So, You Want to Be a Game Developer?

[Authors note: I wrote this quite some time ago, so I thought I'd revise it and give it another try. I like to think I've learned a lot since then. Again, I do not claim to be an expert at all. This is all my opinion and my insight from my perspective, learning, and observation. If you want to criticize me for inexperience, you are more than welcome. This is also purely my opinion; you may disagree. Feel free to express your opinion on the matter. - GK]

“I want to be a game designer.”

I hear this all the time. Let's just lay it out flat; truth is, the term 'game designer' is vague. Ridiculously vague, and it sounds silly to anyone who knows better. Since it seems a lot of people don't actually know better, let's look over what you really mean. Or.. Probably mean, anyway. This should help out a lot of people interested in game development. Or maybe you have no idea what you mean, or what game development even consists of? Chances are, many people have no idea how games are created. Let me try to at least point some of you in the right direction.

What is a Game Designer?

This is a very loose term. I never use it, except for the purpose of putting it into layman's terms for those not even remotely aware of how games are created (generally when speaking to a non-gamer). Even then, I try to use the word “Developer”, since it's more appropriate and covers a broader range, which most people are mean when they say “Designer”.

Designing a game, to me, generally means you are one (possibly in a group with a few others) who conceives the game from top to bottom. That is to say, how it plays, the overall feel of the game, the goals, and the mechanics in which the game runs. I'd call this guy a “Project Lead” or a “Producer”, someone who manages the overall quality and management of the game throughout development. A “Lead Designer” is also a term used often, but even that yields very specific tasks.

To create a game, you must have multiple talents. This is where the term “Developer” comes in, since it covers every aspect of game development, not just the conception of a game idea, which, chances are, every one has. The trick is to have the team, resources, and brains to pull it off. You need people who can program, people who can do artistic work, people who can write stories, people who can get your game to store shelves or other outlets, and someone to manage all these programmers, artists, writers, etc. The list goes on, and in each category, more specific roles can be given out. Now, I'm not saying one man could not do it all, but generally game development requires working with a team, and each team member helps design their section of the game, with one or more members leading every one with the overall vision of the game.

To my experience, when most people say; “I want to be a game designer.”, they're really saying “I want to help develop games.” Again, this is very broad, but they're heading the right direction. Now you must ask yourself; what part of games do you want to help develop?

Idea Men

“I have an idea for a game.”

This is the classic one to hear from the general population. Simply put, everyone has an idea, big or small. Chances are, you thought it up based off of some other games you've seen, or maybe a cool movie you saw. It's a very brief idea, maybe the only thing you can say about it is “It's a game where you find [some cool aliens], go to [some place], and have [cool weapons.]” (More or less simplistic, but not much more detailed than that.) I call these guys “Idea Men”. They have a small, vague idea, and they believe that their idea is great, if only someone would create it. They go about on various game studio forums telling the studio how they would make boatloads off of their idea. Everyone is an idea man, and most just realize their idea isn't going anywhere, or they don't care that much to pursue it. Others believe their idea is right up there next to the greatest games of all. Now, if they really want their idea to become a reality, they need to evolve their idea a bit more and get to a position where that's possible. Why would a studio spend 1-2 years of development and expenses to create an idea that is nowhere near as complex or in-depth as the one they're already working on? It just doesn't happen, as the risk is too high. Once the idea becomes more in depth, now you're getting somewhere. Myself, I have ideas of games I would love to see created, and I've worked my way, through toil and strife, into a position where this is more possible. “Idea Man” is not a position, so let's continue on to the real stuff. I might have ideas, but I have more jobs than just thinking about stuff. By all reckoning, that would be a very easy job...

Artists

Artists come in all shapes and sizes. 3D Modeling, creating polygons? 3D Animation, bringing characters to life with movement? Concept Art, helping the modelers and designers capture their ideas? Graphical Art, such as textures? These are the guys who make your game shine. Everything that you see on top, is art. I love my artists. My days would not be nearly as fun if I couldn't blame horrible in-game blemishes on someone. As I said, I love to kick my artists.

Are you interested in drawing pictures on paper, maybe some cool vehicle, weapon, or character you've come up with? You may just make a good concept artist. Concept artists can create many things, but generally specialize in one area of the game. They create art that the modelers or other artists use to create the more detailed, in-game version of whatever it is that was conceived. Concept artists, with some other talent, can also be environment/level designers.

How about 3D work? Do you like taking pictures of things (say, from concept artists) and creating them in 3D? Or perhaps bringing them to life with movement? You might be a good modeler or animator.

Perhaps you spend countless hours editing pictures of kittens to say funny, grammatically incorrect statements, or perhaps you enjoy sewing heads of presidents onto monkey bodies with Photoshop? I would hardly call that talent, but maybe you've managed to do other things as well. Maybe you've managed to create something more, such as amazing wallpapers or visuals, and you declare yourself to have “1337 photoshop skillz”. There's a chance you might be a very good graphical artist, someone who creates anything from company logos to in-game art. Textures on characters, objects, and environments. Dirt, grass, wood, metal, you name it!

The next group are the nerds. The very smart, holy-crap-how-did-you-do-that group.

