Career Research Paper: Video Game Design

I was drawn into video game design because I love video games and technology. Playing video games increased my interest in video game design. I already know having an interest in video games and knowledge about computers helps while becoming a video game designer. I hope to gain knowledge about their role in creating a video game, what they do daily, and their income.

Video game designers have a unique role in creating a video game. They create fun by communicating with gamers and adjust the difficulty or pace based upon their reaction or feedback. They create complex puzzles and new ways to kill or defeat your opponent to keep you entertained and gradually increase the difficulty as you progress through the game. They also have to communicate with artists, musicians, and programmers to see if their work will slow down the performance of the game, or if the material just does not fit in. An artist can create beautiful artwork, but if it takes too many polygons to make, the game will be choppy and become unplayable. They need to be good leaders also, since they will be overseeing the entire game playing experience. They also need good communicating skills and should not be afraid to say no to anyone. A video game designer needs good communicating skills and needs to know when something will degrade or improve the game.

Although every game studio works differently, they all share the same basic daily tasks. They continue designing the game, by drawing maps, building levels, writing dialogs, and deciding when monsters spawn or where objects are placed. Then, they play test the level to see if improvements can be made or if there are any glitches. Since only a small amount of games get published, they also have to worry if their video game will be successful, appeal to a large audience, and how they can turn it into a phenomenon. They have to stay up-to-date and be aware of the competition. Unpleasant moments in video game design include the lag it takes to realize a great idea and finally incorporating it into the game. You can also become stressful because of money problems, deadlines, and the chance your game will not get published. Video game design is not just playing video games, a lot of stress and hard work is involved.

The life of a videogame designer is not all glamorous. Expect to work long hours, especially towards the end of the project. The average hours a week are around 40 hours and $28 an hour. In 1999, the average videogame designer