[font="Arial"]Game Design is often confused with Game Development and Game Art Designing in various institutions around the world. I grew up playing games and confused Design with Testing. I started to research about game designing in pre-final year of engineering, Jan 2010, and am yet to understand what a game designer is supposed to do. When asked about it, I was directed to this video -
http://www.escapistm...a-Game-Designer
Game design is all about providing a common view to a developer and an artist. There should be a clear understanding of all the aspects of the game. Efficiently managing people, designing levels, testing breakpoints, cutting out boring parts of the game and injecting new ideas.
INFORMATIVE.

I was all set to continue my student lifeabroad, pursuing a Master of Science degree in Game Design and Development.Though that option is no longer feasible, my preparation for the Masters degree provided me an excellent opportunity to study games.
On approaching the institutions that offer a Master's degree, institutes from Canada advocated that its all about creating characters, environments and story for games and said that what I have understood about game designing is the job of a producer/manager.FAIL. and the curriculum for this course offered in institutes from US covers managing people.FAIL.FAIL.

Though I do not have a clear idea about what I am supposed to do, Game designing is my destiny. I don't have any idea about where to begin and what to know.

I have a strong understanding of algorithms and C/C++ languages.I have analyzed different genres of games anddocumented the microscopic aspects of each game, their engine and breakpoints.I am extremely passionate about graphics and can work efficiently with softwares such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Flash and Maya.My past experience in developing amateur games using the software GameMaker has proven to me that my passions rest with GameDesigning.My interest in singing has evolved into a profound sense of understanding of music and rhythm, which I suppose would be immensely useful in providing worthwhile contributions to the background score for games. Additionally, I firmly believe that my creativity would be valuable in designing characters for a game.As the General Secretary of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at my institution, I played an integral part in the organizing committee of the technical symposium.Organizing the technical symposium was also a priceless platform for me to foster my innate leadership ability. Do I have "it" to become a Game Designer?[/font]

I'm not a great authority on this (barelly started and felt the same way you did - it is destiny) but I'd like to express my opinion nontheless.

If this is trully destiny and you feel it - make it happen. The most obvious thing to do is hone your skills on raw material - post on Help Wanted the game idea you have, bunch up a few people (preferably locals to start with as I was told, resolved to international upon failure) and start doing it. I assure you - you will learn a lot each day and (at least for me) it will be a very fun experience. All that managing, talking to people, keeping spirits up and information flowing - that is the beauty of the trade.

I too get mixed up in what is what - who is the Designer and who is the Developer. I think I kind of act out as jack of all trades, apart from the programming, sound and art drawing - I create the concept, organise people, check and decide on the quality. Not profesionally tho - sadly my country has yet to recognise the need for game developers/designers and offers only generic courses in bussiness instead of game specific lessons. Hell, the people at the local Bussiness Help Center were unable to tell me anything about game making, only generic truths about software development.

The essence of everything is experience - call what you do whatever you want, if you're good at it, you will eventually get hired for the right position. Hell, you could start your own company with a little more effort and luck. So basically don't think if you are suited for the trade or not - start doing it and find out for yourself.

Thank you!
Your were of a great help to me

I don't understand this part-

The most obvious thing to do is hone your skills on raw material - post on Help Wanted the game idea you have, bunch up a few people (preferably locals to start with as I was told, resolved to international upon failure) and start doing it. I assure you - you will learn a lot each day and (at least for me) it will be a very fun experience. All that managing, talking to people, keeping spirits up and information flowing - that is the beauty of the trade.

where do i find this "help wanted" ? I have a lot of game ideas and have documented them.

And sadly, my country doesn't offer courses in Game Design, neither do they understand what a Game Designer does.

I know your pain - I heard that in the south regions of my country there will be a few schools geared towards game design... But oh well...

I meant the Help Wanted section of this forum It's very livelly in there and a lot of talents stop by to help out on hobby projects. Just remember this - patience and determination (as well as persistence) will be your feet in game development/design. Let those be strong legs that leave a memorable track of your career I wish you luck on this journey

http://www.sloperama...ice/lesson7.htm
http://www.sloperama...ce/lesson14.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/designprep.htm
http://www.sloperama...ce/lesson64.htm

My partial game design textbook - Designing: The Game And Its Content

Personally I think the heart of game design is developing a vision of a desired game, then developing a plan to implement that game, then carrying out the implementation. This includes at various points designing story, characters, environments, sound, a programming plan, and advertising copy, and also includes recruitment and managing the development team. It is a Jack of all trades position, and you have to delegate whatever you don't have the qualifications or time to do yourself.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]@sunandshadow Thank you for briefing about the job, but, how should I approach a company? What designation should I apply for? No company will trust a newbie with all this work!


@ Tom Sloper Your links were really helpful man!!


@ Zethariel What are you doing at present??




Guys! I have been armed with a placement offer from a leading organization in the IT sector, Capgemini, I stand on the verge of treading the beaten path. Help me with this? There are only two established Indian-based gaming companies (Dhruva Interactive and Trine) , shall I apply for a position of "Level Designer" (coz thats the only thing close to game design) or join Capgemini and simultaneously do some more research about where to join or search for someone to mentor me. Lucky for me that Capgemini doesn't have a bond. So any good ideas??[/font]

[font="Trebuchet MS"]1. how should I approach a company?
2. What designation should I apply for?
3. shall I apply for a position of "Level Designer"
4. or ...do some more research [/font]

1. I have FAQs on that too.
2. One that you are qualified for.
3. Do you have a really great level design portfolio? If not, then no.
4. Yes. Do more learning, and build a portfolio. Read more of the FAQs.

Yeah, really, read Tom's site. I found it very informative and it helped me realise that I am trully on the right path and most decisions I've made regarding my current project are in fact correct ^^ at present, as far as gaming is concerned, I'm leading a small game project (link in signature) while IRL I do your everyday normal boring office job

About the job, I guess you can choose either while still looking for better occasions. The most important part is to build that portfolio - most jobs for now will only serve the purpose to fill your pocket, real opportunities will arise once you bite into a project or two.

@[color=#1D3652]

Tom Sloper Please send me the link to those FAQs. I will tell you what I have been doing all these days-

As you can see, I have posted what I know and what I am very passionate to do. I have developed a portfolio which basically breaks down the system of games with different genres and have experimented on creating games which combines two or more genres without spoiling the game's interestingness. Also have studied how games are made and analysed the reasons behind failed games. I have documented the transformation of level design and also trying to figure out what excites people. I have done a general study about games which attract different age groups and the reason behind the success. Also have ideas for many games as for now. A study on basic human psychology and technology available has helped me understand how addictive games are developed. As I have knowledge about the main aspects of the game - development, graphic, sound and marketing, I am able to clearly understand what caused the game to fail- Like for example - If a good mobile game doesn't go well because of its size, I can say that code optimization should be done nd can suggest a better algorithm to achieve the optimization to a developer. I need someone to mentor me. .

Shall I join Capgemini and do more research about games and design games part time till I get to know that I have mastered it enough to enter the industry? The IT job is not that tough for me and it fills my pocket. Or will that be a bad move?