For educational purposes only.

1. WHAT IS GAME DESIGN?
April Bundridge
ART117-001 Computer Graphic Design (section 01)
December 17, 2010

2. PROJECT INFORMATION
GameCareerGuide.com GAMESPOT.com
 http://www.game  http://www.game
careerguide.com spot.com/feature
/features/411/ga s/6129276/index.
me_design_an_i html
ntroduction.php  Site designer-
 Site designer- CBS Interactive
UMB TechWeb  Site deals with
many different
 This is mainly an game consoles,
article videos, forums,
information site cheats, reviews,
on the game articles and
design career. downloads.

3. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
 There are lots of different avenues that are
available to someone who wants to do
game design.
 Game design is a complex work field and
can be difficult to get into without the proper
knowledge and experience.
 While game design can be very rewarding,
it also has its drawbacks when a project
fails.
 There are many different genres of games
and many different styles of games within

4. OVERVIEW
 What is Game Design?
 Game Designers Spotlight
 What do Game Designers do?
 Did Game Designing Meet Personal Expectations
 Pros and Cons of Game Design
 Technology and Game Design
 How to Become a Game Designer
 Job Titles of a Game Designer
 How Much Money do Designers make?
 What are Some Other Resources for Information?

5. WHAT IS GAME DESIGN
Game design refers to the idea behind a game.
Large immersive games –
Smaller games/ones
refers to the plot or theme
without plot- refer to how
as well as story and
one plays the game
character‟s back story

6. GAME DESIGNERS SPOTLIGHT
Designers — Company — Best Known Works

7. WHAT DO GAME DESIGNERS DO
Game designers are creative decision
makers.

8. DID GAME DESIGNING MEET PERSONAL
EXPECTATIONS
It‟s like doing pen-and-paper design, only more detailed and
more fun.
Finding a balance between making the games you want to play
and being aware of the big picture and adjusting for it.
Surprised at how technical game design is.
Met most expectations though there was surprise at the amount
of communication required with staff outside of development.

9. PROS AND CONS OF GAME DESIGN
Pros Cons
Selling
It‟s not static publishers on
Being able to risky titles
meet a variety
of people
Finally seeing a Waiting to see
project come to an idea come
life to life
Dream
fulfillment
Worrying about
budget and
saying „no‟

10. TECHNOLOGY AND GAME DESIGN
Facilitates
design and
storytelling
Faster
Enhances
access to
design and
data and
player
better
experience
graphics
Can be
critically
important to
the games
design

11. HOW TO BECOME A GAME DESIGNER
Be team-
oriented
A critical eye for Good writing
games skills
Good design Good
skills communication
Persistence and Know what you
enthusiasm like in games

12. JOB TITLES OF A GAME DESIGNER
Junior Game Designer
Level Designer
Game Designer
Lead Designer
Content Designer
Creative Director
User Interface Designer
Writer
Scriptwriter

13. HOW MUCH MONEY DO GAME DESIGNERS
MAKE
Average Designer
Average
with 3yrs or less
Experience Designer Salary
$40,000 $77,419
Statistics taken from
www.payscale.com

14. OTHER RESOURCE ARTICLES
“Designing Video Games…Sometimes,” by Jill Duffy
“Game Design Career Preparation,” by Tom Sloper
“Academics for Game Designers,” by Michael McCoy
“On Game Design: The Designer,” by Jason Weesner
“So You Want to Be a Game Designer,” by Marc Mencher
“Tips for the Working Designer,” by Sylvain Dubrofsky
“Types of Game Designers,” by Brenda Brathwaite
“Designer Advice: A Beginner‟s Guide,” by Jill Duffy with Mike Moore
and Marc Mencher
Articles available at

15. WHAT IS GAME DESIGN?
April Bundridge
ART117-001 Computer Graphic Design (section 01)
December 17, 2010

16. Assignment Requirements:
For this Project, you will create a presentation over a topic related to Graphic Design and/or Computer Graphic
Design.
An important component of this Web Research Project is the actual design of the presentation -- utilizing all of the
skills and techniques that you have learned throughout the semester.
Another important component will be the inclusion of all of the specific details about your topic. The list is below.
You will:
Research a topic related to Graphic Design / Computer Graphic Design. For example: typography, non-traditional
design, a specific graphic designer, a specific logo or branding that has changed the way we think of design, etc. If
you're not sure of a topic, please email me. Use the book to help you find topic ideas.
All of the research for this Presentation will be done on the Web.
Think about how you are going to present this information. Will it be on a poster? A brochure? This is up to you. You
should think about how the format relates to your topic.
The specific required elements and their point values are below.
You are creating this to educate you fellow classmates about your topic.
• Include the following:
• Your Name
• Your area of research / topic.
• Title of Web Sites
• Web address researched (http:// address)
• Person or institution that designed the site (If no name is listed, please state that in this section.)
• Describe the important elements on your chosen web site by commenting on the design of the site. For example:
color, fonts, images, the ease or difficulty of finding information, etc. Plan to spend some time in this. Be specific
about the site's design.
• Dedicate this section or the remainder of your paper on the artist or areas of research. Like...
• What did you discover that you did not know?
• Discuss visuals and anything that you can share with the class about our chosen topic.
• Teach us about your topic.
My Comments:
I chose Game Design for my research project. I found a couple websites that talk about being a game designer, but
couldn't find anything specifically about designing games. I chose to create a PowerPoint presentation to layout the
information.
Instructor Comments:
Well done, April!