Job Description of a Video Game Designer

Video games have been a rage right from their introduction in popular culture. Everybody enjoys playing video games invariably. We simply love getting lost in the virtual world of a game with all its intricacies. Are you a gaming freak and absolutely follow gaming, not only for the fun but also the aesthetics, the plot and the programming expertise? In short, are you a connoisseur of video gaming? Are you a graphic artist who loves creating characters? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then video game designing is the career for you!

The gaming market is booming with possibilities and opportunities! With gaming devices like Xbox, Playstation 3 and Nintendo out, the demand for games and game designers has risen exponentially. Video Gaming is now a multi-billion dollar industry in need of creative minds who can deliver in within tight deadlines. Creating virtual worlds and simulated environments is an art and a very interesting job. It has applications even beyond the gaming world.

Training to be a Video Game Designer

Today there are a lot of institutes all over the country, who offer specialized courses catering all aspects of gaming design. The core aspect of gaming other than the graphic design and artwork, is the programming. So many institutes offer core courses in programming, created especially to prepare you for designing gaming environments. This is a very deep field indeed and specialized courses offered range from artificial intelligence applications in gaming, game mathematics, programming special effects and many more.

Graphic design and animation is also a very important and enjoyable part of the course syllabus. Another aspect is creating sound tracks for games. The main thing is to learn to integrate the programming logic and graphic environments. Specialized courses in specific areas of graphic design like environment rendering and animation are available.

In gaming, you will create virtual reality and therefore, you need to understand the dynamics in real world very well. Especially while designing special action effects, you need to understand the physics of the real world. Only, then can you recreate it in the virtual world!

Another important aspect of video gaming is the hardware part of it. Especially, designing the consoles and the overall hardware for a game. Electronics engineers can take special courses catering to this special need.

Ultimately what makes a good game is a good story line too! So writing creative story lines that can hook people to gaming, is an interesting profession and there are courses which cater to just that. So, if you are not that good at drawing or programming, but have a flair for words, there is opportunity for you!

There are many training institutes that offer three year bachelor degree courses in game and simulation programming like Devry, Westwood college and the ITT technical institute. Many private companies like Sega and Disney, also offer courses in this field.

Job Description of a Video Game Designer

Whatever you are trained in, programming or graphic design, to work on the job as a programmer, you must have an idea of the big picture. As a programmer, you have to be good at solving problems of gaming logic and design. You need to have a good gaming, gut sense of what would look good in a game. For that, it's absolutely essential that you love the concept of gaming. When you are in love with something, it's no longer a job, ideas just flow out uncorked! Still it can be a 'job' at times, in the sense that there are deadlines to be met and it can be hectic at times.

It is totally a team effort, as to make the game a success, the game should be excellent in every aspect. Graphic artists can give a total free reign to their imagination. Besides the gaming industry, designing-simulated environments has real applications in the defense and space industry. Jet pilots and space pilots require training for which you can design a tailor-made virtual environment. The advantages of such an environment are that, they can learn to handle real life situations without the danger of crashing out. It is quite a challenging job. So go for this opportunity, have some serious fun and make yourself indispensable in the gaming world!