If you love to play video games then it would be only natural to desire a career in game design or game development. Fortunately, the demand for game developers is going to continue to grow. The gaming industry is massive and is constantly in the need of new talent in a variety of skill sets. So how do you get started? Here are 10 tips that can help you get started with a career in game design or development:

Create new levels for your favorite game

Before you even have to take classes or learn how to program, you can take a big step forward by working with the design tools offered in many of the popular games.  The steps you will go through in creating new levels or modifying existing ones provide you valuable skills that can also be marketable. Creating quality levels for a game gives you several potential advantages:

·         Gives you a chance to begin building a professional portfolio of your work

·         Exposes you to the gaming community and gets your name out there to network with game companies

·         Learn techniques in designing levels and how to make them fun for gamers

·         Get feedback on your designs and find opportunity for improvement

·         Some level designers will allow you to learn basic coding skills

Remember, creating game levels is a professional career for many game developers. Start by creating one simple level for a favorite game that allows it, then put it up in a popular forum for people to download and give you feedback. If you can create just one level a month you will have a portfolio of 10 or more in a year that you can the present to potential game companies.

Become a game tester

One way to get your foot in the door in the game industry is to get on as a game tester. Every company that creates games needs qualified people to help them test the games out for playability and fixing bugs. This is an opportunity for you to present your ideas directly to the company and show them your passion for gaming. If you have good written skills and communicate well with them, they will notice. Look for chances to give detailed feedback and read carefully all the correspondence they send you in regards to testing the game. Documentation is very important. Many game testers go into the field because they like to play games. The secret to getting noticed is providing consistent clear feedback on the games you test and answer the questions they are asking of you. Your goal should be to work your way up to a front line tester; people that are given the game in a very early stage before the game gets to the volunteer mass beta testing phase.

Take classes and study the important tools

As the game industry matures, it is becoming increasingly important to get some formal education in game development to ease your path to establishing yourself as a game developer. You can start with a class in Photoshop, Flash, or some 3D applications. A class in computer graphics design would also be a big help. Taking a few courses in computer programming will start to round out your skill set. If you have the money, then a dedicated gaming degree can be a good investment. Remember though that the important thing is to begin taking classes in the areas that will benefit your career as a game developer. Like working on level design, you want to begin making a portfolio of your work that you can show to potential employers.

Network in developer forums and gaming communities

Many of the game companies now have forums and blogs were their developers write about their game designs and the progress on their projects. Here is an opportunity for you to ask critical questions and create a relationship with people that already are doing what you wish to do. Integrate this with your work on designing levels. Be polite and don’t bombard a developer with too many questions and you can create a good semi-professional relationship with them. The goal with this tip is not to get a job in a few days, but to begin getting your name out there. Let them know up front you are interested in a career in game design. Ask questions that show you are working intelligently toward that goal. Show them samples of your work when it is appropriate. Remember, the best way to get a job in any company is to get a referral from someone who already works there.

Practice creating mods and game addons

In addition to level design, it is also rather easy to get involved in creating various modifications and addons for games. World of Warcraft for example has a very enthusiastic community in regards to game modifications. With these modifications you can extend the capabilities of the game and learn a lot about scripting and the framework for how games are put together. This can also lead directly to career opportunities. For example, a mod developer for Supreme Commander who went by the name of Sorian, wrote an upgraded AI modification for the game. With each update he improved the quality of his AI and the gaming community took notice. Soon everyone who owned the game and played it seriously would download his AI modification to play skirmish games. When it was time for the company to begin working on Supreme Commander 2, Sorian was hired by the company to help with the design of the AI. While not every modification you make will result in a career, the work you do in this area can set you apart from all the other people who wish to be a game developer but don’t take action.

Write game reviews

While this may not seem like a direct line to a career in game development, writing game reviews can be a good start. There are several reasons why writing game reviews can be a good step for someone interested in a career in game development or design:

·         Improves your writing or at least proves to everyone that you write well. Communicating ideas is very important in game design and development. Your writing can only improve by writing game reviews.

·         Proves your interest and knowledge of gaming. You will be competing with many other game developers who say they ‘love to play video games’. By writing game reviews you are taking action and documenting your knowledge of the video game industry.

·         Provides an opportunity for critical review of the game design. Companies that hire video game developers are looking for people that can look critically at what makes a good game and articulate how it can be improved. A good design document during the early phase of a game development is much like a game review. You are there to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the product and articulate what works and what doesn’t

·         Game developers read the reviews. When you write game reviews, go ahead and send a copy of it on to the game company. They will read the review. This is a clever way to get you noticed. You can even put in the footer of your review that you are interested in a career in game design.  One of the lead reviewers for GameSpot recently left the company to take a job as a designer at a major game company.

Focus skills on the job you want

There are many different job opportunities in the game industry. Because today’s games are so complex and vast, the same person who programs is most often never the same person who does the graphic work. There are writers, graphics artists, computer programmers, designers, game testers, and sound specialists. While you should certainly get an overview of all the facets of game development, you will soon want to focus specifically on the job you would most desire. If you are a musician, perhaps you want to get into sound effects or writing music for games. Integrate this idea with the tips from above. For example, provide a set of new sound effects for a game like Command & Conquer that people could download and install. Take courses and classes on writing music. The key here is to find out what you would most enjoy doing and have a talent for and stack your skills up in that area.

Target emerging markets and platforms to land jobs more easily

With the fast paced world of game development there are constantly new products and entire new platforms launched frequently. Most recent is Apple’s Ipad. As an aspiring game developer you can be certain that companies that wish to target these new products will be in need of talent. During that crunch time companies who may have never given you a second look on platforms that have tens of thousands of developers may give you the job if you can demonstrate skills in a new emerging platform. Remember, that game designers working on the Xbox 360 right now don’t have time to work on new technologies that have not come out yet. So perhaps you would maybe look into project Natal, knowing that soon game companies are going to be hungry for employees that can provide them that skill set.

Remember that in game design, a variety of talents and skills are important

Another tip that can really help you land that job as a game designer is emphasizing skills you may have that do not obviously relate to gaming. For example, if you are applying for a game position for a civil war strategy game, you would be wise to convey any knowledge you may have on the history of the civil war, the weapons they used, and the more important battles. Companies are looking for game designers that have a variety of interests and are well educated outside of just game design.

Take action

The most important tip is to use the other nine tips each and every day. Setup goals for yourself and create a working plan you can stick to. Don’t just think about it in your head; write it down! Then each day make sure you are taking action and working toward your goals. Here is a simple example:

·         Build one new level each month in your favorite game

·         Read one book a week on a topic related to game design

·         Write one game review a week

·         Make three intelligent posts each day in a gaming forum for developers

·         Submit your portfolio and resume to two game companies each month

·         Personally contact one game developer a week to ask an important question

·         Signup for one game beta test project each month

As you can see it doesn’t take long to get quite a nice list of activities that will improve your chances of landing a job as a game developer.

 BEST OF LUCK!