What is necessary to become a game designer?

[Diogo Ribeiro]

I'm interested in knowing what is the best course, or courses, to officially become a game designer. Is there a specific degree? Do I have to learn skills from different sources, and if yes, where would be the best sources? Do I just need a cunning mind and sharp wit? What are the best colleges, specially in Europe?

[Shadowstrider]

I don't know of any european schools. There probably are.

 

I know of at least 3 in USA which offer "Video game design and development" as a major/minor. I originally intended to attend one, but didn't have the time to apply for the loans necessary in time.

[Aaron Contreras]

Many 'game design' courses really focus on the visual art and level design aspects of the job over anything else. If you reallyreally want to be a designer, I'd say:

 

1. Work on your writing and communication skills.

 

Even a pure level designer who just drops walls and puts down mushrooms for Mario to pick up has to be able to communicate with the rest of the team.

 

2. Computer Science is great for any job in this industry.

 

Have you tinkered around with any of the more robust level editors out there? The WarIII editor, the NWN editor? You have to be able to understand the technical aspects in order to create a dynamic game.

 

3. While slaving away night and day on 1 and 2, get a job in Quality Assurance.

 

Design positions are hard to come by. If you are a gifted programmer they probably won't want to let you transfer to design. Getting into QA will teach you a lot about the industry, the company you work for - not to mention *really* testing your resolve to become a designer.

 

4. Accept that your great ideas will probably never be made into a game.

 

Your ability to create an interesting level for an existing game is more valuable than your awesome FPS/RTS/RPG 'Darth Maul on Ice' MMORPG concept.

[Feargus Urquhart]

This would be my advice, which repeats and expands on some of the stuff already said.

 

1) Get a degree in something that gives you a lot of experience writing both fiction and technical things. You need the fiction to be able to write good dialog and you need the technical writing to describe systems and events to programmers in ways that they can understand quickly.

 

2) Learn a 3D program well enought to construct a simple level - pretty much one made out of blocks. This shows you can get around a 3D world and that you know what most of the 3D terms really mean - texture maps, texels, bump mapping, verticies, etc... Putting a level together in something like the NWN or Battlefield 1942 can really help you here.

 

3) Learn to program either in C++ or a scripting language. This will help you understand how the computer thinks and how you have to design systems and game elements to make them work in the real world.

 

4) Get a job in QA, however don't stay there long if there does not look like a way to get out.

 

a) Don't be super pushy about getting out - that annoys people.

 

B) Let it be known that you are available to do extra things like review strat guides.

 

c) Offer to help out at trade shows - try to work whatever trade shows you can (like E3), especially during setup and tear down, even if you have to pay your way to some extent.

 

d) Come up with ideas for the games that you are working on and present them - but don't shove them down the producer's throat. Most producers are overworked and on death march like schedules - they may really like your ideas, but just don't have the time to include them or even consider them.

 

There you go.

[Morgoth]

Let's presume someone want to work as a 3d artist. Is it better to know one of the big 3d applications perfectly in every way or is manifold knowledge of several 3d applications with certain advantages a better way. So e.g. depending of the status of a character model, is it common to use different 3d applications for modeling, animating, lip synchronisation? What 3d package(s) are the Obsidian artists using anyway? Are more licenses of different 3d packages not way more expensive than one common? Do game developers actually support individual preferential programs for 3d artists? E.g. someone who is a completely profession in Maya may work with Maya and the company would pay this license although all other artists are using 3ds max? Wouldn't that mean programmers must write a plugin for import/export extra for this one?

I know that are many and annoying questions, and sorry for my partially strange engllisch , but I really want to know that because I'm currently myself learning Maya.

Thanks ahead!

[Oerwinde]

Yeah, do you know if many devs use XSI or not? because thats what I was taught in school, yet it seems like everyone uses 3dsMax or Maya.

[Feargus Urquhart]

Most dev studios use Maya or 3D Studio MAX with a smaller number using Lightwave.

 

I would suggest getting to be the best you can at a single 3D package. The reason being is that once you know one package very well and have expanded your 3D art abilities within it - adapting to another package will be less difficult and you'll have gotten to be a better 3D artist as well.

 

As for us, we use 3D Studio MAX for pretty much everything.

[Morgoth]

Thanks for the answer Feargus! That about the adapting is very true, because I'm actually switching from Max to Maya (that has reasons) and the knowledge (and pains) I brought with it from there makes live much easier... it's actually all about experience, practice, failures.

[Chris Avellone]

Aside from saying that everything Feargus said is wrong (have to say it out of habit), also be sure to use the many game editors out there to make fun levels and missions, then throw them out there and buckle up for the feedback from other players.

 

Doing a complete NWN module and then posting it to get feedback will probably be more of a learning experience of what a designer has to do everyday than anything else I can suggest.

