Ignore the generic view whoring title if you could to spare my some time if you would.
Simply this September I will starting my Computer Games Design course at Uni,and I need to know how I should prepare and what I ought to expect. I know these courses are pretty diverse among each place of study. But to YOU personally what did you find most important or that you wish you could already know ; Art (drawing ability) , Digital Art, Music, Animation (Software based, 2D animation (Flash lets say) and programming.
I seem to be a bit mixed on all this, I have some knowledge on programming (I did computing last year, electronics this year) and I do Art and Graphics also... and know enough flash8 (animation software, 2D, frame by frame kinda thing, common software) to make small animations, nothing amazing.
So am I all set? Do I need some 3D software? Is drawing that important (Hopefully it is) and is there much programming (It wasn't exactly my strong point >_<).
Games Design courses differ from University to University. If you look at the curriculum and see what they teaching you, it gives an indication what to expect.
I suspect that Game Theory classes will be most useful and the ones that you actually make games be it board, text or computer games.
Anything else are useful skills to have but not essential as a games designer (IMO). Knowing how to program to a degree and design levels with mainstream tools however will be handy when it comes to breaking into the industry as Level Scripters and Editors are entry level for graduates where as Game Designers are not.
I assume you do actually want to be a Games Designer? Or are you aiming for something else entirely?
I assume you do actually want to be a Games Designer? Or are you aiming for something else entirely?
I would want to be involved in the more art based and digital based areas, be it animations or storyboards. I heard that in many courses the final year involves making a simple level (Or cutscene) of a game, could anyone give me a "Yesh"?
Sorry for this bizzare question, but could someone give me the definition of the Games Designer? Are they the same as a director in the land of movies?
I would want to be involved in the more art based and digital based areas, be it animations or storyboards.
Then it sounds like you want to be an Artist and not a Games Designer.
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Sorry for this bizzare question, but could someone give me the definition of the Games Designer? Are they the same as a director in the land of movies?
A games designer is someone who designs gameplay elements of a game which the team follows and implements.
The definition and responsibilities of a 'game designer' differ from studio to studio. And unfortunately many of these college courses entitle the course 'Game Design' when in reality it should be titled 'Game Development', but I digress. There are a few types of game designer, but the standard game designer is what yaustar said. A lot of documentation goes into the job, and a game designer really has to know something about every department to be able to communicate their ideas for implementation. And actually, there -are- entry level positions in game design, generally called junior designers, but it's a very rare opportunity.
It does sound like you want to be an artist, though. You need to figure out what kind of artist, however. Concept, texture, environment, technical, 3D...? I assume you're better with digital art than traditional, in which case texture, technical, and 3D art might appeal to you, and don't forget about animation, which is a diverse category unto itself. Sometimes storyboard artists get their own positions, often-times it's just lumped into the concept art or 2D art category.
As for your questions, I'm afraid no one can really give you a definite answer unless they've specifically been in your program. I have never seen two 'game development' courses that are exactly the same. You should post what the course catalog says, and maybe we can decipher it. Or perhaps speak with a program adviser to get some insight.
However, here's what I'd assume, and take this with a grain of salt because you know what they say about assumptions. I imagine it's a project-based course, meaning the entire curriculum of the course is based around the completion of your final project. For example, I just had a 3D project-based class centered around the creation of a bipedal character. Week 1 was concept sketches and research, week 2 and 3 were modeling the body, week 4 was modeling the head, week 5 was texturing, etc. By the end of the course, each student had fully modeled, textured, rigged, skinned, and animated a walk cycle for a bipedal character. I suspect your course may be something like this. If it actually is a 'game design' course you will likely be making a fully-functional game level, probably in Unreal or some other common game engine. With that in mind, if I were you I would find out exactly what engine you'll be using (again, ask the program director/adviser), buy it if you're required to do so (if it's Unreal you can buy UT4 with the Unreal Editor for $50USD, but I recommend buying the collector's edition which comes with 7gigs of tutorials for the engine. Not sure how much extra that costs, I think only an extra $10.) and start the tutorials. You'll be grateful you got a headstart.
The other thing I would do is decide what kind of level you want to build. Do some research, play through games with great level design. Bioshock is an excellent example of this, as is Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. Both games contain very atmospheric areas. When you decide what you want to build, start documenting it. If you like, shoot me an email at SinnedAria at hotmail dot com and I can give you some area design documents I've created.
to add to the above poster, i cannot emphasize enough that every aspiring game designer play through the games Thief: Gold, and Theif II: The Metal Age. Although dated graphically, these games have level design that is second to none, and AI implementation that is rarely seen even today. They are an excellent case study, and their design documents are readily available online for studying, as well.
It is an online specification of my course. It is a little bare. There is an open day in April. If you could can you help me prepare some questions? I would like to get a head start upon the programs if I could.
Until then I can certainlly do some *research* on Bioshock until then ^_^
How many graduates are working in the games industry now?
Which companies and roles?
How many enter in their desired role within 6mths? A year?
Is it just about computer games design or do you explore generic game theory that applies to card/board/etc as well?
Can you show us some example portfolios from last year's graduates?
What do the University do to help their students enter the games industry? Guest lecturer talks from games companies? Events?
When and where in the course do we actually make games?
Once again I have been a lackadaisical buffon and have missed my university's open day. Fortunately there is another open day in July. And I'm curious to know if anyone knows where I can download 3D-Studio Max for free?
Also another question, my strongest skill is art, traditional but I'm good enough in digital. I know it is a broad question to ask but do you feel it is important to be able to draw figures as in real life?
I'm pondering if I ought to study 3D Studio or reinforce my drawing...
And I'm curious to know if anyone knows where I can download 3D-Studio Max for free?
It legally doesn't exist freely. You can download the 30 day demo for free or use Autodesk's other product Maya which has a 'learning edition' version.
Yes, you there! Advice Please!
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