Job Description of a Video Game Designer

This is a message to all you video gaming junkies out there! Consider a career on the other side of gaming, be a video game designer! The job of a video game designer is not only cool, but also very creative and challenging. To know more about this new career opportunity, read on!Video games have been a rage, right from their introduction in popular culture. Everyone invariably enjoys playing video games. We simply love getting lost in the virtual world of a game with all its intricacies. Are you a gaming freak and follow gaming absolutely, not just for the fun but also for the aesthetics, the plot and the programming expertise? In short, are you a connoisseur of video gaming? Are you a graphic artist who loves creating characters? Is creating games, one of your programming past times? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then video game designing is the career for you! Apply Today!!
The gaming market is booming with possibilities and opportunities! With gaming devices like Xbox, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii released, the demand for games and game designers has risen exponentially. Video gaming is now a multi-billion dollar industry in need of creative minds who can deliver within tight deadlines. Creating virtual worlds and simulated environments is an art and a very interesting job. It even has applications beyond the gaming world.

Training to be a Video Game Designer

Today, there are a lot of institutes all over the country, who offer specialized courses catering to all aspects of game design. The core aspect of gaming, other than the graphic design and artwork, is the programming. So many institutes offer core courses in programming, created especially to prepare you for designing gaming environments. This is a very deep field indeed and specialized courses offered range from artificial intelligence applications in gaming, game mathematics, programming special effects and many more. Game programmers are expected to have a first-class degree in computer science.

Graphic design and animation is also a very important and enjoyable part of the course syllabus. Another aspect is creating sound tracks for games. The main thing is to learn to integrate the programming logic and graphic environments. Specialized courses in specific areas of graphic design like environment rendering and animation are also available.

In gaming, you will create virtual reality and therefore, you need to understand the dynamics in real world very well. Especially while designing special action effects, you need to understand the physics of the real world. Only, then can you recreate it in the virtual world!

Another important aspect of video gaming is the hardware part of it. Especially, designing the consoles and the overall hardware for a game. Electronics engineers can take special courses catering to this special need.

Ultimately what makes a good game is a good story line too! So writing creative story lines that can hook people to gaming, is an interesting profession and there are courses which cater to just that. So, if you are not that good at drawing or programming, but have a flair for words and writing great scripts, there is opportunity for you!

There are many training institutes that offer three year bachelor degree courses in game and simulation programming like Devry, Westwood college and the ITT technical institute. Many private companies like Sega and Disney, also offer courses in this field. Let us now see what the job a video game designer entails.

Job Description of a Video Game Designer

Whatever you are trained in, programming or graphic design, to work on the job as a programmer, you must have an idea of the big picture. As a programmer, you have to be good at solving problems of gaming logic and design. You need to have a good gaming, gut sense of what would look good in a game. For that, it's absolutely essential that you love the concept of gaming. When you are in love with something, it's no longer a job, ideas just flow out uncorked! Still it can be a 'job' at times, in the sense that there are deadlines to be met and it can be hectic at times.

As a game designer, you are responsible with every aspect of the game development process. Your prime job is the creation of the game blueprint or 'Design Document', which includes information about the game plot, artwork, graphics, programming, sound design and every other feature. Experienced game designers, who head entire projects have a team of visual artists, programmers, graphic designers, animation artists, music composers, script writers and many other professionals, working for them.

Through the design blueprint, they need to outline what is expected from each member of this team, as part of the overall design. Ergo project management, planning and ensuring every part of the process stays on schedule, is a part and parcel of a game designer's job. After the beta version of the game is ready, a designer must oversee the testing phase and implement a debugging exercise to remove any kind of flaws that may have been left over.

Most game designers who make it to the top, work their way up by starting as game programmers, graphic artists, script writers or multiply skilled people who can handle more than one aspect of the game development process, at the same time. Surveys reveal the annual salary range of video game designers to be around $40,000 to $50,000 at the entry-level. With more experience of course, the pay packets rise, going beyond $150,000 per year. These professionals get to work in a highly creative atmosphere with standard software industry work schedules. There is plenty of creative freedom, to ideate, conceptualize and construct complex and intricately beautiful plots and virtual settings. They typically work for 40 hours a week but the work hours may extend when nearing game launch schedules.

Game designing is totally a team effort, as to make it a success, the game should be excellent in every aspect. Graphic artists can give a total free rein to their imagination. Besides the gaming industry, designing simulated environments has real applications in the defense and space industry. Jet pilots and space pilots require training for which you can design a tailor-made virtual environment. The advantages of such an environment are that, they can learn to handle real life situations without the danger of crashing out. It is quite a challenging job. So go for this opportunity, have some serious fun and make yourself indispensable in the gaming world!

By Omkar Phatak

Source - buzzle.com/articles/job-description-of-a-video-game-designer.html

Sunday, 25 December 2011

A Quick Guide To Free Online Arcade Games

Are you an old time action addict? You would love to relax and play the traditional games you enjoy and are so familiar with. You know its a good day when you watch an episode of The Incredible Hulk combined with some classic 70's tunes. Were you aware that you could play all of your arcade games online without paying for it? You're ready to move, at any point in time. This is a guide about a few of the greatest available internet arcade games.http://thegamegameorg.blogspot.com

Beginning with free arcade games, this is your standard Asteroid type space game. In Space Defense, you'll defend yourself from evil asteroids and additional spaceships while you shoot a path to winning. Available upgrades include high-tech missiles for weapons and heavy duty armor for space craft.

Just like your dog, you will be inundated with fleas. Corral those bothersome creatures and send them on their way. Next, one levels up and keeps attempting to get them to the next door whilst powering up and obtaining keys, yet keep an eye out for evil things which fly at you.

Last Command has the real action. With your platoon of soldiers you have to protect your base from offending forces in Last Command. An amazing game is Tanks. You go around by blasting off other tanks and avoiding deadly barriers.

Arcade games and online arcade games let you try your hand at taking a walk on the wild side. In Penguin Massacre, your job is to ward off killer penguins to protect your igloo. Do you have an appetite for Penguin? In Endless Zombie Rampage you will defend your camp and, at the same time, try to stay alive as zombies attack. It is more exciting with incentives like power ups and bonuses!

Additional online arcade games that are different and offer a challenge are the old standards, Sonic the Hedge Hog, Super Mario and Donkey Kong. Were you aware of the fact that Sonic is lost in Super Mario world and needs some help to get back home? This game is really a combination of two of your favorite games. You'll have so many bad obstacles and action to ensure you're having fun for hours.

Try Sonic to do fantastic tracing, this could as well work for classic ring game or even Sonic Dash. As you know, Mario is attempting to locate his princess and has never given up hope. Donkey Kong still sits on the throne as king! It even resulted in the release of the prosperous sequel-Donkey Kong Junior Junior had to rescue his father who has been captured by Mario. The ever feisty Donkey Kong wants to find his way through all of the difficult obstacles by himself.

Nothing beats good old-fashioned Pac-Man when you're in the mood to bend your brain with an arcade game. The dots being vigorously chewed by the ghosts is accompanied by the sounds of munching. Or take the mother of them all, one of the best arcade games out there: Tetris. It simply required matching blocks' sizes and shapes as they fell, before allowing the screen to fill completely. To make it all work, you need to twist and turn to fit the blocks and match the colors.

Look at the free online arcade game for a lot of adventure. Why wait any longer?

About the Author
Would you like to play free online arcade games? Visit the site arcade games and have fun playing. Source: www.goarticles.com/article/A-Quick-Guide-To-Free-Online-Arcade-Games/3833424/
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