A Game Designer is a tech-savvy person, who is extremely knowledgeable in animation and programming, and a passionate gamer. He is an artist on one hand, and a technical guy on the other. He utilizes these qualities to create fascinating and engrossing games, for kids and adults at the same time.
The work of a game designer involves creating new and innovative games for the computer, mobile phones, and gaming consoles. It is multi-faceted job, and one should be knowledgeable enough to handle all aspects of it – the visual, creative and technical. He has to be brimming with ideas to create heroes and anti heroes, design fights and racing, and mind games. It takes great effort and time to make one game. It can be quite challenging, mind boggling and tiring, because of the physical strain of sitting at the system for long hours and mentally. It is a highly detailed and complex procedure, even after years of experience, as every game is different and demands different things.
A deep interest in gaming is the most essential pre requisite. It helps in not only constructing new games, but also experiment with them. A gamer designer will test his games and edit, re edit it, and only then submit it for all to play. If the game is interesting for the designer, only then can he assume that it will be so for the customers. It has to be entertaining and engaging. So only a true gamer will be able to judge these parameters. Also, only a highly technical person will be able to do the same, as to introduce features of interest, a sound knowledge is required. It also needs specific knowledge about the kind of game to be made. A racing game is definitely much different from a mind game. So if one is making a racing game, knowing about the racing machine, say the cycle, is needed to gauge the capacity and movement and engineering of it. Only then will the game appear natural and real. Gaming is a virtual world, but reality in it is highly demanded by gamers.
Game designers should have an artistic mind. And keep up with the latest technology in the market, thus read and learn on a constant basis.
To be a Game Artist, doing a course in visual communication is of help. Or fine arts. Also getting professional training in animation and gaming technology from a proper institute is necessary. If one wants to get into the programming department, then a sound knowledge of computer programming in C++ and basic knowledge of visual communication is needed. A degree in computer science is helpful.
India is gaining in gaming customers, with people getting glued to the craze increasingly. Thus jobs re being created in India. Moreover, there is also outsourcing to India from the Western countries like US and UK, thus demanding expert professionals. A beginner earns around Rs 10,000-15,000, which can increase manifold with experience and skill enhancement. A highly creative, hard working and skilled designer can soon earn in lakhs.
It may be at its infant stage, but the growing scope in the gaming industry is evident. Soon not only the metros, but the whole nation will be gaming, and the best among them, designing for the rest.