Software Engineers (Programmers)

For many who don't understand, a programmers job is not as simple as it seems. They merely bring things to life, make things work, and create the gears that turn underneath all of the fancy art. Not so hard, is it?

Hah! I'm sure I could direct you to a few programmers who will punch you in the mouth for such comments.

The average programmer is fairly intelligent. Good programmers have to be. Most future programmers can find their talent if they just try it some. There are many people, like myself, who couldn't program if their lives depended on it. But all of you, listen to this next sentence: That didn't stop me from trying. People like myself just don't have the natural ability to do it. We don't like math, we don't like bringing things to life in the same sense, and we sure try to avoid thinking too hard. Programming can be learned, but for some, it comes much more quickly, and their aptitude for it is amazingly high. Programmers are in shorter supply than other professions. China and India are graduating, per person, more engineers than the US. That says something about us being behind. While obviously they aren't generally going into game development, the point still stands. Engineers are hard to find. They are few and far between. Their skills are precious.

Without a programmer, a game will never crawl, much less walk. If you're the kind of person who gets in trouble at school for opening files you're not supposed, or fixing the teacher's computer before the school technician shows up, you may have the talents of a good programmer. Or maybe you're just a nerd. If you're not sure, or maybe you've been interested in programming, as I will re-iterate before this article is finished; try it. That is the only way you can say it's not for you, or alternatively, is.

Writers

Do you like writing stories? Are you a big fan ficiton or short story writer? Did you always love English class throughout school? (I know I did!) You might just be a writer. These guys aren't always looked upon as a major contributor, though anyone who has played a game with a good story, you can bet there was a good writer behind it. A good writer can really make or break a game, in a lot of ways most people wouldn't imagine. Maybe they're not the best gameplay designers, but boy, can they cook up a good story! These are the guys that game developers want to keep their eyes out for. They've got all the names, places, action, romance (ooh), suspense, and fantastic world stirring around in their head. Get them to write it down. Without teaming up with someone who really knows how to make games, these guys will remain as is, with pages and pages of storyline. No gameplay to speak of, just an epic story that puts Stephen King to shame. These guys have talent, but it's not for “Game Design”, it's for writing. I highly encourage anyone who is a “Writer” to find a job in the game industry for writing, and look out for project leads and other game developers who are in need of someone to write cinematics, storyline, anything of the sort. These are men like Joe Staten (writer for Bungie Studios and author of Halo novel “Contact Harvest”, one of the best books I have ever read), who have carved worlds thick with lore and history, things the fans can really sink their teeth into. Games are rapidly becoming interactive movies/interactive books, in a sense, and these are the guys that help it along the way. Some people just can't write a great story, so good writers can be invaluable. If you're a lone writer interested in game development, find someone, some studio that will bring your writing to life. It just may be the most amazing job of your life.

Anything else?

There's a few more advanced positions in game development, say, as a Producer. They're more in charge of the global aspect of things, must be good with people, must be a good leader, and must have many of the skills you'd think to find from a manager. Generally speaking, this requires either A) Starting up your own studio as I've done, or B) Many years of working your way up the ranks. If you're the guy for this kind of job, you've probably already thought about it and I don't need to tell you twice. If you're this kind of person, you'll already have figured out the options and how to get to your goals. That's the sign of leadership, initiative, and that “Go get 'em!” attitude managers need to have. Also, with all companies, game studios do occasionally need other positions that aren't related to the game development itself, such as a CFO, managing budget and such. That's a completely different set of cards.

So what's your point?

If you have no idea what you're interested, try everything. Try to write. Try to draw. Try to model. Try to program. I believe those who really want to create games will find their niche. For those who want to be project leads, producers, or get their idea created as a game, I can only say that it requires connections, rising through the ranks, or founding your own studio, all of which are very difficult. As I just mentioned; if you're the kind of person for that type of job, you should already be well on your way to it, as you're intelligent, you're a hard worker and you never give up.

Let me just say it here, loud and clear. If you want to make games, start now. Do not wait for high school classes to teach you, do not wait for college. Familiarize yourself with the tools now. Spend your spare time learning, practicing, and creating. If you enjoy programming, you must start programming now. If you want to do art, you'd best get out your pen and paper. Nothing impresses a game developer (read: a potential employer) more than actual work. Credentials on your resume help your credibility, but actual work dwarfs it in comparison. I would highly suggest you start building a portfolio as early as possible.

For those of you who are already working a full time career, you likely have a degree, (or maybe you still want one?) and you're not sure what to do. If you like games, you're creative, and you want to really enjoy your job, see if you might have any of the skills it might take. I want to stress that no one go through life working a job they don't enjoy. Make sure you're putting food on the table, but if you're not enjoying your work, find what you really like. For you gamers out there, you might really find something magical about creating games. Though, it's not for every one. For me, game development is the only type of work I've done in my life that I have truly and honestly enjoy with a deep passion. I would not trade it for a crummy job with a massive salary.

If you're not sure what to do, start out with modding tools for games and go from there. Don't be intimidated by the industry. Start small, grow big.

See you on the battlefield.