I would like to tell you about a simple game. I want to focus on it more than the other games. And yes, it is a platformer game, and it might come in handy for us to understand this topic.
The game is known as Dex. You have probably played it on the Nintendo Switch Platform. The game is a fantastic platformer game with amazing storytelling. And chances are, you will enjoy it more than a AAA title (not discriminating, of course). Dex is a platformer with a character-driven story set in the cyberpunk world. The question is, why are we speaking about Dex?
As a matter of fact, you can make a game such as this without any external help. You may not need a huge team to develop this game. Many resources might not be included if you are smart with how you design it and make it playable.
Do you need to be a scholar in Computer Science to design the game? Not exactly! However, you will need a few technical skills. Although game writers and a few other positions can be pursued with zero computer programming and software engineering knowledge, you will need a little base to build your solo game design and development career.
Also Read more – Why Is The United States A Qualified Place To Study?
What Is Game Design?
As the title or the job role suggests, a game designer is simply the person who ‘designs’ the game. Designing a game does not always mean putting every piece where it belongs with the help of coding or complex software engineering.
Video game designers practically illustrate and construct and, sometimes, animate the video game environment, characters and levels. Primarily, the game designer’s job is to create the visual aspects of the game or the visual content for the developers to work on.
We might need to learn a little about the developers here, then. Well, video game developers are particularly computer science people, coders, software engineers and hardware professionals, who would work on the technical side of the game to make it playable.
I hope you have understood your job as a video game designer. Now, we need to learn what it would take you to become one. So, let’s read more.
1.Let’s See What Have You Got (Not Mandatory Though)
Many people complete some sort of education in the technical fields. These qualifications can help you to understand game design better. I am not going to be biased on this matter. However, here are a few educational qualifications that may be supportive of your game design career:
- Graphic design or digital illustration
- 2D and 3D animation
- Coding/ Programming
- Software engineering
- Physics
- Maths
If you have a degree in any of these domains, you might get to learn game design faster. However, if you don’t, then we have other ways. Let’s learn about them.
2.Find a Game Design Course
People are making a lot of money playing games. You can do that, too, by making a game and then monetising it. For this, a game design course is an investment that is worth it.
You can get an entire degree course from renowned colleges and universities if you have just finished schooling and know that game design and development is your dream career option.
If you made this a career choice while working in a boring cubicle, you might need to go for a game design course from a private institution. Animation Schools do offer game design and development courses. These are diploma but certificate courses offering you a good end result.
Game design courses can range from affordable to high costs. Besides, you will need your devices, such as a computer and a tablet, to work with complex projects. If you find pursuing a course financially tricky, then you may choose to take out one of the small loans from private lenders. These loans are unsecured, so you do not have to include collateral for them. Again, you can also get this money in a bad credit situation.
3.Decide Whether to Develop Solo or to Get a Job
The question is, game designers are now working solo because of the freelancing reality. I mean, you can get a job as a freelancer from anywhere in the world and can work on individual projects. A great place to start with your game design journey is the Indie Project.
Indie game developers are independent game developers who often work alone or with very few people. If you think that Indie games are not up to the mark, then you need to know more. Consider these games found in mobile platforms and in desktop platforms too:
- Limbo
- Stardew Valley
- Dead Cells
Aren’t you familiar with the names? Maybe you have played them. They are very famous games that are played alongside the AAA-quality games you play on a console or gaming PC. The truth is these games are developed by Independent developers and are, therefore, called an Indie game.
However, you can work with famous game-developing companies. You will need to make your resume and be transparent about your skills, certifications, why you want to work as a game designer, and what kind of projects you look forward to managing.
4. And Decide on What Kind of Games You Want to Design?
Whether or not you choose to work as a solo game designer or as a designer in a reputed company, you will have to be clear about what you want to do.
2D game design is very easy. Although some art forms, such as Pixel Art, might be a little difficult to learn, learning graphic design and basic animation can help you through the process. And the good news is the 2D gaming industry is booming now because of the mobile and handheld platforms. Apart from that, 2D or even easy 3D game environments found in 3D platformers or top-down games have a distinct community in the console and PC gamers community.
3D game design might have a steep learning curve. It is because of various aspects of designing a complete 3D environment.
For example, being an environment artist for a 3D game requires insight, depth of knowledge, and skills.
To Conclude
I hope you have understood from this blog that game design has many aspects. You have to find the route that’s best fitted for you. Do not ignore the education. However, don’t be disheartened thinking game design is complicated. It is not. It is for everybody who wants to be creative. Be that, and you will design a wonderful game.
