| A game designer is a person who designs games. The term normally refers to a
person who designs video or computer games, but it can also refer to one who designs traditional games, such as board games.
Video and computer game designer
A video or computer game designer develops the layout, concept and gameplay: the
game design of a video or computer game. They work for a video game publisher or developer. This person usually has a lot of writing
experience and may even have a degree in writing or a related field (such as English). This person's primary job function is writing, so the more experience they have with the
activity, the better. Some art and programming skills are also helpful for this job, but are not strictly necessary.
In the video game industry, the job of game designer is
one of the hardest to obtain. It is not easy, though many people (especially teenage boys) think they "have what it takes" to perform this job. Almost everyone in the game industry has what
they believe is a "killer game" concept and is waiting for the opportunity to develop the game. As a game designer, they may get
the opportunity to develop that game concept, so competition is usually very high.
Since a video game publisher may invest millions of dollars towards a game's
development, it is easy to understand why they choose game designers carefully—one or two poor game concepts could end up
costing them millions of dollars of revenue and could even risk bankrupting the
company (as in the case of Sir-Tech). For this reason, game publishers usually
choose game designers who have a proven track record with several hit games under their belts. Less seasoned designers may be
assigned to low profile games that have budgets in the low thousands.
History
Early in the history of video games, game
designers were often the lead programmer or the only
programmer for a game. This is the case of such noted designers as Sid Meier and
Will Wright. This person also sometimes comprised the entire art team! As
games became more complex and computers and consoles became more powerful (allowing more features), the job of game
designer became a separate job function, with the lead programmer splitting his time between the two functions, moving from one
role to the other.
Later, game complexity escalated to the point where it required someone who concentrated solely on game design. Many early
veterans chose the game design path eschewing programming and relegating those tasks to others.
Today, it is rare to find a video or computer game where the principal programmer is also the principal designer, except in
the case of relatively simple games, such as Tetris or Bejewelled. With very complex games, such as MMORPGs, designers
may number in the dozens! In these cases, there are generally one or two principle designers and many junior designers who
specify subsets or subsystems of the game.
Notable video and computer game designers
- Danielle Bunten Berry, of the seminal M.U.L.E. and Seven
Cities of Gold
- Jon Freeman, designer of the Archon series of games
- Chris Crawford, creator of
Balance of Power and the first computer game design book
The Art of Computer Game
Design
- Richard Garriott (Lord British), developer of the Ultima series of computer
games
- Hideo Kojima of the popular Metal Gear Solid series
- Sid Meier of Civilization and Railroad
Tycoon fame
- Shigeru Miyamoto of Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda
and Super Mario series
- Peter Molyneux of the Populous series, Black and White and Theme Park among others
- Brian Reynolds, Civilization II, Sid
Meier's Alpha Centauri and Rise of Nations
- John Romero of Wolfenstein 3D, the Doom and Quake series and game engines
- Hironobu Sakaguchi of the popular Final Fantasy series
- Yu Suzuki, designer of many classics that became genres, such as Hang On, Virua racing, Virtua Fighter series,F-355 Chalenge and the Shenmue series
- Roberta Williams, designer of King's Quest and several other computer game series
- Will Wright, designer of SimCity and The Sims
Other notable game designers
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