I start to create games since I was very young, but until now I never consider to do that like for hobby/work. Do you have any suggestions for start that activity?
Any suggestions for became a game desiner?
Mon, 10/20/2008 - 08:09
Mon, 10/20/2008 - 09:26
#1
A few strong suggestions
A few strong suggestions:
a) Read this forum archive (link on top left corner). There are lots of interesting forum threads and wiki pages there. LOTS.
b) Enter the monthly GDS. It is an in-site friendly contest we held every month. no need to produce completed designs, but you'll have to flesh your ideas up enough to give an idea of how the game would play. It is a great exercise to improve your game design skills.
c) Start small. Designing a simple game is hard enough. Trying to design a huge, complex game when you are not an experienced designer will probably be too hard a task.
d) Most important of all: enjoy the experience. It's really unlikely that you (or any of us) will make a living from game design. So you better look at game design as a source of intellectual (an maybe aesthetic) joy. IF you manage to publish a design and earn some cash in the process, it might be a plus. But becoming a game designer for purely economic reasons would not be too clever.
Mon, 10/20/2008 - 09:34
#2
Any suggestions for became a game desiner?
You have come here so that’s a good place to start. Here are some of the many things to do to become a professional game designer.
• Read everything you can find on the subject: Online articles, magazines, books. This includes keeping up with what’s going on in the market by looking through different publishers catalogs.
• Play allot of games: Not just few games over and over but 100’s of different games of different types including children’s games and ones you know you won’t like. The more you know the better you will design.
• Realize that you will work hard for your money: Most game designers have other full time jobs to support them. Even a highly successful game may not provide enough income to live off from.
• Get involved: Don’t just design games, utilize you other talents. If you a good writer then submit articles on games to appropriate publications or start a gaming blog. You can also offer to help someone else out on their project. This will get you known in the industry.
• Don’t fall in love: Go ahead and fall in love with a person but not your game. One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking that the game they designed can’t get better. It can or it may just need to be modified to appeal to the audience a publisher is shooting for. Flexibility will help you get published.
• Take your time: Design can be a lengthy process, rushing it will only hurt the game and even burn you out. Taking a break now and then can refresh you allowing more creativity and productivity.
I’m stopping on take your time because it is one of the most important items on the list. Even a dedicated, skilled and focused person can take years to finish a game and get it looked at by a publisher. Enjoy the process of learning and growing as a designer. Eventually you may become a professional or you may as many decide that doing it as a hobby is a better way to go.
Mon, 10/20/2008 - 19:21
#3
Dralius wrote:• Don’t fall in
• Don’t fall in love: Go ahead and fall in love with a person but not your game. One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking that the game they designed can’t get better. It can or it may just need to be modified to appeal to the audience a publisher is shooting for. Flexibility will help you get published.
This is tremendously important. A game of mine was licensed then the publisher wanted to make a bunch of changes. By and large, I said, "Sure, go ahead." If I'd been dead-set on protecting the "integrity" of my game, it would have been traumatic. Instead, it was easy and painless.
My other recommendation: Make a lot of games. Make it a habit. Sure, some of them (perhaps many of them) will be not-so-great, but it'll be good practice and help you develop your style. It'll also help you detach yourself from them emotionally; if you have 10 or 20 games under your belt, you're less likely to put all your chips on just one game. Participating in the monthly design challenge is good too.
Mon, 10/20/2008 - 20:24
#4
Recommendations
Harlan Ellison said: If you want to be a writer, write.
To paraphrase, if you want to be a game designer, design games, lots of them.
My first design was virtually unplayable. But I keep at it, and hopefully I'm getting better.
SJ
