As the name implies, video game design is the process of creating video games. It encompasses a wide range of aspects, including general video game design, story development, programming, level design, and other elements. Video game design has become a highly sought-after profession as the video game industry has grown in size, despite long working hours, low pay, and a high burnout rate. As a whole generation looks to video games as a lifelong career, entire schools have opened focusing solely on video game design.
Because games were simpler in the past, a single person often handled all aspects of video game design. One person would come up with a game concept, figure out how to put it into action, design simple graphics, program the game, and construct levels. Over time, even at larger game companies, this evolved into small teams working on games. As a result of a keen sense of design, video game design became its own thing, and people began to become well known for their designs, with small celebrities forming in the game world.
At least in large companies, the world of modern video game design is vastly different from this. Hundreds of people may be working on a single title at a large video game company, divided into distinct teams that may have little interaction with one another. In some cases, an individual or team completes the abstract design on their own, and then other teams responsible for art design, programming, sound design and voice effects, character design, and level design bring it to life. Small businesses can still make games with a few employees, as the increased complexity of video games has been partially offset by massive improvements in game development tools.
The design documents are the blueprint for a video game’s design, and they usually detail every aspect of the game. Large teams will have a central document to refer to whenever a question arises, and teams working on specific projects will be able to get a sense of the game’s overall scope. The easily predictable aspects of a game, such as the story, level design, and setting, are frequently controlled by a design document. Iterative design, an alternative form of design, is frequently preferred for things like game mechanics because it allows mechanics to evolve and develop as the game is built, which is useful because how mechanics will actually function can be difficult to predict.
As more people have become interested in video game design in recent years, a number of schools that specialize in the field have opened. Many of these courses are available online, but some traditional design schools have also launched video game design programs. There are benefits and drawbacks to majoring in such a specific field, as well as proponents and opponents of the practice. Supporters argue that having a specialized degree will make it easier to find work in the field because employers will assume you have a basic understanding of best practices. Detractors argue that, given the industry’s high churn rate, it’s often preferable to have a more general degree, such as one in art design or computer programming, so that other jobs can be pursued more easily in between video game design jobs.