Skills Needed to Become a Game Designer

To be a game designer, you will need specific skills, creativity and passion to be successful. The video game industry has exploded with the release of next-generation consoles such as Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This leads a lot of room for designers to come up with great game ideas. However, despite the many job opportunities, it is a competitive field due to the ever-changing technology involved. Here are some important skills you will need.

Knowing What Works

An important skill is a solid knowledge of what makes a video game good or bad. It is also crucial that you understand how games are put together and work as a whole.

General Skills

Game designers need to have strong written and communication skills, be very organized and work well within groups as well as individually.

Game Knowledge

A detailed knowledge of current popular games and consoles is important for success in the video game design field.

Mathematics

Game designers need skills in geometry, probability and other types of mathematics that help calculate dimensions in design detail.

Education

A college education fine-tunes the game designer's artistic skills and techniques. Video game companies require a bachelor's degree in design or other related field (see Resources).

Programming

Basic skills in programming languages (such as C/C++) help designers understand game functionality. Knowing programming gives them an added edge to help guide the programmers on their teams to create the action/effects they want for the game.

Resources

• Art Center College of Design
• Parson School of Design