Computer Game Design

Games that are designed to be played on the computer are becoming more and more popular in recent years. As more and more game systems are being designed and sold world wide, the demand for new games just continues to increase. Those who have been trained in computer programming, computer aided art and computer hardware are the specialists who produce these popular games.

An interest in this field of work normally starts with a love for playing games. One may be an avid player and become bored by the assortment of games available and start thinking up ideas for new games, or ways to make old games better. This leads to taking a class in computer game design, then to enrolling in a full course of instruction, and voila, a computer game designer is born!

It truly has become a technology in and of itself, which has forced schools and institutions of higher learning to offer classes in computer game design. Due to the popularity of these classes, they tend to fill up quickly, and can also be quite costly. There are hundreds of schools located world wide, most of them technology oriented, that cater to those wishing to learn the art of computer game design. Those taking a full course of computer game design classes will be introduced to game balance and level design, narrative and storytelling, basic game architecture, motion planning and control.

As a profession, it’s is not something that can be learned overnight. There are virtually hundreds of different aspects that make up the world of computer game design. Those wishing to take on the task of learning all there is to know about this challenging subject will be learning the history of computer games, software architecture, animated sprites, sound and music, realism, challenges, level design, plot pacing, interface techniques, 3D loading, camera control, rule based approaches and much, much more.

Many people don’t understand that designing a computer game is much like writing a book, just with a lot of technology added! To produce a good game, there must be a good story, and that includes a plot, narrative, characters, a setting, a beginning, middle and end, as well as emotions, consequences and interaction. The arena of computer game design is a busy one that presents many challenges to those deciding to master the fundamentals.

More and more people are deciding to make this a career choice. These people can expect to make on the average about $74,900 per year. Not a bad salary for doing something that you truly enjoy! Some computer game designers that get contracts with major companies are able to make well over $100,000 per year, while others who do computer game design on a freelance basis to supplement income from a regular job can make from $10,000 to $30,000 per year. Any way you look at it, computer game design can be fun, challenging and lucrative!