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What is a video game designer? In today’s culture, video games have become integrated tightly. Do you know anybody who has never played one? You may know a lot about games, but you may not know much about the people who actually make them. Game designers are important pieces to that puzzle. You will find designers in almost every gaming company since they make up such an integral cog in the machine. They perform the initial structuring of the game content. Indeed, game designers come up with the story, the layout, the concept, and the gameplay mechanics for a game before any code has been written. Within different companies, you might find game design as a job to be very broad. There are lead designers, level designers, and assistant designers among other jobs.
Education and Experience Required
Like many professions, game design requires a certain amount of education. Certainly, experience is the best teacher. You need to be an avid lover of games, and you need to have a feel for what makes a game fun. You may not be able to learn this with a formal education program, but there are schools to help you. Acquiring a college degree can be one step toward landing a job. In school, you learn the principles of computer graphics, history, level design, and many other factors in the gaming world. Once you get a job, you learn to develop the critical thinking skills and discipline you need to see a game to completion.
How much does a Video Game Designer make?
Salaries vary for game designers depending on the responsibility. A lead game designer is probably going to be more experience and educated than a level designer. As a consequence, he or she commands more responsibility for the project in addition to a higher pay. At the entry-level, game designers make around 40,000 dollars per year on average. The more important you are, the higher the salary you command. More experienced game designers can gain more than 90,000 dollars a year. Regionally, this will vary. California has a higher cost of living and a requisite higher salary than other regions.
Future Prospects for Video Game Designers
The video gaming industry continues to grow at a fast pace. Innovations in the way we play have led to dramatic changes in gameplay. As a result, job growth is also moving forward quickly. As the gamer generation ages, they are unlikely to completely stop playing. So there should be continued growth in the years to come in all jobs within the video gaming industry. The job also cannot be outsourced or automated, so your job security should be high. Careers in software development as a whole are expected to increase by 30 percent through 2018. It is one of the fastest-growing industries. If you pick a good region to live, you should be able to find ample opportunities in game design.
So you now know that the answer to the question “What is a video game designer?” is multifaceted and complex; they operate under many names and function, but their goal overall is to make the best game possible.