Game Designers
Game designers write the blueprint of the game. They decide the mission, theme, and rules of play. If the game is engrossing, designers have done their job. Most development teams have a lead game designer, who is responsible for the overall concept and feel of the game. Level designers work with artists and programmers to lay out smaller sections of the game. Writer-designers write game text and dialogue. Some also write manuals and hint books. The early stages of game design involve brainstorming, collaboration, and revision. Designers test their ideas by writing short scripts and narratives and sketching rough storyboards. The storyboards describe the action of the game with a sequence of pictures. As their concepts solidify, designers supervise the production of working video game demonstrations. After the designers decide on the game concept, they write a detailed plan, called a design document. This document lays out every aspect of the game. It includes maps of each game setting and flow charts to show how events in the game may unfold. Everything the player might see, do, or hear is described somewhere in this document. Designers are storytellers, with a twist: they invent a plot, but they let the player control the story and decide the outcome. They create a web of possibilities, and the player chooses a path. A video game's design evolves over time. New ideas lead to new levels, special features, and secret additions and shortcuts called codes. Designers edit and add to the design document throughout development. A designer's main concern is to make the game entertaining and irresistible. Designers often challenge players by devising puzzles to solve or enemies to defeat. If a game is too easy, the designers make puzzles and enemies more cunning. The goal is to increase the game's difficulty as the player gains new skills—to make a game easy to learn but hard to master. The pace and rhythm of a video game is also critical to its success. Designers decide how quickly players move and how often they encounter obstacles and other characters. If the pace is too slow, the game is boring. If the pace is too fast, the game is confusing. Designers work with artists, programmers, and musicians throughout development. In fact, sometimes a designer is also the lead programmer, artist, or producer. But even if designers have other duties, their role is unique. They oversee the entire game playing experience, instead of concentrating on one element.
Earnings: The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not have data for game designers, but industry sources suggest their salaries vary widely. Surveys by placement companies found annual salaries for writers and designers usually ranged from $35,000 to $75,000 in 1998 and 1999.Like other entertainment occupations, earnings depend, in part, on worker reputation. A few of the most prominent designers earn large sums; the rest earn less. The wide range of salaries also reflects the varying job responsibilities designers have.