Do you enjoy playing video games? Most of us, as children or adults, enjoy the excitement and skill required to beat our opponent or get to that next level. Perhaps you grew up playing video games with your friends or siblings with a fierce, good-hearted competition between you. With an online bachelor’s degree in game design, you can turn your passion into a career.
The gaming business is a huge industry bringing in over a billion dollars per year. Due to the popularity of video games, the game enthusiast can earn a degree in game design and earn a lucrative living, too. Today’s video games can be used for exercise, educational or for purely entertainment purposes.
A game designer is responsible for developing a game between two or more players by creating a story line, designing the game and applying your artistic expertise to make it aesthetically pleasing and fun. Game designers create rules, challenges and goals for their games to keep them exciting and interesting. As part of a design team, you will be asked to conceive new and original game concepts, settings, objects and props, characters and, of course, original art and music according to the theme. You will work closely with developers and programmers to assure success.
As the gaming industry grows, so does the universities that offer coursework and online bachelor’s degree programs in game design. Most employers require a bachelor’s degree in video game design or computer science. You will need to be familiar with storybook rendering, software programs and program languages, such as C++, Java, Actionscript, Python and Swift, as well as, 2D and 3D modeling programs, animation, level and interface design, drawing and scripting. Students should consider taking courses for graphic design, computer and software engineering, art, sculpture and classes on how to digitally paint fantasy worlds, characters and creatures.
Some of the most beneficial training you can take advantage of is to spend some time playing video games yourself. The experience gives you a working knowledge of how the technology is composed and keeps you abreast of how the video gaming industry is trending. The game designer must possess several characteristics such as creativity, be a good communicator, a team player, be imaginative and have good written and analytic skills.
Upon consideration of obtaining your online bachelor’s degree in game design, you may want to decide on a possible career path at this time. There are several different types of game designers, such as a lead designer, a level designer and the content designer, all with different responsibilities. Other related career choices may include work in the area of animation, character drawing, sets and scenes for games, texture mapping, game mechanics designer or a user interface designer. Students graduating with an online bachelor’s degree in game design are in great demand by companies providing opportunities involving computer, mobile phones or gaming console sales and development.
While utilizing an online degree program, you may be required to attend some classes, occasionally take exams and present your portfolio of game designs in person. Working an internship is also a great way to gain valuable experience and build your portfolio.
Needless to say, becoming a video game designer will keep you on top of the leaderboard! And, to help you right along, view our Best Online Schools for Bachelor’s in Game Design!