A video game developer is simply a software developer specializing in video games. The main task of a video game developer is to create and design the plan of the game. This planning for the video game will include the theme, missions, the rules and the game play. In some cases, the video game developer is also the one that writes the dialogue or text of the game, the concept and the layout of the video game.
How to Become a Video Game Developer
In order to become a video game developer, one must earn a relevant college degree. Such degree includes Art, English and computer science. The important skills that a video game developer must have are software design and expert-level computer programming, which are both technical skills.
Types, Description, Information
Video game development has other types such as illustrator, computer programmer, Multimedia artist or animator, software designer and graphic artist. Each of these types focuses on a particular specialization in the development of a video game.
The number of game developers working on a project will vary depending on how the big or complex the project is. Nevertheless, the main function of a game developer is to plan the creation and design of the game.
Some of the common task taken by a video game developer will include writing scripts, sketching story boards, creating basic designs of the game, working with musicians for the back ground music, and writing detailed plans of the game.
Qualifications: Courses, Training, Certification
Although formal education is a must in this kind of career, experience is also highly valued. This is because most of the video game developers will only learn the fundamentals in schools and the more valuable skills while working.
In addition to the technical side of this career – software development and programming – other degree programs also include writing and graphic design. Video game degree is now offered in many of the information technology oriented schools and colleges. Furthermore, you can also find training and courses offered over the Internet.
School, College, Universities
As mentioned before, the fundamental skills needed in this career are thought in schools, colleges or universities. Therefore, it is only proper if you are going to take a programming course in college. Some of the schools offering this kind of training are:
The Illinois Institute of Art
Brown College
Westwood College
The Art Institute of California
American Sentinel University
Job Opportunities in Video Game Development
The video game industry is one of the most highly sought fields in entertainment as of today. Therefore, there are many job openings and hiring in this kind of profession. Employment in the year 2006 in America alone is 87,000 and is expected to even increase in the future. This is due to the continuous demand of new video games and the ever changing taste of video game players prompting the creation of new games.
The median salary for this career is about 73,000 dollars. However, this makes the competition for this job fierce.
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