the games designer

8/4/2019 The Games Designer

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Game Designers are responsible fordevising what a game consists of andhow it plays. They plan and define allthe elements and components of a

game: its setting; structure; rules;story flow; characters; the objects,props, vehicles, and devices available

to the characters; interface design;and modes of play.


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A game designer is not necessarily aprogrammer, visual designer, orproject manager, although sometimeshe or she can also play these roles in

the creation of a game. A gamedesigner might work alone or as partof a larger team.. The focus of agame designer is designing game play,

conceiving and designing rules andstructures that result in anexperience for players.


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What does a Game Designer do?The job description and responsibilities of a designer can vary wildly:- Somecompanies will employ a number of people with specific design skills to work ondifferent aspects of the game design process, whereas others will employ a single

designer to do it all

0 The Game Designer is often though not always the originator of the gamesconcept.

0 The game designers will be responsible for creating and tuning the rules ofgameplay.

0 The designer will also be responsible for creating the characters, world, andnarrative elements of the game.

0 The designer's tasks will specify the levels though often allocate the detailed leveldesign to other members of the team.

0 In collaboration with a Senior or Lead Artist, the game designer will create thevisual look and feel of the setting in which the game takes place.

0 Devise the user interface and the different ways the game may be played.

0 Draft out required sound effects and voice styles and background music beforehanding them over to the sound engineer

0 They create detailed design documents. A design document contain descriptionsof all aspects of an electronic games. The design document is the blueprint usedby graphic artists, sound designers, and programmers to create the software thatresults in the video game.


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Enthusiastic GamerA games designer should have a passion for games: -people thatplay games will have better ideas of what makes a winning game.

Any prospective game designer should be familiar with games fromas many genres and platforms as possible.


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Market Awareness

0 Have a thorough understanding of the market andtarget audience for computer games.


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Industry Know How

A thorough knowledge of a games target audience and marketare very important. Game Designers should also have a deepunderstanding of the capabilities and benefits of different

hardware platforms as well as relevant software technologiesand techniques and awareness of emerging technologies.


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Technical AbilityGood technical knowledge is desirable, with someprogramming skills at least at scripting level.

In video game scripts Every detail of the game hasto be described. Every decision the player makeshas to be diagrammed, and the results have to beflow charted


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Communication &

Presentation Skills0 This involves presenting their ideas both verbally and on

paper, for which they need writing and basic visual

design and drawing skills.

0 They should also be reasonably fluent in a range of 2D

and 3D graphics and animation packages, such as 3D

Studio Max or Maya.


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Game development is a collaborative process

involving multi-disciplinary teams. Designers mustbe able to communicate their vision to artists,programmers, producers, marketing staff, andothers involved in the development process, and

accept feedback positive or negative on their work.It is important that a games designer can takecriticism well. It is the Game Designersresponsibility to ensure that the whole teamunderstands and shares the original concept andvision of the game.

Team Work


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Originality & Creativity

A lot of game design builds on whats gone before,

but the challenge for the Game Designer is to createnew and engaging titles that will expand the currentgenre base and cater to new audiences.


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What qualities will a game

designer need


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Possible Answers

0 Keen gaming enthusiast

0 Originality

0 Creativity

0 Imaginative

0 Logical

0 Communication Skills

0 Team Player

0 Innovative

0 Confidence

0 Work well under pressureand be able to meetdeadlines

0 Be able to adapt quickly tochange


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What skills/knowledge will a

game designer need?


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Possible Answers0 Knowledge of Gaming Hardware & Software

0 Well-informed on Industry & Market

0 Storytelling skills

0 In-depth knowledge of game play theory0 Good Technical Skills

0 Basic Programming Skills

0 3D Modelling Skills

0 Knowledge of Office Applications

0 Drawing packages


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Shigeru Miyamoto

Shigeru Miyamoto is best known as the creator of many of Nintendo'smost beloved characters and franchises including Mario, Donkey Kong,Pikmin, Nintendo dogs, Waverace, and The Legend of Zelda. He wasalso the chief designer of Nintendo's Touch Generation console series,

which includes the Nintendo DS, Wii, and 3DSMiyamoto was an aspiring cartoonist as a child, and drew deepinspiration from the original Walt Disney animated films. Much ofMiyamoto's childhood was spent exploring the natural habitat thatsurrounded his home. These adventures had a profound effect on hislater work particularly in or his adventures in caves as inspiration for theZelda series.

Many of Miyamoto's hobbies have been translated into intellectualproperty. The Pikmin, Wii Sports, and Wii Fit franchises were inspired byhis personal interest in pets, gardening, athletics, and physical fitness,respectively. The Nintendogs series was inspired by his pet ShetlandSheepdog.


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Hideo Kojima

Kojima's Metal Gear series, which combines an almost cinematic storyline with stealth action game play, redefined a video game genreHideo Kojima created Metal Gear Solid when given the seemingly aimpossible task: create a shoot-'em-up game with only three combatantsand little gun play.

Home computers back then were too primitive to handle the heavy data-crunching required to do more so Kojima improvised he designed a gamewhere players control a commando who would sneak out of a POW camp, ahide-and-seek game, with added tension by adding a story to go with it. Itwas Kojima that made the Stealth genre popular.. All Kojima's games havea unique combination of storytelling and stealth-action game play. Releasedin 1987, the game, Metal Gear, was an original: a combat game without

much combat. Kojima became a star. Metal Gear and its sequels created awhole genre of so-called stealth games. Film had a profound effect on hisgame creation ideology, specifically the use of cut-scenes to drive plotdevelopment. Although he was criticized for creating "interactive movies" hestory telling style is widely held to be among the best in the video gameindustry


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Will Wright

0 Will Wright, widely acknowledged for creating the simulationvideo game genre. Wright first rose to prominence when hedeveloped SimCityTM, the acclaimed, nonviolent, open-ended simgame. Wright's next groundbreaking game came in the form ofThe Sims (2000), which has gone on to become the best sellingPC game franchise of all time, being available in 22 languages in60 countries. Wright, who studied architecture in college,originally conceived of the game as an architectural designsimulator. To "score" the quality of the design, he added tinypeople who would inhabit the buildings. These simulated peoplequickly stole the spotlight, and Will realized that watching the lives

of the Sims unfold was the real entertainment. The Sims franchisehas now sold over 100 Million units around the world. His latestcreation is Spore a "universe in a box" that allows players tocreate a species, help it build a society, develop its culture, andexplore an infinite cosmos of worlds created by other players


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Sid Meier

Meier is best known for his strategy Civilization games and has won countlessawards for his contributions to PC gaming. Meier was very imaginative andwas always building imaginative worlds as a young man. An utter fascinationwith how the trains were always on time and the history of the railroad systemwould lead to his creation of the game Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon (1990).

Meier studied programming and system design and then got a job installingcomputer systems in office buildings of large companies. However, with the

creation of the personal computer, Meier saw an opportunity to write computergames, something that he had long before decided that he wanted to do withhis life.Upon the completion of the first game, he travelled to the computer store andasked the owner if he wanted to buy the computer game. The owner wasimpressed with the work and bought copies to sell in the store, which allowedMeier to conclude that he could make a comfortable living by following hispassion.

In 1982 Meier and Bill Stealey founded MicroProse; during his time thereMeier began his now-famous Civilization franchise. However, in 1996 Meierleft MicroProse to found Firaxis Games with gaming executive Jeff Briggs.Sid often incorporates himself into his video games, such as being the guidefor several Civilization titles and being the leader of the barbarians inCivilization IV.


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the games designer

Documents