subject: Video Game Design Careers - What Are Your Choices? [print this page] In the past four decades the art and skill of designing computer games has come a very long way. So have the individuals involved in the industry, as well as the skill sets which are needed to develop a video game that is entertaining and challenging. Designing a video game includes creating the content for the game and setting up the rules that govern it. The abilities required for computer game designer jobs are technical, creative and writing skills. Early in the development of video games, all these tasks were often undertaken by the same person, designated as the lead programmer.
The lead programmer used to perform all of the game designer jobs required to complete the graphic game but computer systems started to get a lot faster and have better memory capacity. That meant that computer games became larger and more complicated as well. As the tasks needed to produce a video game became more extended and complex, so did the number of jobs involved in the procedure. Nowadays the lead programmer generally focuses on writing the computer game script codes while game designer jobs now includes creating the environment, game characters, game play and storyline for the video game. The latest video games are usually produced by a team.
Subject to the complexity of the game and its budget, there could be multiple lead designers and also many junior designers working on sections of the video game. A few of the different kinds of jobs that fall under the game designer heading are lead designer, systems designer or game mechanics designer, environmental designer or level designer and writer. Many of the people involved in the game design process started their gaming careers by being game testers and studying mistakes made by previous designers. The design of any fresh computer game starts with a concept from the lead designer.
The lead designer is normally the one who creates the basic vision and concept of the new video game as well as being in charge of the junior designers working at various tasks and coordinating that work. The lead designer is the key decision maker and is responsible for good communication amongst the team members. The lead designer is the person who presents the resultant product outcome of his team work to outside departments or organizations and is also usually responsible for final documentation of the video game design process. This position calls for a person who has an imaginative mind as well as a sound technical knowledge.
The junior game designers that have the job of designing and balancing the technicalities of how the game is played are referred to as game mechanics designers or systems designers. One design job that is becoming very important as games get larger and more complicated is designing the levels, missions and environments for the video game. The person who does that task is termed the level designer or environmental designer. The framing of user interface design for the video game is often one of several tasks given to a junior designer and a member of the design team with good writing skills creates the games documentation.
