The last 20 years or so have been huge for home video gaming. You can do almost anything in a video game these days, from racing in a Grand Prix to cooking breakfast. And because you’ve grown up playing them, and video game design is such a hot market right now, you might be looking into how you can get into the field and help to create some of the most entertaining video games around.

Lucky for you, there are a number of schools that offer courses in video game design. And the number of traditional schools offering video game design programs is growing every year. It’s a hot market and it takes more than just a computer science degree anymore to get into it. While you can always look into 3D design and computer programming at any major university, there are some schools that you’ll be able to find almost anywhere that offer specific courses in video game design.

Devry is a school that most have probably heard of and might at first shun because of its mass marketed approach to schooling. But with its video game design program, Devry offers specific, targeted courses that prepare the potential video game designer for exactly what they’ll be working on.

You’ll take courses in game specific math and physics, computer animation, and design mechanics that are all focused directly to video game related topics. The result is a school that doesn’t just teach you about 3D animation, but about 3D animation in video games. Devry will be comparable to a major university in cost though, operating independently as they do, nearly $14,000 a year for full tuition.

The Art Institute is a nationwide network of schools that offers everything from fashion design to cooking. But as the fastest growing art related field, computer animation and specifically video game design have made the Art Institute one of the best schools to get a degree in the art of video games.

Not only do they offer an online school, which includes separate programs in Animation Programming and a Game Art and Design Program, there’s also the option of extending your schooling and receiving a Bachelor’s degree, something many of the technical colleges don’t offer. Tuition for the Art Institute, if you attend a physical branch is fairly high, comparable to out of state tuition at a major university. The online school is a cheaper option but will still cost you about $1200 per course.

ITT Technical Institute is another one of those very commonly heard names that pops up constantly on the TV, and one that offers a video game design specific program that will prepare you for entry level work in less than 3 years. ITT has 85 locations, so it’s easy to find, but you’ll be paying full tuition like many of the other private institutes listed, comparable to out of state tuition in most states.

For those that complete a two-year course in video game design, it’s possible to come out of school and immediately find a job making video games. And for those getting a four year degree, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll land an entry-level job designing the games of tomorrow. The video game design market is hotter than ever right now, and it’s becoming easier and easier to get in at the ground floor.

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If you’re an avid video gamer and while sitting at home playing your favorite game, you think to yourself, “I could do this better”, video game design might be the perfect job for you someday. But there are some key skills you’ll need to have before you can enter the field and truly make an impact on the video game market. Here’s a description of the most important ones.

Programming

Everything you see in a video game is boiled down to 0s and 1s, the basics of programmers everywhere. If you decide to aim for this job, you’d better start early. Programming is the building block of any good video game design job. If you’re great with numbers, better with details, and don’t mind spending long hours staring at a computer screen looking for a missing line of code, programming is a great place for you in video game design.

You’ll need to learn a combination of three to five different programming languages to be really successful in this job, so you’d better be prepared for a lot of work. While C++ is the groundwork for any programming job, you’ll also be learning Java and Visual Basic to supplement it.

Most video game design uses a combination of whatever works in a given situation to get the job done. If you’re in high school though, interested in a job in video game design and programming, you should try your hardest to take courses in or learn C++ as preparation.

Story Writing/Game Theory

For every good video game, there’s someone (or many someones) whose job it is to write the story and develop the ideas for the game. You might think this sounds simple, having sat in your basement telling your friends how much better you could do at writing the ending for a particular game. But there’s just as much schooling to get a job writing or brainstorming ideas in video game design as coding.

For writers, you’d better get a decent degree in creative writing or English. Most video game design jobs require at least a Bachelors degree in English to apply for a story writing job. Second, they want experience, so start early, working on projects in school, taking specific courses in Game Theory and developing long story lines for use in video game design projects.

Your job will be writing dialogue, script and concepts for a massive world with hours of interaction. You’d better have a decent idea of how you’re going to do that.

Computer Animation

The face of video game design, the job that everyone thinks of when they envision their future designing video games, is computer animation. First off, you’ll need to still learn the programming languages of your programming coworkers. This job requires a lot of different skills, many of which are programming languages. So C++ had better be on your resume along with Maya, 3DS Max, and a handful of other image rendering mega-software.

Video game design courses are perfect for the potential Computer Animator as well, as you’ll learn how to operate vast, high tech computers and machinery and utilize the newest software in doing so.

Computer Animation requires not only the technical expertise of a programmer, but the visual, artistic mastery of a story writer or sketch artist. This job requires the best of both worlds in the video game design industry.

There are plenty of jobs for all different skill levels in video game design. If you’re capable of writing a good story, drawing a decent picture, or remembering vast strings of numbers, you can find a job in game design. It’s all about where you’ll best fit in.

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It’s getting to that time in your life when you have to start considering exactly what you’ll be doing with your career and video games look like a solid field. You’re good with numbers, you know a little programming code, or you’re a fairly decent artist.

Any of these are good reasons to consider the industry, so where do you go for video game design career information? You’ll need to be proactive, getting out there and putting forth the effort to make the most of your interest. Here’s how to start.

First off is schooling.

For any video game design career, you’ll need to get a two to four year degree in the field you’re interested in first. Devry, ITT Technical Institute, and many of the Art Institutes all offer programs that will prepare you for the video game design field as well as offering you tons of video game design career information through their programs.

