VIDEO GAME DESIGNER
Needed education- “You'll need to choose a degree that matches the specific aspect of video game design you want to go into. That means if you’re interested in programming games, you’ll want to look for a computer science/programming degree that focuses on creating interactive programs (generally in C or C++) and interfaces.”
Income- Video game designers can earn a pretty good salary – especially if they’re part of the design team that creates a hit game. However, the salary for video game designers varies greatly depending on which aspect of the video game industry you work in. Writers, artists, programmers and marketing experts all get paid different amounts depending on where they work, what they do, and their past experience. For that reason alone, it’s very hard to say exactly how much you can make as a video game designer, but know that you’ll easily bring in $40,000/year and may make as much as $75,000/year or more a year.
Required Skill set- Good technical knowledge is required, with some programming skills at least at ‘scripting’ level and awareness of the various games platforms and technologies. This is a multi-skilled role, requiring: • thorough understanding of game play theory; • storytelling and narrative development skills; • information design and user interface design skills; • excellent communication and presentation skills; • the ability to work as part of a team and independently; • systematic and strategic thinking; • imagination and creativity; • knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures.
Future of industry- The Bureau of Labor predicts that the growth of software publishing, of which video game design is a part, will expand by 67.9% between 2002 and 2012.
A day in the life at this job-As a video game designer, you'll work for a major game developer like Square-Enix, Blizzard Entertainment or Eidos Interactive, or for one of the many smaller independent firms. These are the companies that do the actual programming of games. They’re different from the publishers – the companies who actually manufacture the video game CDs, market them, and create the CD case inserts. In rare cases, game design firms may have their own publishing department.
Why is it nessesary- because as technology grows the stive for better and newer games go up.