I want to get into game design. - Games

As you can see I want to get into game design and my question for you guys is what is the best way to start? For now I just want to do it as a hobbie but i might consider making it my career in the future. Can anybody recommend any tutorials.. programs.. websites etc?

I think the best way to do it is to mod the games you already play. That way you can decide which aspect of game design you'd like to get into.

I started out with gamemaker. Learn GML. I don't like how it too forgiving though, but its easy to learn.

Wait until college/high school/whatever the fuck.

First you need to set your main priority to finish school. I am guessing you are in middle school? High school? Anyways you should take all the computer classes in school first, then you need to find a suitable college so you can get a degree and finally you find a company to work for. This is what my cousin did to work for EA.

Don't do it as a career. A game design degree is extremely limited career wise.

[QUOTE=BagMinge104;25999643]Don't do it as a career. A game design degree is extremely limited career wise.[/QUOTE] True, but if you find the right people to hire you then you are set.

[QUOTE=steven688;25999669]True, but if you find the right people to hire you then you are set.[/QUOTE] You don't earn a lot of money either, unless you're very experienced and talented and work for a good company.

Well I am in high school (9th grade to be exact), but as i said i only need a hobbie and might do it as a carrier so stay on topic please. I am also taking some simple computer courses at my high school. But i am interested in modding as n0cturni was suggesting.

well uh the best way to get into game design in my opinion is to learn how to design games start there

I dunno what country you're from so it's hard to say. Game Design BA courses here in UK universities base their admissions almost entirely on art portfolios - they don't give a shit what grades you get in college/6th form so long as they're not embarrassingly bad. They expect the portfolios to be full of decent traditional artistic work (technical pencil drawings, still life, observational drawing etc), decent digital artwork (2D and/or 3D) but, and this is most important, artwork that shoes the creative design process. By this I mean something more than just really fucking good drawings. They'd rather see someone who is average at art but has an amazing imagination and ability to convey ideas with video games in mind than someone who is amazing at art, technically speaking, but doesn't have an original idea in their head. To this end, the portfolio should include level designs, character designs, weapon designs, things of that nature all done in various artistic mediums and including text explanations of your thought process. Texture art for game-engines, 3D modelling for game-engines and work on 3rd party modifications for game engines will all strengthen your position too. At the end of the day though this thread makes it look like you're about 14 or something so all I'd worry about now is getting good at pencil drawing, shading, proportions and anatomy and keep your creative ideas flowing on a regular basis but mostly just focus on getting through school.

I would suggest playing around with Game Maker. It has a drag and drop system but because it also has a language and community supported addons, once you get good with it, it's quite unlimited to what you can make. Once you get experienced with it you could look into some more advanced engines but Game Maker is good at teaching you the basic process of designing a game which is why a lot of colleges use it when you're first starting out. Also like some others have said, I recommend it as a hobby rather than a career.

[QUOTE=alt;25999774]You don't earn a lot of money either, unless you're very experienced and talented and work for a good company.[/QUOTE] You earn tons of money, that is, if you're in the right company.

[QUOTE=redBadger;26000973]You earn tons of money, that is, if you're in the right company.[/QUOTE] That's what he said.

If you want to learn game design, read the articles on Gamasutra.com. They're not all about game design, but everyone there is either a game designer, or an aspiring one. Valve people write for it every so often.

Start learning the skills right now. Take some programming, or modelling, or both. It'll give you a big advantage over other applicants later on. Don't wait until college or somesuch to learn anything- a few college "game design" courses don't really do any hands-on activity.

[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;26000369]I dunno what country you're from so it's hard to say. Game Design BA courses here in UK universities base their admissions almost entirely on art portfolios - they don't give a shit what grades you get in college/6th form so long as they're not embarrassingly bad. They expect the portfolios to be full of decent traditional artistic work (technical pencil drawings, still life, observational drawing etc), decent digital artwork (2D and/or 3D) but, and this is most important, artwork that shoes the creative design process. By this I mean something more than just really fucking good drawings. They'd rather see someone who is average at art but has an amazing imagination and ability to convey ideas with video games in mind than someone who is amazing at art, technically speaking, but doesn't have an original idea in their head. To this end, the portfolio should include level designs, character designs, weapon designs, things of that nature all done in various artistic mediums and including text explanations of your thought process. Texture art for game-engines, 3D modelling for game-engines and work on 3rd party modifications for game engines will all strengthen your position too. At the end of the day though this thread makes it look like you're about 14 or something so all I'd worry about now is getting good at pencil drawing, shading, proportions and anatomy and keep your creative ideas flowing on a regular basis but mostly just focus on getting through school.[/QUOTE] Thanks for the information. I defiantly have the imagination thing down pact. I am an excellent writer. I can be at school bored and think of a bunch of game ideas. The thing I completely suck at drawing.. i can get a few good pictures every once in a while though. Also, is drawing with a mouse a good skill to have?

