Video Game Designer

Are you an avid gamer? Today’s video game landscape is teeming with all sorts of exciting games of varying genres, and that’s all thanks to the creativity and innovation of video game designers. Naturally, advances in technology have allowed these designers to push the limit of what’s possible to experience while playing video games.

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Personal Connection

Video game designers have a combination of creative and practical skills. Video game design is all about creating an immersive yet operational world that your players can get lost in.

Do you love video games?
Have you ever wanted to design your own video game?
Are you interested in coding and computer programming?
Do you like worldbuilding?
Do you like to write and tell stories?

Other Connections

Video game design is an exciting career to pursue, but there are many similar career paths that may be even more appealing.

Becoming a video game tester and ensuring that quality products are released to game players

Using your coding skills to make your own apps and improve everyday life for people everywhere

Becoming a story-writer and creating fantastical worlds for video games to draw inspiration from

Becoming an animator and using 3D modeling software to execute the game designer’s vision

Working as an illustrator for designers or writers and providing imagery for their imaginary worlds

STEM Connection

Video game design is one of the most rapidly evolving mediums. Here are just a few ways that advancements in technology are changing the video game designer’s profession.

Increased graphics capabilities are blurring the line between animation and live action:

Do you ever revisit video games from your childhood and scoff at the quality of the graphics? That’s because video game animators are tirelessly striving for realism. There is no end to the potential of graphic quality, and sooner or later, even the most experienced gamers may not be able to tell the difference between animated video games and live-action film.

Hyperreality makes for an all new collaborative gaming experience:

You may be familiar with virtual reality (VR) gaming, where you strap on a pair of VR goggles and transport yourself into a 3D gaming dimension. While VR is exciting, it’s a solitary experience. The future of reality-altering gaming is ‘hyper-reality,’ where multiple players can gather and login to the same gaming reality. Some hyperrealists are even theorizing multiple sensory connections, for example, being able to feel or smell objects that you’re interacting within your HR game.

Voice recognition and gesture control are making gaming more interactive than ever:

Gamers are no longer confined to a controller in order to play. Technology is advancing to harness the players' physicality. The natural movements of your body can now be translated to in-game functions. Additionally, entire video games are being developed around voice control, enabling people with physical disabilities to play video games.

Artificial intelligence in video games is getting remarkably intelligent:

One of the most enriching parts of any video game is the interaction with in-game characters (NPCs). Classically, these NPCs have served the simple purpose of moving the player along through the story, but the potential exists to grant NPCs their own agency. This would allow them to respond according to every unique player’s actions. Future gaming AI may be able to have novel interactions, providing a singular gaming experience for each and every player.

Full Immersion could be a precursor to teleportation and alternate reality existence:

Full Immersion is the idea of embedding your consciousness into an artificial body. As it pertains to gaming, your senses, thoughts, and actions would have one-to-one consequences on your in-game character. Additionally, you would be able to see, hear, and feel the game as if you were actually there. Full immersion is a controversial idea that poses more than one ethical debate, especially considering the impact this technology would have outside the realm of video games.

Journeys to Becoming a Video Game Designer

The journey to becoming a video game designer is constantly changing, but there are many ways you can prepare yourself for any future scenario.

Read about one woman’s journey to being a game designer:

Abby Friesen is a video game designer at Filament games. On a daily basis, Abby works on creating game storyboards, balancing gameplay, and writing narratives and dialog for current projects. Abby says that the most important prerequisite for video game design is learning how to clearly communicate in writing, as well as using visuals like charts and graphs. Students seeking to pursue game design would also benefit from taking coding and computer programming courses as early as possible. These courses are often available as early as high school. However, Abby is insistent that you can prepare to be a video game designer as early as you want by designing your own board games or experimenting with game-making softwares like Flash, Unity, Stencyl, and Game Maker. More than anything, Abby stresses the importance of staying creative and enjoying the process of imagining fantasy worlds and writing about them.

Read about one man’s unintentional preparation for an illustrious career in video game design:

John Newcomer originally wanted to be a toy designer working in a think tank. As a kid, he took apart every toy he could get his hands on trying to see how they worked. He was also obsessed with board games. Chessmaster Bobby Fischer inspired John to strategize and learn to use the rules of board games to his advantage. Soon, John had figured out how to win at most games he played. He claims that this mastery of board games helped him develop a sense for AI tendencies and designing video games to be balanced. John finished high school and went on to college where he obtained a BA in industrial and product design. He attributes some success to this background, claiming that his education gave him insight into designing in general. John chooses not to view himself as a ‘game designer’ so much as an ‘entertainment designer’ and managed to prepare himself for a career in video game design before the profession even existed.

Articles, Videos, Podcasts of Interest

Read about what the future holds for video games based on recent gaming trends and technological advancements:

There has been much debate over the ways in which video games affect your brain. New research suggests that playing video games may improve your memory and other brain functions.

Youtube channel Extra Credits has some advice for aspiring video game designers.

Fun Facts

Some nerdy trivia about video game design.

The highest score you can achieve in Pac-man is 3,333,360. Billy Mitchell made this discovery after 6 hours of gameplay in 1999.

Lots of video games have secret extra content called ‘Easter Eggs’ that only the most experienced players can find.

Gaming is one of the fastest growing hobbies in America. In a recent study, 90% of teens reported regularly playing a video game on their phone, computer, or a gaming console.

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