A Career In Computer Game Design
Computer game design is the career of a dream come true for any hard core gaming fan. What could be more fun for a dedicated gamer than designing your own computer games and getting paid for it? Every fan of computer games has no doubt at least occasionally fantasized having a career in computer game design; as a gamer myself, I plead guilty to the same charge.
If you are dreaming of a job in the computer game design industry, the good news is it’s a huge industry and there are loads of jobs available in it. The bad news is computer game design is exceedingly difficult, and requires a rigorous working knowledge of programming languages. Getting a degree in computer science is a good start, but this is in itself no easy task. Of the six friends I had in college that were computer science majors, only one of them stuck with it to the end. It is a grueling major filled with advanced mathematics classes and tedious programming exercises.
If you love programming and don’t find it tedious at all, or at least can tolerate the tedium, computer game design may be something you could do. I think you should also have a genuine love of computer games as well, but that sort of goes without saying. My college friend that got his computer science degree is currently working for a well knowing game design company, and loves it. However, he readily admits that is nothing like he thought it would be.
Computer games today are enormous programs that can take years to complete. In the infancy of the game industry, computer game design teams often consisted of just a few people. Today, many games have several production teams consisting of up to hundreds of different people working simultaneously on different aspects of the game. However, if you prove yourself as a capable programmer, the sky is the limit on where you can go; seasoned programmers with several completed games under their belts can not only command a large salary but can have a lot of say over the direction of the game.
If programming just isn’t your thing, there are some other jobs in the computer game design field. Generally, programmers are the most sought after, but good artists and writers can be attractive employees to a game maker. While they generally don’t make as much money, graphic designers and other artists are all required to make a good game today.
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