Hello there! I am sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but I would really like an answer. Firstly, let me explain myself I would love to become a Game Designer. I have so many ideas for stories, gameplay ideas, scenario's, direction and so on. It is my goal, my passion! And yes, it is probably one of the hardest jobs to obtain. Currently, I am at college in year 1 of a 2 year Multimedia Course. I hope to leave College and go on to University to study further. I have seen courses at several universities that offer actual game design. Drawing up diagrams, writing scenario's, writing for the game and so on. They are very appealing and I may consider applying after further research. Though my many years of study, I have found that it is Impossible for me to program. I have tried, struggled and even tried to teach myself in my spare time. But nothing seems to slip through. I spent my summer of '06 trying to learn basic VB and it just would not go in. I understand that Programming is not nessesary, but it is a skill that is favored highly. Here is my question. Obviously, obtaining the position will be hard out of the box, and the best way would to get my foot in the door in a more common position first before trying for designer. But how can I put forward to the employer that I can do so much? Sure, I may not have all the degree's and peices of paper to say that I have lost 3 years of my life to this proffessor, but how can I show them that I can do all the things I want to do (Direction, Writing, ect)? Thanks! --=Leo=--

no offense, but everyone is brimming with ideas for stories, game play ideas etc. how can you be sure yours are good? or will sell?

Hi Leo, you wrote:

>I would love to become a Game Designer.
>I understand that Programming is not nessesary, but it is a skill that is favored highly.

What is the reason why you wrote that sentence? It's not necessary (note correct spelling of the word) to be a beautiful female, but that is an attribute that is "favored highly" - so what? Why did you write that sentence about the "highly favored" skill that you do not have and say that it's unlikely you can have? What does that have to do with anything??

>Obviously, obtaining the position will be hard out of the box, and the best way would to get my foot in the door in a more common position first before trying for designer.

Excellent! You have been doing some reading on the matter, and you get the picture.

>But how can I put forward to the employer that I can do so much? Sure, I may not have all the degree's [meaningless whiny phrase deleted] but how can I show them that I can do all the things I want to do (Direction, Writing, ect)?

The way to prove that you can write excellently is to just do it. Write excellently. Spell the word "necessary" correctly. Spell the word "etc." correctly. Use apostrophes (or omit them) correctly (for example, never use an apostrophe again when pluralizing the word "degree").

The way to prove that you have other abilities in the arena of design is by patiently doing an excellent job, by patiently offering up the right tidbit at just the right time, by volunteering to do the things that need to be done, and by being the brilliant person you are - with patience and perseverance, over an extended period of time.

And while you're mulling that over, get a 4-year degree (not just a 2-year degree).

Hi Tom!

Thanks for the advice.

First, sorry about my spelling. I was tired and it was 12:30am here.

Secondly, Yes! I will try and write more. It's just getting the ideas which is the problem. That, and I feel more comfortable writing in the style of a screenplay rather than a Book. It's easier and I can focus more on dialog, which does help move along a good game story.

But then again, there are other skills I want to try. Media Direction and so forth. How can I show them that?

Thanks again!

--=Leo=--

> Media Direction.

Have you tried making storyboards? Have you tried playing around inside of a 3d package and blocking out some camera shots?

> I feel more comfortable writing in the style of a screenplay rather than a Book. It's easier and I can focus more on dialog, which does help move along a good game story.

Then write dialog. Designers that do everything doesn't happen at the majority of companies. If you would like to be a writer then write. I know that when my company was looking to hire some writers we put an ad out on our website and Gamasutra. Writers submitted writing samples and we reviewed them. That is what you have to do.

No matter what angle of approach you want to take to game design, you need to create some sort of portfolio. Not all designers have a programming background. Some work their way up through a QA department (which happens a lot at some of the bigger studios), some have an art background, some are writers, etc. The biggest thing you need to do is make games. This simple concept seems to escape a lot of aspiring game designers for some reason. Game designers DESIGN GAMES. How can your ability to design games be judged if you haven't made any games?

Hi Leo, you wrote:
>I will try and write more. It's just getting the ideas which is the problem.

If getting ideas is a problem, maybe you're not cut out to be a game designer. But let's gloss over that and consider what you could write about:
- Reinterpret some classic myths and tales, in different settings. Olympian gods in feudal Japan. Hamlet in Transylvania during WWII. Gilgamesh in the American Civil War.
Just give the characters new dialogue, as if the situation is a video game (the player must choose which response to give, resulting in branching situationality).
As an example of one way you could go.

>I feel more comfortable writing in the style of a screenplay rather than a Book. It's easier ...

Maybe you should stop looking for the path of least resistance. Maybe you should challenge yourself to write prose rather than screenplay style, in order to broaden your range. And of course when you get to the university, if what you love is dialog, then why not major in writing?

Hi again!

Yes, I can see that here i have been talking alot about degree's and majors I can do in order to fufill my dream. But I would like to let everyone know that I am 100% committed to the game and not just the fancy bis around the edges.

Story and Direction have been my top concern because I don't want my personal project to end up like Dark Sector. While visually pleasing, the game had no real story and an unhealthy emphasis on the fighting. I really did not enjoy it one bit. Each room was another fight. Thats all you did!

It really felt unfinished.

For my design, I am looking more toward JRPG and Western Action. While most recent games have focused on the Gears Of War/ Resi 4 design, there has really not been any significant development to make something new. Understandably, costs and funding are a big issue and there may be deadlines that have to be met. Thats understandable, you gotta make a good game for xmas so you can get enough money in to pay off the last bill on that nice Volkswagen Rabbit you got back in August!

For my design, I am focusing on an extensive yet minimal weapon combat system.