[Morgoth]

Believe me, I already did a single player campaign for UT two years ago and some q3 maps, although I only released one because of quality reasons. However, I've indeed plans for the near furure to make a quality single player mod, focused on good leveldesign (gameplay) for a first person view game (that is what I think I've most experience now). HL2 would probably be the first choice because of the powerful tools and engine, but the gameplay (it's just a shooter) may suck. I'm more interested in a SDK for Thief3, but probably there won't be one.... Maybe I should make something with Thief2, though I don't know whether that's a good idea.... supposedly I need 2 years for a quality sp mod, would someone play this old piece of software anyway? Is it better to make something with a high end technology or ist the quality regardless of technology more important for a good portfolio?

[Aaron Contreras]

I think you answered your own question.

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Appreciate it. Thanks everyone I'm taking a Graphic Design course now (if all goes well, I'll finish it in 2006); when I'm trough it, I think I can then move on and try new things.

[Morgoth]

I think you answered your own question.

Well, how true... Maybe I've just formulated my question a bit wrong. Old technologies have their (design) limitations, but for e.g. Thief this isn't absolutely bad, because this kind of games avoids char interaction (talking, not blackjacking ) with the pc completely, so from that standpoint I can focus more about the immersion with the environment and mustn't be worried about how I've to deal with conversations (and their impacts).

No one really knows how good HL2 will really be, but I'm personally more interested in games with a sense of exploration and some non-combat opportunities (like Shock/Thief/DeusEx series), instead of linearity that shooter actually are..... So the question should maybe be asked:

Is a mod with a stone old engine, but 100% polished and original more "worth" than let's just say a well done, good looking shooter, but less interesting? (Damn maybe I've just answered my question again. <_< ).

Thanks ahead!

[Eurmal]

Doing a complete NWN module and then posting it to get feedback will probably be more of a learning experience of what a designer has to do everyday than anything else I can suggest.

Adam Miller, who seems to have been inspired by PS: T more or less, may agree with you.

[TwoBirds]

A story designer on a MMORPG was often told by aspiring students that they were in school to become designers as well. When she asked them what mythology and literary background they were studying, most just looked at her blankly.

 

She said (and I agree) that story-writing and world-building are important *crafts* to know, and you need to know what's come before to truly know how to do them. It's easy to think you know what you're doing.

 

I've also learned a lot from attending a once-every-two-weeks science-fiction and fantasy writing group (some have even done some PnP game design, much to my pleasure). Even if everyone's discussing written stories, constructive comments from your peers - and in person - are invaluable for improving your stuff.

[FrankK]

Chris is pretty dead-on. If you have no experience in the industry, no matter how passionate your letters are and no matter how good your writing skills are--you probably won't even get a response if you haven't done at least some work on your own. This is also the first lesson you'll learn about game development--sacrificing your personal time when needed.

 

NWN, Unreal, Quake 3, Dungeon Siege--these tools are all out there. If you are REALLY interested in breaking in, you will be spending as much free time as you can using those tools, sending them out to the mod community and learning the basics of what it means to put together a fun mod/level.

 

The same goes for programmers looking to break in, you should have something to show.

 

Artists can greatly help themselves by not only having a kick-ass demo, but also having imported assets into a game (its one thing to make an orc look good, but to make him look good without damaging frame-rate makes programmers happy people).

[Shadowstrider]

Chris is pretty dead-on. If you have no experience in the industry, no matter how passionate your letters are and no matter how good your writing skills are--you probably won't even get a response if you haven't done at least some work on your own. This is also the first lesson you'll learn about game development--sacrificing your personal time when needed.

 

NWN, Unreal, Quake 3, Dungeon Siege--these tools are all out there. If you are REALLY interested in breaking in, you will be spending as much free time as you can using those tools, sending them out to the mod community and learning the basics of what it means to put together a fun mod/level.

This is not good news for someone like me.

 

While sacrficiing personal time is fine, I don't have much free time to sacrifice. Its why most, if not all, my NWN mods and such are worked on with friends and partners. So any works I could contribute would either be co-designed by a friend and I, or something minor, which I could work on in my limited free time.

 

Throwing together lightly scripted areas look like they were created just fill space in a game, and heavily scripted areas takes time, which I for one do not have time to do =/

[South Texas Samurai]

I've gotten pretty good at Lightwave 3d. I'll very most likely be going back to my local college because they are actually opening up a game development program in the fall.

 

I've got a few questions. I'll give a bit of what I can do at this point after it if there are any questions on what I can do.

 

1. Jobs for entry level employee's.

2. Pay. I don't want to be an overpaid upstart, but I don't want to be taken advantage of either. I actually want the most average pay avaliable so I WON'T be noticed when checks are passed. Noobs need to pay bills to.

3. Good techniques to practice. Such as certain commonly used lighting, rendering, TEXTURING, and modeling practices in game production so in the future I'll be a valuable asset than just "that dude we hired".

4. What a noob 3d animator SHOULD know for the game industry that really isn't mentioned in the general discussion of the 3d field. Such as "do 3d animators need to know how to program to be effective?"

5. Oddly enough, the shift in business from console and PC development. Such as whether a lot of US game developers are moving to consoles for certain endevors as well.

