What is Game Design?

            So what is it? Is it like Fashion Design in which you make some spectacular clothing? Or maybe it’s more like Interior Design where you pick out some nice wallpaper and arrange furniture? This is where many people get the term “game design” incorrect. It isn’t so much about the artwork. That’s Game Art or Concept Art. Game Design is the writing of the rules and planning out how the entire game works. This may also include a story if the game calls for one. Anyone who writes rules and documents for a game is known as a Game Designer. That is the main reason many of us are here at SAU pursuing the Game Animation and Simulation program: to make some games!

            Sadly, as of this post there isn’t an emphasis on the design aspect. It’s all about the artwork and programming. Both fields are still important to making a game a reality and can still net you some jobs, but are not necessarily what we may all be looking for. There is speculation that a minor in game design will be added to the program and there is a class about making games called Game Design Management, but what do you do until then? Personally, I’ve been doing research. Research and a bunch of writing of articles to show what I found so far. As a three year student here, let me offer some advice on learning game design.

            First off, you don’t have to make video games. Game design applies to non-digital games as well. If you have an idea for a board or card game, write it down. Write any idea down, really. That idea, whether it be good or bad, might just help you out in the future. It may become a game or it may inspire another idea for some other medium. For example, I had an idea for a multiplayer version of Five Nights at Freddy’s that was inspired by watching some people play a gmod of the game. Someone built a replica of FNAF in Garry’s Mod and it looked fun. I planned a video game document around it, but then it turned into a board game idea. It’s still a work in progress, but ideas take time to realize. They may be built quickly or they might take years. If you keep at it, your work will pay off. 

            Or maybe you don’t want to go for board games. That’s fine. Video games are a lot bigger and more difficult to make. Plus there’s this pressure of either making your own game by yourself like Jonathan Blow did with Braid or finding a little niche to carve out for yourself. I feel like I HAVE to make a game doing all of the artwork, all of the programming, all of the sound and music, and especially the writing just to prove that I’m adequate at game design. It does not have to be that taxing, though. As a designer, you only need to know how to write and design a game. Having basic knowledge of creating artwork and computer programming is a plus, but not essential. In my case, I kind of have to know how to make artwork so I have things to show off on a portfolio. 

            Which brings up an important point: portfolios. Artists have portfolios of their greatest works, but what do game designers have? Pretty much the same thing, but with pitch documents. If you have a good game design document, post it on your site and let potential employers see it. I wouldn’t post the whole thing as someone might try and copy it. As long as the idea sounds interesting enough to develop, go with it. Having worked on a game in the past is an even better option. If you helped someone make their game, just state your role and the game you worked on. An example might be someone who was an Item Designer for Mass Effect. That person had to calculate values for each weapon and how much damage they did. Maybe you designed a level for someone in which case you would be a Level Designer. Super Mario Maker is a good game for learning how level design works.

            Now what about the story? There’s at least one person who establishes a story and possibly the entire world (or the universe!) of that game. The Lead Designer will usually be in charge of establishing the setting, but sometimes a team of writers will do that for him. Maybe you went into this program hoping to write for games without having to design them. That’s great! Creating scripts for games can help improve your writing skills. By scripts I don’t mean code. I’m referring to film script. Many segments of a game need a film script to describe the events that go on. Think of it as planning for a cutscene: you set up the camera shots, direct where the action is going, input dialogue, and stuff like that. You could also do storyboarding for games which lets you organize how the story goes in picture form.

            But what if you don’t want to do ANY of that, but still want to work in the games industry? The only thing I could think of is being a games critic. They don’t make games, they don’t do any artwork, no programming, and no story telling. They look at a game, see its flaws and mistakes, and points them out. They are not payed to insult a game, but rather to constructively criticize it so developers know what went wrong and how to improve upon it better in a future title. I’ve written my fair share of reviews and since pursuing this program, I can spot glitches and faulty textures much more easily. Most critics judge solely based on gameplay and replayability rather than art assets.

            Hopefully this advice helped clear up what game design is and isn’t. It’s all about the way the game plays, but not about what the game looks like. Designers do not have to do any coding (unless they are pretty good at it), no sound direction, nor music making. They make games for the sake of making games.