Off Topic > Off Topic
I Have A Degree in Bullstuffery about Video Games, AMA
cooolguy32:
Amazing Job!
after highschool, I might get a degree in programming.
McJob:
When it comes to proper teamwork, I generally stick towards the theoretical/functional side of games.
Designers usually play two hats; the design hat, and then either the art or the code hat. Very rarely audio. A high level designer is expected to understand all the fields, but that doesn't mean they can't specialise. Specialising is good when you're not in a management position, as the design work stops about half way through as all the game rules are concreted into place and managers lay down the "No New Content" marker, so you need to have something else you can do (or else you're an expensive paperweight). I'm a code dude, which means I can also rapidly prototype and demonstrate my ideas (even if they look like stuff).
It's not to say that I have no appreciate for the art-side at all, but I generally only have an idea of the "feel" (moodboard-level) of what the game should look like, and I defer specific designs to concept artists who have the whole job of coming up with the best visual designs to match the feature/story spec.
Farad:
Not sure if I should ask this, but how's the salary starting out in game design and do you expect much increase in salary over time?
beachbum111111:
--- Quote from: Farad on March 15, 2017, 06:43:22 AM ---Not sure if I should ask this, but how's the salary starting out in game design and do you expect much increase in salary over time?
--- End quote ---
You start at around 50k which can double over time. But it all depends on what your job is.
McJob:
--- Quote from: Farad on March 15, 2017, 06:43:22 AM ---how's the salary starting out in game design and do you expect much increase in salary over time?
--- End quote ---
Game Designers tend to make as much, or slightly over, the amount of a Programmer of the same rank in the same company, but that's usually because Designers are often much closer to Managers than anything else (and hence shoulder more responsibility for a better paycheck).
Entry level? I can tell you that my current pay-check every month is pretty dismal, but that's not helped by being part-time. Then again, I'm working for a small time mobile app developer in a junior position. My full-time payrate is equal to just over $50k. If you were to get started at a AAA development house on big name games, you'd probably be making in the ball-park of up to $70k a year (but you would have to be a loving talented beast to get through the interviews for that gig).