Do you have a flair for the creative? Are you looking for a career that lets you use your artistic side? Then a career in Games Design could be just the career for you!
Whether you are an avid gamer or an artist looking to branch into digital illustration, game design can help you express your creative side whilst producing exciting, artistic and innovative video games for gamers worldwide.
How to thrive in a creative career
There is a common misconception that graduates with creative degrees will struggle to find work. However, not only does this discount the soft skills that creative degrees can develop, such as problem-solving related to a variety of career paths, but it also ignores the available creative careers.
However, with interactive media development, a whole new world of creative careers has opened up, including animation and video game design. The issue is that schools and colleges often do not provide guidance in creative subjects, especially at A-Level concentrate on the sciences, literature and mathematics.
A survey carried out by OnePoll on 1,000 children and young adults in the UK has shown that half of 16-25-year-olds, and 70% of 16-18-year-olds, want a creative career. However, almost two-thirds felt that they did not receive the guidance from schools that they needed.
This issue holds many individuals back in their creative pursuits and, unfortunately, leads to people abandoning their creative passion for a more socially accepted career. However, with over 2200 UK employers in the gaming industry, the work is certainly out there. By learning more about creative jobs such as games design and exploring how to get into it can mean that you can enjoy the creative freedom of this interesting, multi-faceted and creative career
What does a video game designer do?
Games design focuses on creating games from forming an initial idea to the formation of the game itself. As a games designer, you might be required to complete the design for a game based on an established idea such as a film or TV show or create your own game entirely.
The main responsibilities of a games designer include:
Other roles and games design careers
Game design consists of various creative roles, including game artists, game developers, programmers, games testers and animators. The day to day tasks you will be doing depends on which game company you work for, as there is sometimes a degree of cross over between these roles in smaller companies.
For example, you may work with a development team or creative director in larger companies. In contrast, smaller game studios might have fewer job roles, and you will take on other responsibilities as you are part of a team with a smaller workforce.
Brushing up on your skills within IT and programming is an excellent decision in any case, as good IT skills can open up a wide range of exciting careers in various industries.
How to get started in this career
Games design usually requires a higher education degree in graphic design, animation, computer science or computer games design. However, you can also enter the industry through an apprenticeship in game design.
For example, suppose you have a degree in a different subject. In that case, gaining work experience, either voluntary or paid, building up your portfolio with games design projects you have worked on at home or studying a Games Design with Your Programming Skills course can be excellent options.
Keen to move into this fast-growing job market? Search our courses today and see how you can become qualified in this area.
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