 

And a bit about what I can do. For those wanting a better idea.

(Note: I do not plan on trying my hand at the game development field yet. This is just where I am at now.)

----------------------------------------

- Modeling. I absolutely love this aspect of 3d, and I've become pretty compitent in lightwave modeler creating characters pretty accurately even if a model sheet doesn't present a character in the appropriate profile positions. I can eyeball something and still make it turn out pretty well or close to the artist's concept. I think all I need is the usual experience in the field.

 

- Animation. I can do it and it intrests me greatly.. but my love is modeling. I simply get really get disgusted with rendering times and checking an animation's progress simply to see if something minor I attempted to fix was corrected. I also am not as compitent as I wish I could be because of rendering times and the need to check particle effects AFTER its rendered. I believe i'm not appropriately effective on.. camera and particle effects..

 

-Texturing. I need a lot practice. I can do it.. but UV texturing I always seem to shy away from and this might be my second biggest quell with 3d. That and I don't usually do UV textures for humans. So its daunting trying to figure out how to UV texture a face.

 

-Rigging. Heh heh.. I like it. I really like doing this. I just feel I need some more practice so I can actually be efficent with time and so I can easily doctor it on my own if any technical problems come up.

 

-Lighting.. bleh. I can do it.. I just prefer NOT to do it. I know the basic lighting techniques, and I'd say i'm average at it at a student's perspective. I'm just not effective in providing those amazing lighting effects that professionals can do. (This is in comparison to the hi-poly 3d work done in CGtalk.)

 

-Rendering. Ok I need to work on it. Unlike texturing, more technical problems come up with it for me because one can't tell if something was done right till it was rendered. So it kind of ruins my train of thought once in a while. I know how to use render tools and options. Maybe i'd like it more if I got a 3dBoxxx and render farm or something. Anyway I'm not efficent and not as compitent as I'd like to be.

 

Graphic Design Background - This is what I studied. I'm efficent in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illistrator, Sound edit, Adobe Premiere, Flash, Dreamweaver, Flash, Director, Deck 2, Freehand, and Painter. Hell I know how to even use some other program's interface more than I know their names.. heh heh..

I must admit though. I must learn Adobe After Effects. I know lightwave uses it for Targa file animation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I will however continue school for the new program and likely re-touch upon 3d animation specifically for game development. Any pointers would greatly be appreciated.

[Chris Avellone]

A story designer on a MMORPG was often told by aspiring students that they were in school to become designers as well. When she asked them what mythology and literary background they were studying, most just looked at her blankly.

 

She said (and I agree) that story-writing and world-building are important *crafts* to know, and you need to know what's come before to truly know how to do them. It's easy to think you know what you're doing.

That's true of games, too. It's also good to know what plots, quests, etc, etc have been done a million times over and not do them again - or at least try to put a new spin on them.

 

Although sometimes it's fun to take a traditional cliche, then do something else with it. It all depends.

 

Execution matters a lot, too. If you take F1 and summarize the plot in two sentences, you'd probably roll your eyes. But the execution and the details are what makes it a classic.

 

And then there's the whole Batman issue. Batman is a guy who dresses up like a bat and fights crime. His arch-enemy is a clown. Personally, that is the dumbest friggin' thing I've ever heard... until I see the Batman movie, or read some of the comics, and the execution makes up for it. Well, it does for some people anyway.

[poolofpoo]

That's true of games, too. It's also good to know what plots, quests, etc, etc have been done a million times over and not do them again - or at least try to put a new spin on them.

 

Although sometimes it's fun to take a traditional cliche, then do something else with it. It all depends.

 

Execution matters a lot, too. If you take F1 and summarize the plot in two sentences, you'd probably roll your eyes. But the execution and the details are what makes it a classic.

 

And then there's the whole Batman issue. Batman is a guy who dresses up like a bat and fights crime. His arch-enemy is a clown. Personally, that is the dumbest friggin' thing I've ever heard... until I see the Batman movie, or read some of the comics, and the execution makes up for it. Well, it does for some people anyway.

what the man said

[Ferret]

What I'm about to say has been said in this thread somewhere, but I think it bears emphasis. A tried and true way of breaking into the industry is via QA and CS. There are oodles of developers I know that got their start there. I think that is becoming less common with time, the golden age of people being snatched from QA/CS in 2 months to become devs seems a fading memory. But if you have the patience QA can still springboard a career into the games industry. Just try to leave your pre-conceptions at the door - pay attention, listen to the veterans, learn the process, and be politely pro-active.

 

Just my opinion.

 

-Ferret

Designer on Project X

[Diogo Ribeiro]

That's true of games, too. It's also good to know what plots, quests, etc, etc have been done a million times over and not do them again - or at least try to put a new spin on them.

 

Hence why Planescape: Torment's premise - guide someone with amnesia - worked

[Eurmal]

Hence why Planescape: Torment's premise - guide someone with amnesia - worked

Er...I wonder if Chris Avellone did it consciously

[Tigranes]

Yes, since it

[Eurmal]

That