From the desk of Lori Cole, Designer February 9-13, 1998 So you want to be a computer game designer? Let’s see… What does it take to be a good designer? You must have a love of games, or you certainly don’t belong in this business. You need to be able to enjoy life, for you can’t make a game fun if you never have any fun. You must have Vision – a feel for what you want to do with a game. Those are the obvious skills for a game designer. However, there is one skill a Game Designer needs beyond these – People skills. Games are made by people, not companies. They require teamwork. You’ve got to be able to deal with people before you can be a game designer. Communication skills of writing and speaking are critical. You have to be able to communicate your Vision and sense of fun to others. On one hand, you need to be decisive – know how to make a decision and stick with it. On the other hand, you need to be flexible -- you will have to be one of the team. This means compromise all along the development process. You will need a high tolerance for stress and frustration – you will have to deal with all types of people. Every one of them have their own goals and purpose. Management wants the project done with the least possible budget and the least possible time in order to maximize profit. Don’t sneer at this – if a game doesn’t make a profit, the company goes out of business. The real skill is convincing management that Quality is critical to profits, and the budget must be realistic. Marketing wants to sell the next bestseller. You need to convince them that your game will be the most popular game ever made. They need to believe in the product before they can sell it. They need to understand the game and who will play it, or they will never be able to reach the players for whom you’ve designed the game. Would you want your game advertised, "Your grandmother will love to play it!" Marketing really is your friend, you all have the same goal. The trick is to make sure they know what is going on, what it’s all about, and when is it going to happen. Programmers, Musicians, and Artists are very different people. They all are unique individuals. These are the people you will work with every day. They will bring your Vision to life. They’ll be breaking their backs on the project, putting in the overtime and effort to get the game out on schedule. They need to believe in the game, or all you will get from them is some work. When they believe in the game, you will get their energy and creativity and spirit that brings joy to playing the game. The synergy of the team will push the game beyond your Vision, and make it great. What is the primary thing you need for dealing with all the people who will make your
game? Passion. If you are not passionate about your work, your game will be lifeless. No
one wants to play a game that is dead. You must really care for your game, and show this
to the team. Enroll them in the Vision, for these people, too, will be guiding the game to
brilliance. Your passion will be the driving force that guides the game. |
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