Often, game designers are gamers themselves, with their time spent playing games helping them understand what makes them fun and interesting. Working as a video game designer when you’re a passionate gamer allows you to use your knowledge to create the kind of games players want to play, which can improve your career prospects. Video game designers work at different stages of the video game development process. These designers can be part of brainstorming sessions to come up with new game ideas that appeal to a wide audience. They may then be responsible for outlining the game concept in a storyboard to document the player experience. This storyboard can become a tool to help plan the project in the various tasks required to develop the game.
They can also collaborate with others on the game project to ensure a successful launch and a fun gaming experience. Game designers are responsible for creating the interface of games, which requires imagination and the ability to translate ideas into images.
If you’re considering becoming a game designer and want to increase your average salary, a bachelor’s or master’s degree can help you increase your salary potential. In fact, employees with a bachelor’s degree can expect to earn $24,000 a year compared to those with a high school diploma. If games are your passion and you dream of turning that passion into a career, it’s vital to know if a future as a video game designer or video game developer is the right choice for you. Without the programmer, those fancy models and well-thought-out concepts wouldn’t do anything.
Another area where independent game development can provide an advantage to an aspiring video game designer is the ability to work part-time while having a full-time job. For example, an independent video game designer might work on your designs in the evenings or on weekends. This allows him to maintain a steady stream of income from his full-time job, while pursuing his passion for video game design. From programming to texture painting, your work doesn’t have to be strictly visual.
Usually, a bachelor’s degree in computer science isn’t required, but it can be helpful if you miss out on other experience. These professionals not only make games, but they also design the future of the gaming experience. Game arts programs such as CCA provide high-level training in the artistic, technical, and conceptual tools of professional game development. They prepare students to build their own unique creative how to become a concept artist practices as game designers and to stay ahead in the field of playing arts as it develops in the years and decades to come. Video game designers create rich and exciting worlds that allow us to enjoy our imagination and immerse ourselves in an alternate reality. If you play video games, you’ve probably thought about making it a career, but you should know that there are many dimensions to this profession.
As with many technical and IT careers, the salary opportunities for video game designers are really great. On average, a video game designer’s salary can be around $72,520 per year, according to the BLS in 2018. Of course, the exact salary depends on the location, the role, your experience and the employer. Hourly expectations during the game development process can be extensive, especially at the end of the process when you’re trying to reach a specific release date. This can mean requests from designers, programmers, and other people working on a game to expand their working hours or work weekends to achieve goals, a process known as crunch within the video game industry.