Hi, my name is Zac, I'm 16 ,live in australia and want to be a game designer someday. But what I want to know from you guys is, am I taking the right precautions? I really want to be a designer (lead, level,combat, anything with the word designer in it.) and not a programmer or artist. I'm taking IT and multimedia classes, but as for now I don't have much art or programming knowledge. I've created some content with level editors and some of those interface based game creators that require no programming knowledge. Alot of that though has been with RPG maker vx, in which I've been using for the past 3/4 year and have so far had 3 failed projects. The first was the victim of incompatable scripts and bugs, my computer died and I lost all the files to my second project and I just outright quit on the 3rd one (which I know was wrong, and that you should never do that). I've also been researching schools that offer a degree and have been looking up websites with info on how to get into the industry (although most have not sugar coated it and dampened my spirits a little bit). Anyway, am I doing the right things? Am I doing the wrong things? Do I need to do more? P.S I'm new to this site

Zac, you wrote:
> I'm taking IT and multimedia classes
> I've created some content with level editors and some of those interface based game creators
> I've also been researching schools that offer a degree
> and have been looking up websites with info on how to get into the industry (although most have not sugar coated it and dampened my spirits a little bit).
>Anyway, am I doing the right things?

Yes, sure.

>Am I doing the wrong things?

How could any of those things be wrong?

>Do I need to do more?

Of course you do! You didn't really expect us to say "no, that's enough, you can stop now," did you? Surely you already knew that you need to keep on doing that kind of thing.

I suppose mine is one of those sites that didn't sugar coat the info. Do you think it would be better if I sugar coated the info on my site?

Re the schools you're researching. You say you're researching schools that offer a degree. That's a lot better than schools that don't offer a degree, but just out of curiosity, what degree are you interested in?

I wrote a lot about how to choose the best degree for you. Articles 3, 14, 34, 40, and 44 are all important ones for your question. Sorry they're not sugar coated, but they are chock full of nutritional information.

As for more right things you could be doing, you might want to read my articles 12, 24, and 27.

Quote:
>Do I need to do more?

Of course you do! You didn't really expect us to say "no, that's enough, you can stop now," did you? Surely you already knew that you need to keep on doing that kind of thing.

That's some of the best advice you can be given in my experience, so keep on working.

As for the course search(I'm also looking), I've come across this one:

http://www.deakin.edu.au/future-students/courses/course.php?course=S333&stutype=local&keywords=game

It looks like what you are after and *could* give a well rounded look at things but I can't really say that without experience in it. In Aus you'd be hard pressed to find a course that sticks strictly to design and is worth your time. I prefer to be able to make my way into the industry on multiple paths (programming, arts ect) and end up in design.

Anyway I'm impressed that your working hard at it and I wish you luck. Happy hunting.

Well I want a course and degree more suited toward narrative and actual game design(I want to take a more kojima aproach to games design)

But I just looked it up now and I found a course suited to this that also branches into art and programming at the Royal Melbourne institue of technology(RMIT) and melbourne is 3 hours away from where I live, and the only requirement is year 12 english.

Quote: Well I want a course and degree more suited toward narrative and actual game design(I want to take a more kojima aproach to games design)

I think what you just said summarizes what alot of aspiring game designers are thinking. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but it just feels like alot of people are basically thinking 'If I learn how to write a game design document, I'll be hired as the next superfamous gamedesigner in a famous team!!'
No. That's not how it works. You need to have a marketable skill besides an idea, even if you can actually turn that idea into a game design document. Noone's gonna hire you based on a game design document.
What is likely gonna happen is that to become a game designer you're going to have to work your way up from the beginning. Whether that'll be as some kind of intern, a tester, programmer or modeller is kind of irrelevant.
The closest thing you'll get to a game designer starting out is probably working as a [script]writing [intern]. But if you're interested in writing for games, you should probably focus just as much on actually writing stuff as designing games. Like, pursuing a degree in English or something, perhaps in addition to your gamedesign degree.

at MatsVed

I don't want to sound like I'm ungrateful for your advice or anything, but I
realise that I won't be hired on the spot upon graduating, and will have to do some sucky job for a while or be an intern.

