for studio game design