What's the best way to start designing games?

[twystyd1981]

I really want to get into game design. Not necessarily the programming aspect of it, more along the lines of storytelling and art. Does anyone have any advice on starting out that doesn't involve taking a huge college course but that will still hopefully land me a job in the business? Of course I'm not against going to school and getting a degree, but I'm almost 30 so I kinda feel rushed.

[Lambonius]

If it's art you want to do, you don't need a degree.

However, you do need to really kick ass at it.  And you need a strong portfolio that showcases what you're capable of.  You will need to tweak said portfolio to appeal to specific employers depending on what exactly it is they are looking for.  You also need to be skilled and knowledgeable in most, if not all, major design programs (everything is digital now,) and ideally should have some skill and experience in 3D modeling and animation.  Employers nowadays are not looking to hire niche artists that can only do one thing, but rather skilled individuals that can be applied to a variety of different tasks on different projects.

Also, if you don't live out on the west coast, you probably won't succeed in getting into game design professionally.  You need to be where the companies are or they won't even consider you.

[twystyd1981]

Yeah I don't really kick ass at art, but I'm practicing. Like I said though, storyline is a huge thing for me too. If a game has a bad story, I lose interest fast. I've been writing as a hobby for about 15 years now, and I'd like to see something related to video games done with that even more than visual art. Is there a demand for just writers?

[Fierce Deity]

Not really. Storyboards are usually lined up with the programmers and designers themselves. It would be rare to find someone who only works on the story. Not saying it's impossible, but you might want to give a company more incentive to choose you over the next guy. Art would be a fine fallback, but if story is your priority, then it would be better to just start your own team of developers and do what Phoenix Online is doing.

[darthkiwi]

First of all, I'm not in the industry so this is just stuff I've gleaned from reading about this online. So take this with a pinch of salt.

I guess you could always become a game writer, but as far as I can tell most writers just write dialogue which fits into an already-written story. Only a senior writer would be able to shape the narrative, and even then, it's likely the lead designer would have as much or more control over that, especially if the game in mind was experimental and pushed the envelope for games as storytelling spaces.

Plus, it's really difficult to become a game writer in the first place. Take Deus Ex 3, for example, a game currently in the last phase of development. They have dozens if not hundreds of artists and programmers, but only had (I think) 2 or 3 writers at first, and then expanded to about 5 (I forget the exact number) to fill in content for the game, ie. dialogue, books the player finds lying around, other written material. This trend is common to pretty much the whole industry: teams simply don't need many writers because games need much more art, code and sound than they do writing.

Which is not to say it's impossible to become a game writer who is also a lead designer who has total creative control. Ken Levine (BioShock) and David Cage (Heavy Rain) are both examples of writer-designers who have a great deal of control over the game, and write a lot of the dialogue. But, bear in mind that there are a lot of people who are not in this position.

So, as Fierce Deity says, it's probably a safer bet to start your own team if you want total control over your game's story and writing.

[drunkenmonkey]

Jobs for writers/story-boarders are not as frequent as programming, 3d modeling, graphic design or animation. If you are serious about getting into gaming you need the wide range of skills that would allow you to communicate and express ideas with the rest of a design team. Learning how to code and script is the absolute minimum you must have. Build up a portfolio of examples to demonstrate your abilities to an employer

[wilco64256]

Learn at least some basic Javascript and get comfortable with the workings of the Unity game engine.  If you get good at using that, it'll be a lot easier for you to get into the industry in the coming years.

[Arkillian]

The biggest thing with any talent you start out is to research, give it a try, then get advice from someone that is constructive. One does not simply walk into game making though. I suspect it's like making a comic.  There's a heap of ways to make 1 game, some ways will work badly, some ok, some excellent, and 1 perfectly. You'll never know till you try though.

I'd start off with a storyboard though. If it's story based.

[kindofdoon]

One does not simply walk into game making though.

Additionally, one does not simply walk into Mordor.

Jobs for writers/story-boarders are not as frequent as programming, 3d modeling, graphic design or animation. If you are serious about getting into gaming you need the wide range of skills that would allow you to communicate and express ideas with the rest of a design team. Learning how to code and script is the absolute minimum you must have. Build up a portfolio of examples to demonstrate your abilities to an employer

This.

[KatieHal]

With many companies, QA is the gateway job. From there you can learn a lot about how games are made in different areas, and hopefully move on to other jobs in the company/industry bard on what you enjoy and have an aptitude for.

[LadyTerra]

You should also learn about what makes a game good or bad, which means playing a lot of games, including the ones with bad stories.  Why is the story bad?  What would you do to make it better?  Sometimes, it's easier to learn from failures than successes.

[Fierce Deity]

You should also learn about what makes a game good or bad, which means playing a lot of games, including the ones with bad stories.  Why is the story bad?  What would you do to make it better?  Sometimes, it's easier to learn from failures than successes.

Also, listening to the feedback of games and their sequels. It's common to find people who thought that Mass Effect 2 improved on the first one in almost every aspect. However, a recent debacle on the Dragon Age forums is how Dragon Age 2 is a huge step back from where the first one set the bar. So even Bioware can have their ups and downs, and most likely, no team can keep a constant stream of success going forever. But the reception that a team gets from a release will decide how they pursue the next installment. Play games, but also, keep in touch with the audience.

[snabbott]

With many companies, QA is the gateway job. From there you can learn a lot about how games are made in different areas, and hopefully move on to other jobs in the company/industry bard on what you enjoy and have an aptitude for.

What if QA *is* what you enjoy and have an aptitude for?

[KatieHal]

Then you can move up the QA ranks, hopefully

[dark-daventry]

I like QA, I just don't have the time for it right now. Once school ends, I should have MUCH more time to devote to QA.

[snabbott]

Unfortunately, I don't have time for much *except* (non-TSL) QA these days.

[moresco]

I really want to get into game design. Not necessarily the programming aspect of it, more along the lines of storytelling and art.

Even if you can't afford to go to a design school, like FZD, you can still learn a TON about design from Feng's free videos on youtube.  Just go to youtube and search "FZD School".

Fair warning though, these videos are about design, they're not about art.  You have to learn to draw to get started as a designer, but there's no reason you can't attack all these things here and there as you need to.  Even if you don't know how to draw, you can still pick up some ideas about drawing from watching Feng do his thing.

Storyboarding, character design, environments, vehicles, you can do all of it if you understand form, value, color, anatomy, etc.  It's a long journey though, and the competition is ridiculous...so good luck, don't get overwhelmed!