Are you interested in creating and developing game platforms based on your brand? If you are in this case, then becoming a video game designer will suit your interests and abilities best.
So, how to become a video game designer? Why should you do that? If this question is giving you a hard time, now we’ll give you the answers in no time!
What Is a Video Game Designer?
A video game designer will be responsible for platform issues, game development, and user experience synthesis. Depending on the company, the number of fields in charge of a designer varies.
Large studios require these industrial designers to design small stages for their games. Meanwhile, small companies require them to be cross-functional, such as art directors, concept artists, and senior designers.
A game designer’s job is integral to developing the plot, dialogue, and characters.
In addition, they contribute to creating the layout and working model of the project so that all product elements will work in harmony.
A video game will include many types that designers can create after work, such as online, console, computer, or mobile games.
They determine what levels the game’s difficulty encapsulates and what obstacles the player will have to overcome to win. Sometimes, they also have to work with sound engineers to check if the sound is right for their project.
Why Should I Become a Game Designer?
There is no denying that this profession gives you dozens of benefits that you will not expect. To have a more comprehensive view, we have compiled four great benefits below for you.
Scroll down to discover what you can achieve with this profession!
Skills
On the way to becoming a video game designer, you will undergo skill training in both knowledge and qualities that a real designer needs.
In terms of knowledge, you can get all the theoretical requirements through receiving formal training. Plus, you’ll develop the ability to practice side-by-side to make the most of what you’ve learned.
In terms of quality, we believe that you will have a lot of good qualities that will help your career and your life.
Successfully pursuing this profession requires you to go through countless hardships. Along the way, you will fall, and what you need is to know to keep trying, accept failure, quickly get up, and find another way to overcome it.
A multi-disciplinary environment will help you practice teamwork and develop skills in related fields. That’s why we conclude that a video game career will give you various more useful skills than you think!
Working Environment
We want to say that if you choose to become a designer in this industry, you will certainly not be disappointed with your professional working environment.
Why is it said that the working environment of this industry is extremely professional? It is because its best job opportunities are always concentrated in the busiest locations in the world.
Some of the locations that we consider the most in-demand for this position include California, Georgia, Tokyo, Texas, and the District of Columbia.
Typically, a person pursuing this career will work in studios or corporate/office environments. Trust us, the environment related to electronic fields will always satisfy you with modernity and innovation!
In the process of creativity and development and completion of the product, they will have the opportunity to collaborate with programmers, designers, sound engineers, and many other related careers. The diverse environment will make you have more interesting information and expand your circle of friends.
Salary
If you are interested in whether this profession has the ideal recruitment opportunities and salaries, the answer is a big “Yes”.
As long as you have enough excellence and effort, you will receive extremely good treatment from your employer.
According to statistics, the recruitment demand in this industry has increased at a remarkable speed and quantity.
In the US alone, the proportion of designers in this industry since 2019 has always increased by 5.3% compared to the previous year.
According to this development momentum, recruitment demand from now to 2029 is expected to increase by about 32,090 jobs. That is such an extremely impressive number, right!
In addition to the ideal employment needs, the salary of this profession will also make you more satisfied than expected.
Specifically, a US video game designer will receive a salary ranging from $21,410 to $576,760 per year. A game designer will receive 103,920 per year for his labor in terms of average salary.
Spiritual Benefits
There is nothing happier than being able to pursue a job that you have loved for so long, right!
Therefore, if you are interested in this job, working with it can bring you huge spiritual benefits.
Video games are industries related to graphics and art. It requires you to work with creating a colorful project instead of having to deal with dozens of dry numbers like other technology developers have to do.
So, we think it will make you study deeper and more dedicated to completing it. And once the project is complete, you will also be the first to test your work.
After being announced to the market, a video game will receive great attention from game lovers worldwide. Watching the number of players grow is also a refreshing feeling that you can enjoy as a mental benefit.
How To Become a Video Game Designer
Practically speaking, becoming a video game designer is never an easy process. The road to this destination is always full of thorns, which only those can overcome with enough effort and excellence.
To work as a video game designer, you need to go through the six steps that we have compiled. Let’s start gaining knowledge to have a direction for your future!
1. Get A Degree
The era of rapid development of video game technology also means that competition between brands is greater than ever.
Although this profession does not require you to receive formal university training, it will certainly make your application more credible.
In addition, the recruitment criteria of companies also have different strictness.
Some companies also only hire employees because they graduate from a university or college with a bachelor’s degree in art-related disciplines, computer programming. While others only require you to graduate from high school to progress to the interview round.
Either way, we think a degree will give you a good start in pursuing this career.
