Becoming a Game Designer: Education And Salary

If you are keen on video games, you probably have a secret ambition to become a game designer. These people focus on the “fun factor” in video games, and use their skills to create a successful gaming experience that appeals to players. Here are more details of what a game designer does, and how much he earns.

What Does a Video Game Designer Do?

The first step for a Game Designer is to come up with some interesting and creative ideas for a new game. The work begins with meetings and brainstorming sessions with others in the team. During these meetings, the concept is improved and choices are made about how to take the game forward. When a decision has been made about a winning formula, the idea is transferred to a design document, with the concept laid out in diagrams and tables which can then be gradually refined.

Once the game has been developed, the game designer then has to play it: not for amusement, but to check for bugs and other problems or any interactive settings that need improvement. Although the game designer’s work is initially quite solitary, it later involves crucial group work with constant input and refinement. The process therefore requires a team of programmers, producers and testers, and in addition to creating the basic rules for the game they have to make the experience fun and engaging.

Video Game Designer Salary

If you think this job would suit you, there’s another aspect you certainly might find attractive: the salary. So how much does a game designer earn? In the USA, where there’s especially high demand, a game designer earns an average of $40,000 to $70,000 a year. Not a bad pay, especially if you consider that this could be your ideal job and that you’d be one of the happy few that really enjoy their work!