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Game Design Careers: Computer, Video, Jobs And Career In Game Design

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Published: May 10, 2007

Remember Pong, that very first home video game? Remember what Mom said: Turn that off! Go outside and play! Mom should have been saying: Stay inside and play! Get ready for those high paying game design careers!

The average age of people playing a video game or computer game today is in the late twenties, and the heaviest gamers are from ages six to seventeen. These facts bode well for the industry that will need students prepared for high paying game design careers.

Game design careers can follow a variety of paths including audio, design, production, programming, visual arts, or business. This tasty menu of career choices means that a student can choose among game design careers to find one that is suitable to their particular talents and interests.

Game design careers that design specializing in audio can include sound engineering and design, composing, or audio programming and engineering. Starting game design jobs in audio pay around $45k per year, while experienced experts in the audio are earning over $130k per year. Does the audio path sound good?

Game design careers include jobs such as game designer, lead designer, level designer, and fiction writer/screenwriter. These game design jobs produce the visual parts of the game from the characters to the architecture of each scene. The script of the game is also a part of game design careers in the design path. The average salary of a designer is about $57 per year with entry level designers earning about $50k and top level industry experts earning $200k.

Game design careers in production include jobs such as producer, project manager, associate producer, game tester, and lead tester. Taking on a career in game design as a producer, project manager, or associate producer means being organized and diplomatic in order to keep production of a game on time and within budget. While game design jobs as game and lead testers may sound like nothing but fun, and they mostly are, these game design careers also require problem solving, patience, tenacity and excellent communication. Jobs in video game and computer production pay about at entry $60k to about $160k for top level producers.

There are too many game design careers in programming to list them all, but entry level is called Junior Programmer (watch it junior) and one of the more complex programming jobs is called a multiplayer network programmer. Mathematics and a brain for fine detail are required for game design careers in programming. Entry level programmers earn about $55k per year, but get this: the top level programmers are earning over $300k per year. So memorize those times tables, kids.

Not cut out for game design careers that involve a lot of math? How about art? There are many game design careers that require artists including 3D model and character builders, art directors, and 2D texture artists among many others. From designing the faces of the characters to drawing the texture of a castle wall, the artists create the entire look and feel of video games and computer games. An entry level intern artist earns around $57k per year, while top level artists are earning around $200k, so keep on doodling!

Game design careers include all of the usual jobs that businesses employ from CEO's to secretaries to salespeople. A career in game design as a marketing executive or accountant is just as important to the overall success of the company as an intern artist is to the enjoyment of a gamer logging on to battle evil Narfods from the planet Altreck.

Game design careers are as diverse as the talents of young gamers today. The video game and computer industry is growing rapidly with China being the largest growth market increasing by 68% in 2006, according to market intelligence firm Niko Partners. The number of gamers in China is expected to nearly double by 2011. Game design careers are where many creative young people are headed since video games first out earned box office ticket revenues back in 2001. Watch out Hollywood, here comes Silicon Valley!


Sources:
Brightman, James. “Report: Chinese Video Game Market Soars, Up 68% in 2006.” Industry News: Game Daily Biz. 3 May 2007. 10 May 2007. http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=1603 7.
Beinisch, Yischai, et al. "Digital Broadband Content: The online computer and video game industry." Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 12 May 2005. 10 May 2007.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/19/5/34884414.pdfBreaking In: Biz & Misc.  idga. 10 May 2007. http://www.igda.org/breakingin/path_biz.htm.
Breaking In: Visual Arts. idga. 10 May 2007. http://www.igda.org/breakingin/path_art.htm.
Breaking In: Programming. idga. 10 May 2007. http://www.igda.org/breakingin/path_programming.ht m
Breaking In: Production. idga. 10 May 2007. http://www.igda.org/breakingin/path_production.htm .
Breaking In: Design. idga.10 May 2007. http://www.igda.org/breakingin/path_design.htm.
Breaking In: Audio. idga.10 May 2007. http://www.igda.org/breakingin/path_audio.htm
Walsh, David, et al. "11th Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card. "National Institute on Media and the Family. 28 Nov. 2006 . 10 May 2007. http://www.mediafamily.org/research/report_vgrc_20 06.shtml
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