Games designers are responsible for overall vision and conception of the game and influence the design of the gameplay, characters, mechanics, environment and storyline. The course is designed for anyone with little or no experience in video games design. The course will take you from the basics to the end of game design.
The course has been created by the games industry for the games industry. It gives the student a blend of technical teaching and learning infrastructure that is relevant.
The course is a mixture of home-based learning and the use of a remote intranet system that allows you to interact with lectures, course tutors and fellow students. You will need a basic computing knowledge, creativity and imagination, a logical approach to problem solving, but most importantly you need a passion and commitment towards video games design.
During the course you will be using gaming software applications, which will help to develop your creative skills and you will study the key concepts of games design; from character design, 3D modelling, game mechanics, and illustration. At the end of the course you will have a portfolio of games that you designed to show at future interviews with games publishers.
Games Designer Salary and Conditions
- Starting salary of £18,000-£25,000, with a typical salary at senior level with several years of experience of between £35,000 up to £70,000 (salary depends on company type, size and location of employer).
- Some companies offer bonuses or a profit-sharing scheme.
- Working hours are usually flexible, with many designers starting later than 9am. However, working hours are generally long and designers often work a 40-hour week or more.
- In order to try to meet games completion deadlines, games designer teams may need to work a 60 to 80-hour week, including work over the weekends.
- The role is typically office, studio or production house based, although there are some freelancers working from home.
- Designers tend to work in a team environment. In order to meet the complex nature of contemporary games, the size of teams can reach almost 200 individuals. It is not uncommon for groups and individual team members to be located remotely, both in the UK and other parts of the world.
*(Source – Prospects.ac.uk)
