Is a College Education Required for a Career in Game Design?

is a college education required for a career in game design

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Want to Be a Video Game Designer? You MUST Read This First

Wouldn’t it be great to turn your lifelong love of video games into a career? That’s the dream of almost every gamer. Consequently, jobs are incredibly competitive. What qualifications do you need to get a leg up on the competition? Here is some information to get you started.

What Is the Job and Salary Outlook?

The average yearly salaries for workers in the video game industry ranged from $49K for quality assurance testers to $107K for executives according to stats from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additionally, video game producers and programmers averaged over $85K annually. And, you can expect to make at least $68K working as a designer, artist, or audio worker. The salaries are likely to remain stable.

Creative Qualification

You are responsible for inventing a virtual world of visual animation, intrigue, and strategy as a video game designer. If you want to design thought-provoking, visually-appealing, and unique games, you have to exhibit strong creative abilities. The story plots you construct must engage gamers and make them want to buy future games in the franchise. Most storylines rely on attractive, intellectual, interesting characters. And, players remain motivated to finish new challenges with active gameplay strategies. Most games will not captivate players without the above creative elements.

Education

Computer engineering or computer science bachelor’s or master’s degrees are preferred when video game makers look at the qualifications of applicants. Software engineering, computer modeling, design animation, audio programming, game programming, and game software development are also useful degrees in the gaming industry according to Foothill College. Job candidates can also stand out from the pack if they have experience with several computer programming languages. Some suggested courses include Network Design and Topologies, Computer Applications, and Intermediate Algebra.

Functional Abilities

If you want to be able to design video games, you need to have excellent problem-solving skills to correct computer programming errors and create computer programs. Therefore, video game designers must have expertise in computer coding and computer programming languages. Also, a video game designer should be able to map out the activities needed to create a functional consumer-facing game. This includes working as a team player with other programmers and designers, running high-tech audio and video equipment, budgeting resources, and managing their time to meet deadlines.

Though there are no guarantees, these qualifications should give you a good shot at breaking into the industry as a video game designer.

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