[QUOTE=soapyy;26001776]Thanks for the information. I defiantly have the imagination thing down pact. I am an excellent writer. I can be at school bored and think of a bunch of game ideas. The thing I completely suck at drawing.. i can get a few good pictures every once in a while though. Also, is drawing with a mouse a good skill to have?[/QUOTE] Drawing isn't that important for a game designer. Drawing with a mouse is almost never done - real artists always have tablets, or use a scanner. Or both.

[QUOTE=gman003-main;26001868]Drawing isn't that important for a game designer.[/QUOTE] Dunno what the hell they do for game design degrees in your country but here in the UK (and many US universities, or at least the good ones, as I understand it) you barely even touch a computer for a year. No one works as a "game designer", a guy who just writes down cool ideas for gameplay/story concepts... it just doesn't work like that. "Game Design" courses are really about the artistic development of games starting with the base ideas and then building them up into working game elements. [QUOTE=soapyy;26001776]Also, is drawing with a mouse a good skill to have?[/QUOTE] Not really. Everyone uses tablets. It doesn't matter anyway - if you can't draw on paper you won't be able to draw on a tablet. Not to say "give up now if you 'can't draw'"... because everyone can draw. I don't believe you can be born bad at art - most people just give up too easily and never practice it. Sure some people pick it up faster than others, but you could say the same for anything like playing video games or playing the guitar.

[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;26001957]Dunno what the hell they do for game design degrees in your country but here in the UK you barely even touch a computer for a year. No one works as a "game designer", a guy who just writes down cool ideas for gameplay/story concepts... it just doesn't work like that. "Game Design" courses are really about the artistic development of games starting with the base ideas and then building them up into working game elements.[/QUOTE] I think our problem is the definition of "game designer". I'm using the term as "person who designs the interactions, manages gameplay balance, and works to integrate the art, story, audio and code into a cohesive product". It's a role that is usually combined with another, usually level design or writer, but sometimes character artist.

You guys are getting game designers mixed up with game programmers. The programmers of a game make the most amount of money. Designers, on the other hand, are extremely under payed and are one of the least payed in the whole business of making a game. Programming and designing are two different things.

Make a mod. It's fun as hell and can really get you on the map, if it's really good. Apart from that I would probably suggest heading for Computer Science (possibly with a focus on Game Systems) rather than a straight Game Design degree as it keeps your options open and is often seen as a better degree overall anyway. That's what I'm doing at least, so good luck!

Design Develop

[QUOTE=soapyy;25999892]Well I am in high school (9th grade to be exact), but as i said i only need a hobbie and might do it as a carrier so stay on topic please. I am also taking some simple computer courses at my high school. But i am interested in modding as n0cturni was suggesting.[/QUOTE] I'd learn some programming language first, like Python. It's fairly daunting at first, though it's something you need to learn if you want to get into that area.

Start learning C and it's variants now. I MEAN IT! Now mister! You'll thank me when you're in University and you can actually code.

[QUOTE=benjgvps;26002127]I'd learn some programming language first, like Python.[/quote] [QUOTE=TM Gmod;26002136]Start learning C and it's variants now.[/QUOTE] [b]Coding =/= design[/b] Totally separate degrees.

[QUOTE=Thorny;26002118]Make a mod. It's fun as hell and can really get you on the map, if it's really good. Apart from that I would probably suggest heading for Computer Science (possibly with a focus on Game Systems) rather than a straight Game Design degree as it keeps your options open and is often seen as a better degree overall anyway. That's what I'm doing at least, so good luck![/QUOTE] I'd agree with this. Games companies don't give a shit if you did a specific course for games design, chances are you still program like shit, model like shit and create concepts like a two year old. having something like Comp Sci for a degree helps you get into more than one job spectrum, then it is up to your to take extra degrees in design, or learn how to design assets for games in your spare time for a portfolio.

What i think i am going to do is practice modding, and practice drawing. Once i get better i will get into more advanced things. Could anyone recommend any good tutorials? Thanks to everyone who is helping.

[quote=soapyy]Could anyone recommend any good tutorials? [/quote] Which are you more interested in? Modding or drawing? Drawing is pretty easy and it's not that hard to find a very specific book/tutorial on what kind of drawing you're learning to do. Modding is a whole other field, considering there aren't many books on it, just tutorials scattered around the internet.

Barnes N Nobles has books on that, I'm sure. If you're into reading [i]books[/i], that is.