Question for anyone entering or in the game industry...

pdenton on 6/11/2008 at 06:15

Hey guys,

I need your help with something that I've been struggling with for a while now. I'm having a potential change of career, and as a senior in college, it's kinda freaking me out. I'm thinking about trying to get into game design...

I'm sorry if this is long-winded, but I can't get help anywhere else as my parents and friends don't really understand games or, hell, how someone could make a living MAKING them!

I'm a senior at a leading film school in the US, majoring in directing. I love it, but for a long time I've had a nagging suspicion that my long time hobby of gaming is what would make me truly happy. So, I've been teaching myself "theory" of game design, in particular I've been reading: "Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design" among many others (I've got about 10 others, but any recommendations?)

So, I feel that I've got a pretty good grasp on game design theory (for a beginner at least, and I'm continuing my reading). As a film major I feel pretty strongly about my knowledge of visual style and sound work. BUT, I've been on a Mac while at school and cannot begin any physical training with code and mapping, which is what I'm really anxious to get into. But I'll be going home soon for Thanksgiving/Christmas to a PC and will begin then.

What I'm asking is, is it worth it? Do you get enjoyment from the long hours I'm assuming that go into making a level, a model, a GAME? What are your plans to get into the industry? How long did it take you to get comfortable with Hammer and other editors out there? I only ask these questions as a complete outsider looking in, any insight is very much appreciated. Thank you!

Tonamel on 6/11/2008 at 06:43

Quote Posted by pdenton

So, I've been teaching myself "theory" of game design, in particular I've been reading: "Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design" among many others (I've got about 10 others, but any recommendations?)

Raph Koster's "Theory of Fun," if you can find it. More importantly, play games with a critical eye. See if you can identify what works (and why) and what doesn't (also why).

As far as entering the Game Design field, it really depends on what kind of games you want to work on. But overall, I'd say that you need to pick an aspect of game design and focus on that. Team up with other people who do the other stuff. I can only think of one designer that has had anything approaching success doing everything himself (Jonathan Boakes).

The smallest recommended team is two people: an artist and a programmer. See also: 2d Boy.

The team I'm working with now is four people: Writer, programmer, designer (hi!)., and artist.

As far as getting comfortable with tools: If you really want to do it, then do it. Don't worry about how long it takes. If you're passionate, it'll come quickly enough.

pdenton on 6/11/2008 at 06:46

Quote Posted by Tonamel

Raph Koster's "Theory of Fun," if you can find it. More importantly, play games with a critical eye.

...

The team I'm working with now is four people: Writer, programmer, designer (hi!)., and artist.
.

Theory of Fun is next on my list actually...awesome.

I'm really into writing, and I'm working on the high concept document for a game with a friend of mine right now. Everything I've read says that even if you don't want to make a living programming you should at least dabble in it...Thanks for your feedback!

TheOutrider on 6/11/2008 at 08:19

Designers don't necessarily need to be able to program (depending on the team structure), but at the very least having programming knowledge means that you know what can be done and what can't, or what would be too much work to implement. This will help with getting games that are actually what you tried to design as well as communicate your design ideas to the developers. You likely don't need to be able to write the game yourself, but having a reasonable foundation in how programming languages work is definitely helpful.

The same, of course, holds true for game editors, although those are less relevant since their feature sets are usually quite specific to the engine they're for, and when you've got your own engine there's not much need for that. Still, again - knowing the editor means you know what the engine can and can't do.

However: even if you think that an idea is too much work or the engine can't do it, don't be afraid to bounce it off the developers. They know their tools better than you do, and might just come up with clever ways of doing things that suddenly make the idea feasible.

henke on 6/11/2008 at 11:10

Quote Posted by pdenton

What I'm asking is, is it worth it? Do you get enjoyment from the long hours I'm assuming that go into making a level, a model, a GAME?

Until you can answer this question yourself, you'll never know if you wanna do this stuff for a living.

I don't work in the games industry but our industries are close enough that I'll give my answer anyway. I work at a 3D animation studio, making commercials and assembly instruction-videos. I do mostly animation(which I love, especially character animation) but a bit of modeling and texturing as well(it's alright). Before this job I had been animating in Flash videos for years so I knew I loved doing this stuff, and I still do. However, pretty much all ambition to do my own projects, on the side, has vanished. When you work with something from 8 to 4 every day, even if it's something you love, it's really hard to get excited about it after-hours.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Game Designer is the most attractive job in the games industry, everyone has their own idea for a game they wanna do. You'll have to start with level design, programming or modeling and work your way up.

io organic industrialism on 6/11/2008 at 16:17

Chris Bateman has some incredibly interesting articles on his blog (http://onlyagame.typepad.com/) "Only a game"

There's plenty about game design, the different types of gamers (and what motivates them) (p.s., these are the articles I find most fascinating), game narrative, and more. And then a bunch of stuff about philosophy too :D

Mortal Monkey on 12/11/2008 at 09:50

I'm on the second year of a Bachelor course in Game- and media programming. These are the subjects we've covered so far:

* Programming (Java, C++ with OpenGL)
* Media (briefly about website design, Flash, audio and video)
* Software engineering (UML and development models)
* Maths
* Algorithms
* Databases
* Game design (including a workshop with Earnest Adams)
* Optional subjects: AI and 3D modelling

If you want, I can get you the literature list for this course.

As mentioned, there are quite a few positions within game development. Artists, musicians and visionaries are all necessary to make a good game. But you cannot make a game without a programmer. So what I'd recommend is that you learn at least a little bit of programming, so that you can tinker with your own games and find out what's actually fun to play.

As for wether or not the long hours that go into making a game are worth it? Yes, I'd say so.

Ulukai on 12/11/2008 at 11:49

I used to get huge enjoyment from level design, and would put every available hour in the day into it on many occasions. But from a practical point of view, I still feel that many game industry people are both exploited and underpaid, which put me off doing it commercially. Not trying to put you off - just look hard before you leap :-)

AR Master on 12/11/2008 at 12:09

tighten up the graphics on level 3

pdenton on 12/11/2008 at 18:51

Quote Posted by Mortal Monkey

If you want, I can get you the literature list for this course.

That'd be great man, I'm trying to read any and everything I can get my hands on. Thanks so much!