How to become a game developer. All about the profession of game designer

© Alexander Mirov, 2018

ISBN 978-5-4490-1917-2

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

In the general mass of digital content, the “Games” segment brings the maximum revenue and has long been ahead of others: video, music and e-books. And if in 2015, predicted the approximation of the revenue figures from video games to revenues from the sports industry, then in 2018 all analysts unanimously concluded: beyond this segment – the future.

Introduction

In the modern world, more and more adults want to prolong their childhood, well, or to restore the acuity of the child’s sensations, for which the whole world is a game.

In theaters, cartoons for the adult audience are gaining in popularity, while the niche of virtual games since the appearance of the first set-top boxes to TVs to the current network battles in computers has never been empty.

In the general mass of digital content, the “Games” segment brings the maximum revenue and has long been ahead of others: video, music and e-books. And if in 2015 they predicted the approximation of the revenue figures from video games to revenues from the sports industry, then in 2017 all analysts unanimously agreed that this segment is the future.

The term “cybersportsman” is recorded and entered in the register on a par with other sports: football, basketball and hockey. According to forecasts of specialists by 2020 in the world the number of gamers will be 70 million people.

Great profits from the development of classic video games on CDs or from the sales of set-top boxes to TV have sunk into oblivion.

The profit from online games, mobile applications and social games is currently incommensurable with what was still 10—15 years ago. Psychologists and marketers accurately calculated that interactive entertainment in the form of online games will entail financial participation from the player in buying additional bonuses for his character of the game, increasing the level of skill not from passing the levels, but using more accessible “mundane” ways.

In addition, in the age of the Internet, contacts between people are very often tied up in networks, which means that the gamer community of a certain game is already a friendly company. Communication between the characters is not only in the process of virtual battles, but also in the chat in between games.

Correctly calculated when creating the game, the strategy misleads the player: he thinks that the game is designed for his entertainment and a comfortable time. But maybe he does not need to know the basics of this business model. Most games require regular updates, the player’s online character’s abilities are reduced, he no longer stands head and shoulders above the rest of the players, so you must again spend money on returning the benefits before it.

Thus, it is obvious that the revenues are growing not only from selling video games, but also from the process of using them.

Technical progress is constantly moving forward, new games are emerging, each surpassing the other in terms of graphic and functional characteristics. And gamers-fans of video games have to buy new, more powerful computers that meet the system requirements of new games.

In the conditions of such popularity of video games and the income growing from their sales, the labor market requires professionals, first-class experts in their field. What specialties are included in the fusion of the universal profession of game designer?

Who is this person who creates successful video games – a programmer, an artist or a good producer?

So, the game designer (from eng.game – the game) is a specialist and a professional of the highest standard, taking part in the creation of video games at all stages of the process. This specialization can be divided into three types: interface designers, visionaries and system builders.

The first begin their participation in the game creation process with game tests, later showing themselves to be excellent architects in the game programming system. The output is a quality product, which is nice to use at the tactile level, and during the game you do not need to analyze or remember anything.

In the process of creation, various visual objects (“film effect”, etc.) are used by the interface. They make the game for the players, not particularly bothering in its sense, so the final product sometimes is completely devoid of the original script and creative raisins.

Visionaries in the design of the game are guided by themselves, acting on the intuition and inner sensations.

You can say that they connect to the Earth’s Information Field and draw inspiration and ideas from there. In their head they already see the ideal model of their game, and the result from the embodiment exceeds all expectations – the output is a product ahead of time for several years.

This type of creators does not focus on timing and budget, it is important for him that the result is fully consistent with the idea at the very first stage of creating the game. The visionary is a fan of his business and the whole entertainment industry.

Designers-system engineers think more globally than visionaries. They take into account the tastes of the audience, adjusting their ideas to her needs and fashion trends. Accordingly, their games cover a large part of the gaming market due to the universality and fusion of all the necessary components of a good product. It may seem that the system designer is easily replaced by the programmer and writes the game himself, but it is not.

There have been cases of failure of games on the market, when strategies were being made, good products were created, but the lack of a designer-system-maker negated the success of the game among users.

If you want to become a good game designer, then you need to have some theoretical information about the profession in your luggage and, of course, experience in this area. Our councils will be able to help novice professionals, junior game designers, not get lost in the world of computer games and get out of competition for a place in the sun.

The skills and knowledge required for the profession

Industriousness and endurance. Any segment of the market, especially bringing the maximum amount of income from the product, is very rigidly structured and subject to certain rules. Game design is a hard and routine work where, alas, very little space is left to the creativity and the process of the game itself.

a) Previous experience and knowledge of many games, their genres and other varieties. You need to have a baggage of knowledge about the functioning and game process of even those products of the market that do not arouse your initial interest.

b) Your horizons should cover knowledge of the most popular projects of all gaming

platforms: social networks, PCs, consoles, mobility platforms, etc. You should be fully armed and understand that there is a possibility of developing a game for both the client MMO schooter and for social networks some match-3.

c) Your life baggage should include viewed feature films, TV shows, anime, and read books. The game designer has to implement his creative ideas, develop the plot of the game, write dialogue characters, and without a broad outlook and good taste, this stage will simply not be able to overcome you.

d) Knowledge of a decent level of English. In many terms of your future game, concepts, names of games will be present words in English.

e) Knowledge of office work in a narrow area of programming: writing explanations to other developers, preparing various documentation, tasks in the tax track and much more. Examples of ready-made documentation are presented on the Internet, very successful – in the portfolio of experienced game designers.

f) We will address the issue of knowledge of the Russian language school curriculum at the stage of creating the game, but you will need literacy and ability to express your thoughts clearly and correctly at the stage of preparing your own application. The idea of the game game designer forms in the concept, at the initial stage is a “concept-dock” with a brief description of the game process.

g) Laconicism, logical sequence, the ability to structure, analyze and still not lose their creative ideas and creativity – this is the cocktail of the qualities of the applicant, which will be appreciated at the design stage of the game.

On the basis of the concept-concept submitted by you, a design document is created, called in the jargon of the developers of “diszodok.” If you feel that you are bogged down in words and explanations, use tables, diagrams and screenshots to demonstrate the clarity of your mental constructs, because at this stage the issue of project financing is being decided.

h) Prepare for a personal interview. You have to work in a team, understand your colleagues with a half-word and clearly communicate your thoughts. So do not assume that you do not need communication skills. Do not be lazy, study on the Internet before the interview all the necessary information and get acquainted with the advice of past interviews of job seekers for various positions

i) Constantly increase your level of knowledge of the theory and practice of game design, reading articles on this topic on all sorts of information portals. Follow the news of the game industry, “be in the subject”.

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