Its tons of fun being a video game designer but there is also a lot that you must know!
Fortunately there are some totally wonderful courses on the market that will teach you all you need to know. But do not think that you need to wait until you start taking those classes to begin learning techniques required to become an amazing video game designer. The resources are already at your fingertips. There is tons of stuff that you can begin learning and doing right now and this piece is going to show you the best way.
Game Graphics
Obviously a significant part of a video game designer's duty involves graphics. It would be a great help if you could draw by hand but it is by no means an essential talent. If you can't draw at all then I highly advise picking up a book which teaches you some simple drawing methods. If you are able to draw or want to push your understanding further then I also recommend picking up a book regarding drawing the anatomy because this really assists when it comes to character design.
The other "visual" aspect of the job is 3D modeling and animation of all the graphical elements in the game. One of the most commonly used programs to do this is called Maya 3D. You should really consider investing in this product and doing a few training courses like the ones on Lynda.com because software like this is much easier to learn if you can see what the instructor is actually doing rather than reading it out of a book. If you don't want to take the leap and purchase Maya then you should definitely check out a free alternative called Blender. It works relatively the same and will definitely put you in a better place any would be if you hadn't learnt anything at all.
Game Writing
All good games have a good story backing them and the video game designer is often loaded with composing it (especially in the smaller studios). So trying out your writing skills will give you a big perk when it comes to starting to learn to become a designer. You can start by writing brief fiction stories about 1 to 2 pages in length. Make sure to always build up to a "conflict" and then fix it. Having a conflict or climax in your stories creates anticipation and makes the reader, or in the case of video games that player, choose to continue so that they can learn what happens in the end.
In time you can start to write longer stories and focus on developing the specific characters identities and biographies. Having profound and established characters is a way to get the player more connected in the game world itself. Eventually you'll should start writing your stories in the form of a script because any game the scenery and world itself is provided by the graphics so you don't need to worry about describing them in the story.
Game Programing
In major budget studios commonly it's the job of the developer to code the game but it is usually useful for the designer to know a bit of code themselves. This helps them to know exactly what is and isn't feasible for a game. For example the game designer might want to design a game that demands 4 player cooperative gameplay which may not be possible on the device that they are designing for. In smaller studios however, the designer may perhaps also have to take on the job of the developer as well so having some programming under your belt could come in really handy.
One of the much simpler ways to start to learn the basics of game programming is to make flash games (and it will also test your design skills). ActionScript, the language of flash programming, is simple to learn and you will quickly have your 1st game up and running. Another cool game design computer software is Game Maker. This has drag-and-drop code snippets to help you create games a lot faster whilst also teaching you the basics of how games are created.
Fortunately there are some totally wonderful courses on the market that will teach you all you need to know. But do not think that you need to wait until you start taking those classes to begin learning techniques required to become an amazing video game designer. The resources are already at your fingertips. There is tons of stuff that you can begin learning and doing right now and this piece is going to show you the best way.
Game Graphics
Obviously a significant part of a video game designer's duty involves graphics. It would be a great help if you could draw by hand but it is by no means an essential talent. If you can't draw at all then I highly advise picking up a book which teaches you some simple drawing methods. If you are able to draw or want to push your understanding further then I also recommend picking up a book regarding drawing the anatomy because this really assists when it comes to character design.
The other "visual" aspect of the job is 3D modeling and animation of all the graphical elements in the game. One of the most commonly used programs to do this is called Maya 3D. You should really consider investing in this product and doing a few training courses like the ones on Lynda.com because software like this is much easier to learn if you can see what the instructor is actually doing rather than reading it out of a book. If you don't want to take the leap and purchase Maya then you should definitely check out a free alternative called Blender. It works relatively the same and will definitely put you in a better place any would be if you hadn't learnt anything at all.
Game Writing
All good games have a good story backing them and the video game designer is often loaded with composing it (especially in the smaller studios). So trying out your writing skills will give you a big perk when it comes to starting to learn to become a designer. You can start by writing brief fiction stories about 1 to 2 pages in length. Make sure to always build up to a "conflict" and then fix it. Having a conflict or climax in your stories creates anticipation and makes the reader, or in the case of video games that player, choose to continue so that they can learn what happens in the end.
In time you can start to write longer stories and focus on developing the specific characters identities and biographies. Having profound and established characters is a way to get the player more connected in the game world itself. Eventually you'll should start writing your stories in the form of a script because any game the scenery and world itself is provided by the graphics so you don't need to worry about describing them in the story.
Game Programing
In major budget studios commonly it's the job of the developer to code the game but it is usually useful for the designer to know a bit of code themselves. This helps them to know exactly what is and isn't feasible for a game. For example the game designer might want to design a game that demands 4 player cooperative gameplay which may not be possible on the device that they are designing for. In smaller studios however, the designer may perhaps also have to take on the job of the developer as well so having some programming under your belt could come in really handy.
One of the much simpler ways to start to learn the basics of game programming is to make flash games (and it will also test your design skills). ActionScript, the language of flash programming, is simple to learn and you will quickly have your 1st game up and running. Another cool game design computer software is Game Maker. This has drag-and-drop code snippets to help you create games a lot faster whilst also teaching you the basics of how games are created.
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