Computer Game Design

by John Norriston

When I first found out that you could get a degree in computer game design, I was surprised, not to mention very pleased. You see, it had been my dream to be a computer game designer for many years, and though I had had some experience in designing computer games for a small, independent software developer, nonetheless, I had never been able to make it the focus of my career. Instead, I earned my daily bread working as a systems administrator, and did computer game design on the side as a second job, more a labor of love than a career.

Then I found out that many art schools actually offer a focus in computer game design, and made the decision to get the degree. Although I have years experience at using various rendering programs, and extensive programming knowledge on top, I had never gone about studying computer game design in a systematic way. Instead, I had pieced it together from my different pursuits – art and programming. Although I was pretty good at what I did, the computer game designing program that I went through made a world of difference. By the time I had my degree in computer game design, I could write games for any platform, and had strong familiarity with all of the industry tools.

Of course, establishing a career in computer game design is much harder than getting a degree in it. You see, there isn't a single geek out there who hasn't, at one point in his or her life, wanted to work in computer game design. Figure that about 15 percent of them actually try, and 5 percent try seriously, and that still is a lot of competition for a very limited number of computer game design jobs. Kids love video games – don't get me wrong – but most of the work in making them is either done by actors or by code monkeys developing the engines.

If you want to do actual computer game design and not just computer game coding, the degree can really give you a boost. The industry isn't just looking for a team of artists and a team of programmers any more. It has come to rely more and more on people skilled at both. Although it took me several years after getting the degree, my days of moonlighting as a systems administrator are over. I can devote my full career to computer game design.

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