One thing ive noticed alot on NC is that alot of people want to become game designers. Well ive spent alot of time gathering information on how to become a game designer, since i too wanted to be one, but yea after looking into the whole community i decided to do something eles.

Theres really 2 choices that you can do, the design path or the programing path.

- Design
The design path will have you doing something like conceptual art, animation, rigging, lighting, and other stuff like that. to do this path you really do have to have some artists talent, you dont exactly have to beable to draw, but you must have a creative mind, and willing to learn the tools of the trade like maya and 3ds max.

- programming
The programming path will be much like getting a computer science degree. You'll be learning alot about programing langauges like C++, and will be doing lots of advance math classes. The programmer for a video game can do something like writing the AI for the game, writing the graphics engine and what not.

Life of a game dev:
alot of game developers treat there employees like crap. The reason for this is because they know theres a thousand other people out there with the same qualifications who will more than gladly accept your job, so the game companies never have to worry about what there employees think about them. Because of that, game devs can expect to work around 40-60 hours in non crunch time, and around 60-150hrs a week which usually includes sundays. do you get paid for that overtime??? Nope, the company writes it off as "you wanting to help the company off of hours", of course if you dont help the company for free, then you might as well start looking for a new job. This coupled with no benefits, the same pay as working at micky D's = one of the highest burn out rates in any industry, from construction to sewer cleaner or what ever.

http://www.igda.org/ <---- there the voice of the game industry and also where i leanred alot of the stuff bout game devs.

also read these articles:
New York Times: "When a Video Game Stops Being Fun", by Randall Stross :
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/business...ner=rssuserland

Los Angeles Times: "Working Too Hard in an Industry of Fun and Games", by Alex Pham :
http://www.latimes.com/classified/jobs/car...s-employ-career

Salon.com: "Santa's Sweatshop", by Katharine Mieszkowski
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2004/12/...s/index_np.html
and follow-up, "A change of heart for Scrooge?":
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2004/12/...p/index_np.html

CNet News: "For developers, it's not all fun and games" :
http://news.com.com/For+developers%2C+its+..._3-5457274.html

National Public Radio: "Stressed-Out Game Designers Sue Software Maker", by Laura Sydell :
http://www.npr.org/rundowns/segment.php?wfId=4206253

http://www.livejournal.com/users/ea_spouse/

Now what i said doesnt apply to all game developers, just small game developers and companys like EA. If you manage to end up in a good game studio, then most likey, you gonna have a hell of alot of fun, and while you still work some long hours, atleast you'll be paid for them. One good studio i know of is bungie, aka the makers of halo. They atually treat there employees like human beings, and cause of that, look how sucessful the studios games are

If you've read this far, and still want to become a game designer, then lemme lay out what you should do to get there.

Design:
you gotta have traditional art skills and beable to apply it to both a canvas in real life and in the digital world. A good traditional art major, with lots of animation and modeling classes should do you good.

http://www.rsad.edu/majors/core/
^^ one of the best art schools in america, but extrmely hard to get into........gotta have a top noch art portfolio, and if ya do get in, be sure to pay me a visit in orlando

programing:
a good CS degree should be good and it would be helpful if you could do some of the design stuff

also if you want to know what a real professional things bout the whole schooling issue then read this:
"A good school will help you in your quest. While the skills are fundamentaly taught at different schools it is the experience of being around your peers that is golden. If you are in a school with people less talented than you, you will not grow as much as being in a school with people as or more talented. You feed of of other's experiences in school, something that this forum cannot replace while learning at home. Most often, you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with...

I have a few observations on style. Style is important to show creativity. Style can show your thought process...but also be aware that you should be able to work in several styles...art direction will always be different from project to project. The people who dictate the style on a project are usually higher up the ladder...which reminds me of a saying: "You have to become a "yes" man , before you can become a "no" man."

In the end regardless of style, it is the tradition art skills/principles you demonstrate in your work and how you apply those to CG that will get you the job. School can help guide you there, and your peers are priceless." - Nathan Walpole - animation lead for Halo 2

some linkys to schools: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=69427

recesources:
www.cgtalk.com
www.cgsociety.com
www.igda.org
http://www.gamedev.net/
http://www.gamasutra.com/

ahhh that sound like the place for me http://www.rsad.edu/aboutus/ i'm going to waste if i ever get there i'll be sure to vist ya, those words are so true about the schooling thing.

If you don't want to handle that working for a big company stress, you could create your own games independently, right? You'd use the internet for making money, right? And if your lucky and good enough, you and your small independent team could put your games on the market, right?

...right?

most often, its the small indy companys that have more stress and even worse working conditions that the big companys. and selling a game aint that easy, first you gotta create it, expect to invest no less than 500,000 dollars alone in just getting the tech stuff required for the game. like unreal engine cost 250,000 dollars, your server farm, workstations, administrator, is going to cost another 100,000, plus marketing, how are you going to let people know about your game??? its like for every 1000 games that are made, only one will ever hit the store shelves. making games, and breaking even finically isnt easy, it takes alot of money..........your average retail game now adays cost around 20-60 million dollars to make and sell. and the game has just around 6 months to strike even. so yea............

Thanks for the info. I'm shooting for the design part. I can't draw but I have a very active imagination. I can deal with being treated like crap. Well as long as no ones hitting me with a paddle.

another thing, the average salary for a beginner game dev is round 30 thousand, thou it can be alot lower. Once you become a "veteran" then you can expect around 50-80 thousand dollars and if you were to become a TD or creative director you could expect from 60,000 to the low 100,000 dollars.

Thats a high step up from the 0 I have now.

thanks so much for the info ive been thinking abpout this for a long time

this info is harsh but true. Sorta sad when u think about it. Programmers get paid and treated like crap cuz there are so many of them, but the work they do is really complicated.

I'm going to the Art Institute of Vancouver (Burnaby Campus).

I'm in the Video game design and programming course.

I have to agree with you, it is hard.. thankless work. But if you truly want to do this, more than anything. Do it. A job is a job.. but a job you want to do is priceless.

Go for it man, you might be one of the few people that succeed and if u do then enjoy life for a change.

going to school is the easy way to become one but its not always a 100% that you can make a career of it...

you can make it a career. Only problem is getting hired. haha.

Thats the same for any profession, i mean if you've got killer 3d/2d skills, and have good networking skills, you can get a job as a game designer with just a high school education, but most people arent like that.