What employers need from you is specialized knowledge and hands-on experience with computer science, graphic design, etc. You’ll learn all of this with formal training and a bachelor’s degree as proof of your knowledge.
But if this education isn’t for you, you can also enroll in external courses and complete game design programs to improve your skills and knowledge.
2. Decide Your Career Path
Video games consist of countless subfields within them. So, you need to choose the major you want to pursue and focus on developing the skills related to it.
For example, you might be interested in taking care of the details of the game’s background and surrounding landscape.
Or you will choose the game’s original interface because it is simple and does not require too much pressure and advanced knowledge. If you want to maximize your talent in the future, you can also choose to study further.
So right now, it’s best to start participating in graphic design or computer programming programs whenever you get the chance. In addition, high SAT and ACT scores will also give you certain advantages when pursuing this industry.
3. Get Experience
After we have built an orientation for ourselves, now is the time to start cultivating experiences to realize our dreams.
It would help if you always kept in mind that the video game industry is always filled with product quality and deadlines pressures. Therefore, once you do not meet these conditions, you will fail.
But if you have a deep understanding of these issues and responsibilities, you will score points in the eyes of the employer.
So, what do you need to do to get as much experience as possible?
After graduating, you need to start an internship or immediately work for a game company. To make it easier to get started, we recommend applying for a junior designer position.
You can choose environments related to video game design to work in. The best options worth your consideration include software developers, animators, and graphic designers.
If you want a more authentic and leisurely experience, you can volunteer for nonprofits and develop your mini-games.
4. Expand Your Skill Set
During accumulating experience, you cannot ignore developing a whole set of skills for yourself – both in terms of expertise and qualities!
Employers always expect candidates to have the necessary qualities of a video game designer.
During the working process, candidates need to have attention to detail, be creative, have quick processing skills, and communicate well with people around.
Besides, being fluent in programming languages, game production processes, design software, scripting languages, and game engines will also give employers a different view of you.
That is the reason why your CV should appear “Skills”. Here, present all the skills you have accumulated during your career in this industry.
Once the portfolios of your resume contain these parts, it becomes much more attractive and prestigious in the eyes of the reader.
5. Search For Positions
Having skillsets is one thing, but being agile in your job search will increase your chances of finding the right field.
A website is a great platform to promote your profile. So, don’t be afraid to create your website to present your resume and showcase all of your achievements there.
Many companies tend to look for freelancers for long-term cooperation. Then skillfully marketing your talent will be the key to your success.
If your friendships go beyond that, now is the time to take advantage of them! Please pay close attention to them so that you will be one of the first to apply for a job when a job opportunity appears.
6. Design Your Game
After you have fully prepared in terms of skills and knowledge, develop your own game to demonstrate your ability.
This process will take some time for you, but it will pay off for you in all respects.
Once employers find out that your project is well-invested, they will prioritize you over other candidates.
If this step makes you not know where to start, you can join design and video game associations. This way, you will connect with other individuals and get a lot of valuable material to refer to your product.
These organizations also offer a lot of helpful seminars and lectures where you can further develop different aspects of development and design.
The great thing is that some organizations even offer professional certifications to their elite members, and you can take advantage of this.
Once you have your product, add this to your portfolio. Some things you can refer to and add to your resume include:
- Game intro video
- Game screenshots
- Link to download
- Link to demo
- back-end programming
FAQs
Is Video Game Designer A Good Career?
Sure! It is a great career for those interested in technology project design with an attractive salary! It covers just a few points worth considering below:
Most people in this industry work alone as freelancers before being accepted into companies and studios. Therefore, you need to pay special attention to how to make your resume competitive enough to work as a full-time employee.
In the process of working, designers always have to ensure project progress and often have to work overtime to meet deadlines. Consider this again if you can’t stand the pressure and give up easily.
How Hard Is It To Become A Video Game Designer?
The difficulty of this career is always accompanied by the need to create and develop projects to suit the tastes of society.
Therefore, you need to know how to evaluate the actual game market, seize opportunities, and widely promote your products to the public.
How Many Years Does It Take To Become A Game Designer?
Normally, it only takes about four years of formal university training to develop theoretical and practical knowledge. Once you get your bachelor’s degree, you can already work as a video game designer.
Some elite designers can shorten this time by participating in Boot Camp programs or self-study.
Final Thoughts
Becoming a video game designer is an arduous process. But once you put in the effort and pursue success, the benefits it brings to you will be more than what you spent!
Through this article, we think that the question “how to become a video game designer” is no longer an issue that you need to ask. Let’s start cultivating knowledge now to be able to reach the finish line as quickly as possible!
Finally, we wish you success on the path you have chosen!