Video Game Design Schools and Careers
Learn how video game design school will help you start your career.
Game designers are the masterminds who conceptualize the mission, theme, plot and rules of a video/computer game. Designers specialize in story lines, character biographies, game criticism, game play mechanics, environments and level design. Many game designers act as lead project managers overseeing teams of up to 50 artists, programmers and sound designers throughout the development of a new game. Attending a video game design school prepares them for these tasks.
"As a game designer, in the end what you're responsible for is: Is it fun or not?" says Paolo Malabuyo, lead designer for Xbox. "But that's more difficult that it sounds. If the pace is too slow, the game is boring. If the pace is too fast, the game is confusing. Video game designers must keep players interested by creating puzzles to solve. Ultimately, a game should be easy to learn but hard to master."
Most video game design schools emphasize training in the fine arts or multimedia. A strong background in drawing, painting, color theory, sculpture and graphic design is needed to keep pace with the high quality expectations of players. Graduates usually begin their game design careers in video game art, computer game programming, testing or producing.
Education Options for Video Game Design
Most video game design professionals inadvertently received their earliest training at home by playing computer or video games for hours on end. All of those hours glued to the screen weren't for nothing!
- A college-level education in fine art, graphic arts, computer arts, computer science, special effects or animation is critical due to the highly technical nature of the job.
- Depending on their exact position, gaming professionals are expected to be proficient in programming languages such as Java, C++, as well as 2D and 3D art tools such as Photoshop, Maya, Max and Lightwave.
- Internships during or after video game design school will help you get your foot in the door.
Video Game Design Salaries
A video game designer's salary varies depending on experience and reputation in this competitive field.
- Early-to-mid-career video game designers may earn between $38,000 and $75,000.
- Experienced video game designers may earn more than $100,000.
Video Game Design: Career Spotlight
Paolo Malabuyo
Job Title: Lead Design Program Manager, Xbox - Microsoft
Years in Field: 5 years
How did you find your way into video game design?
"Like a lot of people in the game industry, I grew up playing video games, wasting my money on arcades, playing Atari and the early game consoles. I studied art and design at Carnegie Mellon, a double major in painting with computer graphics and animation. That's where I was able to develop conceptual and visual design skills, and at the same time I wasn't afraid of technology.
"I sold my computer (an Amiga 500) and game system (Sega Genesis) my freshman year of college. I wanted to spend time on school work, hold down a job, and still have a social life and date. It wasn't until after I graduated that I fell back into playing games as a hobby." Read more about game development careers.
Source: PayScale.com 2010
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