There are other more traditional schools, such as The Digital Media Arts College in Florida, which offers extensive Bachelors Degree programs in video game design, as well as Collins College in Arizona. Almost anywhere in the nation though you’ll find a program that will help you get the video game design career information you need.

Know The Industry

But, just getting a degree is not necessarily enough. Many careers require some level of experience or knowledge of the industry, possibly even just a few contacts from within. Regardless, you should be familiar with the various game design companies.

Not only should you know which companies you’d like to work with when it comes time to apply for jobs, you should know what they produce, familiarizing yourself with their output.

You should know that EA has multiple studios that produce Sports games, action games, and movie license among many others. You should know that if you want to work for a Japanese publisher, you might need to know a little Japanese.

Get Out There and Network

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the industry and are on your way to having a degree, you should look for video game design career information in the most information packed places of all, the trade shows and publications.

You can find endless amounts of information at these shows, with every major publisher out in full force. Though E3 has changed its format this year to a smaller invite only summit, other major shows such as the Tokyo Game Show (once again, Japanese helps), or the Game Developers Conference offer plenty of chances to step in and grab information or meet and greet with designers.

And if you can get invites to any industry events, either through school or press credentials or through networking with industry insiders, you can find yourself in a position to land a great job designing video games.

The real key to finding good video game design career information is to step out of the box and take real initiative. You had better have a keen eye and a willingness to get your foot in the door and meet lots of people. There are hundreds of opportunities out there if you’re willing to make the effort in exploiting them.

BONUS TIP: If you’d like to get your foot in the game industry door, why not start as a video game tester? For more information, grab your FREE REPORT right now at: http://www.BeAGameTester.com

I wake up, go to work and play. Seems an odd comment from an adult, but sometimes you can arrange it. I’m a video game tester. Video game testing jobs aren’t just about mouse and controller skills. The main characteristic needed is precision. But that’s just the beginning.

You see, games aren’t tested until there is enough complete to actually test. That’s when the work really begins. I play the game and keep careful notes on everything I do. This is because some errors only show when specific steps occur in the correct sequence, so knowing what I did can help prevent lots of repetition. Some problems are easy to find and document. Others are subtler and require lots of time to learn what it takes to make the fault occur. All of this must be carefully recorded so the programmers can tell what the fault is and what makes it occur. They must also be checked against the list of known bugs to make sure no other game tester has already reported it.

It gets crazier. As the deadline approaches, the workload increases. Everyone has to work long hours, the programmers, artists and others work to complete the game, fixing bugs and trying to complete everything, which means the game testers work long hours testing every feature and characteristic of the game after each change is published. Normally the same video game testers will play the same game from the first point that it can be played until it goes gold, which means the game ships. We try to test everything you can do in the game, and we’ll test each of those features a dozen times. Just coordinating the video game testers to divide up all of the tasks in a logical sequence is a serious job, much less trying to arrange that everyone get enough variation to minimize boredom.

When a game is ready to publish, many console manufacturers require a videotape of the gameplay before publication. Since the game testers are the most experienced players at this point, we are the ones who play the game through on tape. The pressure still isn’t off, since an error means starting over again from the beginning. This is the point where you can earn bragging rights around the office.

Keep in mind, in-house video game testing positions are an entry-level job. This is normally where you work while you figure out of the industry is right for you, and the industry insiders decide if you are the kind of worker they want. The job rewards expertise, precision, meticulous attention to detail, endurance and the ability to handle stressed out people working long hours with short tempers.

BONUS TIP: If you’d like to get your foot in the game industry door, why not start as a video game tester? For more information, grab your FREE REPORT right now at: http://www.BeAGameTester.com

Many gamers look at the games they play and dream of creating their own. Perhaps with a pet idea for a game that hasn’t been done yet. Maybe you think a particular game is brilliant, but the plot is so thin, surely a better writer could have pulled so much more out of the experience. If you find yourself thinking like this, maybe a video game design job is for you. Let’s take a look at what positions are available.

Lead designers write and program and organize. It is the responsibility of the lead designer to make sure the universe of the game is a place players will find interesting. The lead designer needs to keep track of the pulse of the gaming world, to know what is hot, what is cold and what gamers will expect in a new game. The lead designer tries to find the best compromise between the resources and time available and the needs of the project to create the best possible game, knowing where to cut corners and where to focus attention.

Another of the tasks is to ensure that everyone in the project understands and works towards the themes of the game. What seems like a minor change can cost weeks of work and waste thousands of dollars. The lead designer has to determine when it is worth those changes, and to plan well enough that changes aren’t needed more than a tiny amount of the time.

Game designers take the notes given to them by the others and turn them into virtual reality. Game designers are given parts of the game and are told to make each module work, and work together with the modules the other designers are managing. Game designers have to be good analysts and outgoing people who will seek out the other members of the team to make every piece work correctly together and leverage every skill and asset available to better the game.

They have to be able to figure out what is working, what isn’t working and what needs to be done to correct those problems. They also need to be good writers who can produce clear and concise reports and emails to communicate this with others.

Artists turn those short notes that say a dozen women in chain mail bikinis riding dinosaurs and carrying crossbows will then attack the party into a vision. In a very real sense, an artist did anything you see in the game.

There are artists specializing in character design, some who do the background images, others who create the equipment and even animals. Artists must understand how the images will be rendered, so they can create the best appearances while using the least possible amount of system resources.

BONUS TIP: If you’d like to get your foot in the game industry door, why not start as a video game tester? For more information, grab your FREE REPORT right now at: http://www.BeAGameTester.com