Levelling

Letter to a Young Designer

I was recently approached by a young man wanting advice on getting into the games industry and becoming a designer. This is my response, for what it’s worth:

Your questions are good ones, and I can probably give you a bit of advice that will help. Bear in mind though, that the games industry is very new, and things don’t usually happen the same way they do in other businesses. It’s a bit chaotic, though it is getting much better (mainly because it makes so much money now - more than the movie industry).

Firstly, you are already doing the right thing. Getting involved in modding is a very good way to get experience in games development. It’s not the same as working at a company of course, but it gives you skills that you can’t pick up any other way. It also gives you a portfolio, which is very important as it’s something a company can look at if they are thinking of hiring you. People get hired from what they do in the modding community all the time (Half of Valve’s team, and many of their most profitable projects, came out of the modding community e.g. Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and the guys who made Portal).

Getting a design position is tough. It’s getting easier as the industry becomes more established, but in the old days there were no such thing as game designers. There were coders and artists, and they designed the game as they worked. So being a pure designer is a relatively new thing. The absolute best things you can have as a designer are good writing skills, and good communication skills. Most design work isn’t the glamorous task of coming up with a totally new game, and then putting together all the bits that make it up. Most design work is filling out the small details in a game design that is already mapped out, maintaining documentation that relates to that, and creating paper designs of your ideas. So writing, and being able to explain yourself succinctly, is a very important skill. When my boss is looking for new design people, he looks for people who write for fun, and who are naturally good at it. Being computer literate (Windows PC) and familiar with Word is an absolute necessity. You will need to be able to use Photoshop as well to resize and cut up images, and Illustrator or programs like it.

I say the best thing you can do is write well, but that’s actually not my advice. My advice is to play as many games as you can. By far the most important thing a designer has is his sense of fun. If you know why you like a game, or why you don’t, that is the beginning of what makes a good designer. And the only way to know what is good and what isn’t is to play lots of games - even games you aren’t necessarily interested in - just to see how they play. Being familiar with lots of games gives you a very good idea of what works, and what doesn’t. It is also important to know what has been done before, and what is about to come out, as this can have a big impact on how you design the game you are working on (no-one wants to ship a game that is almost the same as a game that shipped 2 months earlier).

Now that sounds like work, and it sort of is. So I also want to say that you should play what is fun to you. You can’t possibly play every game, so don’t try. Just do what you find enjoyable. If it’s RPGs, play them. If it’s FPS’s, play them. Really get into them. Be a fan. Try to understand what makes other genres tick too - on console as well as PC (which are very different animals). But follow your own sense of enjoyment. That is what games are about. It’s a passion, not a “skillset”. Just try to understand why you enjoy what you do, and what makes it fun.

You are already doing this, but I will say it anyway - get hands on technical experience with a game engine. Mod as much as possible. A lot of design work is technical (and there are designers who are actually considered “Technical Designers” who spend more time building things, scripting, and getting them running than anything else). Everyone has a game idea; it’s proverbial. People tell me their ideas all the time, as if they think that is all it takes to make a game. By far the hardest part is actually building it, and you soon find out how many “good” ideas turn bad when you try to implement them. So building anything is invaluable experience. I would also suggest getting acquainted with the programs 3D Studio Max, and Maya, as these are industry standards. It’s not often in design you have to use them, but understanding them is very helpful. I would also suggest you get familiar with object oriented coding, primarily C++, but Java or a higher level scripting language is instructive too. Designers deal with artists and coders every day, so it is important to at least understand their frames of reference. Also, it adds to your skillset. The more skills you have, the greater your understanding of the nuts and bolts of game development, the more useful you are to a games company, and the better Designer you will be.

If possible, I would try to get experience as an intern with a local games company. Brisbane has quiet a few, including THQ Oz, Krome Studios, Creative etc. You will make valuable contacts there, and see the process of making games first hand. Games companies will also hire someone they know and have seen work before they will hire someone off the street. It’s all about who you know. Even if you just manage to get a tour of the studio, they will be impressed by your enthusiasm. Be enthusiastic, and polite. Ask questions, and learn everything you can. Don’t come across as a know it all. Be eager to help and easy to work with. Have clear opinions, but don’t be over opinionated. Often people are hired over those who are more talented because they work better with others and fit into a team, especially in this industry. The games industry thrives on young people willing to work hard. You can’t make fun games if you aren’t having fun yourself.

My final advice is to try to get a position in QA (Quality Assurance) first. Play testing and logging bugs is without doubt the best way to learn about the game making process, and the best way to get knowledge in all areas of game development. It gives you experience that makes you a much better designer. It also helps you understand the problems faced by all the different disciplines in game development e.g. code, and art. Most Designers come from other disciplines, including coding and art, but the majority come up through QA - including me. It just seems to work best that way.

Ok, that wasn’t my final bit of advice, this is: read, watch, and listen. The games industry suffers from a lack of true creative input, and that is because many of the people working in it haven’t exposed themselves to anything more involved than Spiderman comics. There’s nothing wrong with comics and graphic novels, but if you want to bring something deeper and more creative to what you are doing, you need to look outside games for inspiration. Read good literature - the classics (including Shakespeare). Read novels that interest you. Watch interesting movies. Listen to all types of music, including some classical to at least understand it. Learn about cinematics and scene direction. Follow your nose, and absorb everything you can. Find what you like. Nothing is wasted, and the more you know and understand, the better designer you will be in the long run.

That’s about it. Good luck in your journey towards the games industry, and make sure you get outside and physical too. There are way too many unfit and unhealthy game developers.

  posted by monty · 5 months, 2 weeks ago · comment?