---

Lets say you get a sword. Each attack the sword can do is assigned to a button on the controller. For example: Triangle does an upward slash, Square does a Charging Strike, Circle is a simple strike and Cross is a downward swing. This will let players fight quickly and without having to remember long button combo's. The best thing is that all these attacks can be chained up. While the computer is doing the animation for the Circle Button attack, you can press anther button and the animation will blend into that and make it seem as if it is just following onto the next move. A list of the attacks that are still to be carried out by the game will be displayed along the bottom of the screen as you do this. So, you can keep pressing buttons and it will be recorded along the screen in a sort of stack. Meaning, while the game carries this out, your free to move your character and duck, dodge, jump and so on to evade fire, so your not a sitting duck.

Alot of you will say that this will limit what players do with a weapon. Well, there are other attacks the weapons can perform. When you start to build a stack of attacks, the player can rapidly press a button assigned to a weapon attack. Doing this will cycle through another set of attacks (up to 4) for that button, providing the player with more options to kick nice firm ass.

To recap:
Attacks are assigned to a button on the game pad.
Reduces effort when fighting.
Attacks can be 'Stacked' up so the player can continue moving about without having to press buttons.
More attacks can be performed by rapid tapping.

---

So yes, I am all about the design as well as story. Just, I feel i agree with Suda51 and consider games to be more of a medium than most. And effort should be put into the art, story and the design.

What do you think?

--=Leo=--

Sorry Tom! Let me re-phrase what I last said.

When I say i like writing screenplays because of their ease. I'm thinking more about other people than myself. If i don't end up making games, i'll probably make a Movie. Movies are quite awesome in the sense that you can immerse yourself in this world like you would a book. And if you write as a screenplay, you can have all these people come in and play the part in their own way. If they did it from a book, then the actors would emulate the book character, and that is something I feel uncomfortable with.

I'm not saying I'm a slacker and cannot write a book. Just I feel my ideas would not be suited for a book. I would love to..and have tried. But i personally feel that it would not work at this moment in time. I just feel it's better expressed visually.

---

When I said that getting idea's is that Hard part, i'm referring to myself. In my work, there are so many changes and new games coming out, there is more demand for originality. I spend alot of time looking at what can be considered original, because I want to deviate from the norm. But Technology is a cruel mistress and it can limit what you want to do. So, i turn over the page and start anew. Or, I remove a few paragraphs and go from there.

Also, I have mild Aspergers Syndrome and some things take a little time for me. Sorry, but maybe I should have mentioned that before. I've just never (personally) seen my disability having an impact that much.

--=Leo=--

Hi Leo.

I too wish to one day hold a game design position. Unfortunately for individuals such as ourselves the position requires skills which are difficult to gauge. In addition to this, everyone in the industry has their own ideas for successful games, ideas which may or may not be correct. This makes it difficult for both potential employee and employer.

While I am not, as yet, in a game design position within a commercial studio, I am currently in a lead design position on two independent projects. Whilst this is obviously not yet an ideal position, it's definitely a route I can whole-heartedly recommend. Most game design positions will require experience, and released titles with a design credit. Independent development is the best way to do this if you lack the experience for the position you want, and do not yet possess the technical skills for one of the various related positions.

When considering an independent project you have to be careful, however. I strongly recommend you join someone else's project before attempting to lead or co-lead your own. It will help you get an idea of what project leadership and design leadership will require of you. In independent game development those positions are very much linked, if not combined.

The first project I joined failed quite miserably. The team was highly capable, most certainly, but the leadership and organisation were poor. There was no team charter, no work contract and no real design document. The design itself shifted rapidly. The second project I joined was revealed, by myself, as a fraud. It resulted in a lot of intellectual property being stolen. Whilst this may paint a horrible picture of what it's like to develop games, these experiences were actually most beneficial. I believe I now have a strong grasp of the holes into which teams most commonly fall. When choosing a project, before anything else, look at its structure, organisation and activity.

Regarding the skills you may wish to develop to gain a game design position in an independent or established game studio, there are a number of things to consider. The most important skill you can possibly possess as a designer is the ability to write in a number of styles and formats with a high degree of competency.

As a designer you will need to be able to write concisely, unambiguously and descriptively for intra-team communication documents. These include the design document, architectural specifications, art direction, etcetera. Which of these you will need to produce depends on the structure of the team.

Similarly you will need to be able to write emotively, expressively and eloquently when writing narrative, concept documents and in-game textual elements. While in some cases these tasks are given to writers the majority of studios delegate these tasks to the design team.

Other soft skills to consider include the ability to work in a team and to resolve conflicts between individuals with different ideas and personalities. While technically these tasks are assigned to project leaders and producers, lead design roles will also need to do so.

To provide evidence for these skills, the best way is, again, to work on independent game projects. For attaining a position within an independent studio they will mostly consider your commitment to the team and your ability to work to deadlines. If you have no portfolio you still have a decent chance to get the position. Failing that, however, you can produce examples of your writing, designs, artwork and diagrams. All these will demonstrate your design skill-set.

Other routes to a game design position include working as a level designer. While this position is far less glamorous, it allows for some design initiative, creativity and artistic development. It will allow you to demonstrate you have an idea of what constitutes fun game-play, how things balance and what players look for in a good game.

The best way to prepare for this position is to get your hands on a game SDK, such as Valve's Source SDK toolkit or UnrealEdit and just make some levels. You can add these levels to your portfolio. If you do so, I recommend you submit them for online review at game fan sites. These reviews, if positive, will enhance the prestige of your work. If they're negative, ask for advice on improvement. Other important skills you may demonstrate are scripting ability and 3D design.

I hope I've been some help.