What I meant by the kojima thing is I like his cinematic style of design and that If I do get far enough in the industry, I would like to adopt my own version of the unique style he has built.

But I also want to make my games inovative and fresh and try to meld genres together, so we are not just getting a bunch well designed, yet stale shooters overhyped and rehashed year after year!(I'm talking to you Call of duty Modern warfare 2,halo,Gears of War)

So, thats why I want to study that course.

Quote: Original post by ZacTheImpailer
But I also want to make my games inovative and fresh and try to meld genres together, so we are not just getting a bunch well designed, yet stale shooters overhyped and rehashed year after year!(I'm talking to you Call of duty Modern warfare 2,halo,Gears of War)

So, thats why I want to study that course.

The problem is that it's not missing ideas which keep innovative games from being released, but risk for the publisher. If you have a great new (aka "unproven") idea, no one will know how well it sales. Everyone knows how well the next FPS sequel will sell. That's why MatsVed tells you ideas aren't everything and you actually need some skills apart from that.
I also think you misunderstand the work a game designer has to do a little. You're not just writing the game document, you also have to interact with programmers and artists, which makes it very important to actually know what these guys are doing and how. You'll also be asked to do prototypes yourself or script (in the programming sense) for the game.

At Eskapade:

I realise the reason why FPS's sell is because they are familiar,and easiably marketable to a targeted audiance, what I meant by the inovation thing, is that I would that my goal is to get to hopefully get to a point in my carrer that I would have tremendous skills to be trusted to make a good product based around an original idea ( like tim schafer, poor tim schafer)

Man,commercialism robs the world.


Anyway, I realise that designing a game is more than writing and coming up with ideas, I realise you have to work with the programmers and artists (without that the game wouldn't exist) as well as pulling your own weight do some art and programming on the side, the job would be stupid if it was just ideas and writing a boring document all day. I mean thats one of the sole reasons I'm taking multimedia and IT classes, because I want those skills because I will need them.


Btw, would it be viable to like join a small dev that creates small downloadable games (like the ones on PSN, Xbox live, Wii Ware)
and not be tied down to a major publisher?

Quote: Original post by ZacTheImpailer
Btw, would it be viable to like join a small dev that creates small downloadable games (like the ones on PSN, Xbox live, Wii Ware) and not be tied down to a major publisher?

The sticky parts of that question are the word "viable" and the phrase "tied down." Of course one can work at a small development company doing small downloadable games. And of course it's feasible to work at a company that isn't owned by a big publisher.
But the realities of the industry, the foibles of publishers, are unavoidable if one is working in games.
Look, you can't have it both ways. If you work in games, these things are going to be factors. You simply can't go through life saying "I want this thing, but I don't want the consequences of this thing." All choices come with consequences. When you make the choice, you choose to get all the baggage that comes with it.
You can work to change the industry, but you can only do that from the inside.

Quote: Original post by ZacTheImpailer
Btw, would it be viable to like join a small dev that creates small downloadable games (like the ones on PSN, Xbox live, Wii Ware)
and not be tied down to a major publisher?

The problem with those is it costs a serious chunk of change to have a chance at getting a game on downloadable sections of consoles. So those games tend to stay pretty "commericalized". To be "unique" you will probably have to stick with indie PC games where there is nearly zero barrier to entry. Sorry to say but today games are big business. Its more about the bottom line then trying to push boundaries.

Really you need to pick up some basic programming and art skills and learn a tool like Unity and create playable prototypes of your games. Most game designers are former programmers and artists that got promoted. Its not to common to be an outsider and get hired as a game designer. So you are going to need some proof that your designs are fun. And fun is hard to gauage just from a design document. Especially if your games deviate from the usual stuff.