(TL;DR at bottom) I'm a high school student graduating this May. Originally, I wanted to pursue a career as an author, because I was always fond of writing stories, creating interesting characters, and weaving plots so (for lack of a better word) fun. I've been playing video games my entire life (my first word was me parroting the opening "Sega" when my brother would play Sonic the Hedgehog games), and I realized towards the middle of my Junior year that writing on paper was good, but that the type of responses I wanted to evoke, the type of journey that I wanted to take my audience on, would be much better rendered in the medium of a video game. I think, at a point, I knew that the entire time. But I was born into a family of skeptics who frequently told me there was no future in games. It wasn't until my Junior year that I realized they were wrong, and that it was something I really wanted. So I called a bunch of the big game companies (EA and Activision, for starters), and asked what they thought about people who wanted to get into the industry. To be honest, the people I spoke to were unenthusiastic, to put it mildly. So I stopped barking up that tree. I have a loose path in my head right now, but I've been second-guessing it endlessly since I haven't had an outside influence that knows the industry to guide me towards the right path. My goal is to become a creative lead on a game design team, and build some plots that will intrigue and immerse gamers. The only problem is that I really don't know what to do when I graduate. Is there any advice someone here can offer a spirited youth to make his way in the tumultuous industry that is game design? (TL;DR) I'm graduating high school in May. My goal is to become a creative lead in the future. I have no idea where I should start. I need someone to impart some knowledge.

go to college
while in college learn some programming, art, etc.. to get a feel for what goes into a game
design games
meet people

To go college. Study something that interests you -- perhaps English or creative writing, sounds like? If you are so inclined, take a few programming classes or study the topic on your own, but it's by no means required so if you can't stand it, don't worry about it.

Check out tools like Unity or Game Maker that let you build games without knowing much in the way of programming. These are the kinds of tools usually given to designers. Maybe get involved with some hobby projects around here or in school.

You have four more years of college to figure the rest out.

Quote: Original post by Kase
My goal is to become a creative lead on a game design team

I have no idea where I should start.
I need someone to impart some knowledge.

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