Some people feel from a very young age that they know their path in life. They might decide they'll become a doctor because they have a very kind physician they particularly like. Maybe they see a parent in uniform and know they will join the military when they get the chance.
Some people play video games and feel they should make that their profession. Gamers can turn that passion into a career, but it's not easy. Let's discuss how you might tell you should turn your love of Mario Brother or Street Fighter into your life's work.
You're Creative
You might decide you want to get into game design if you're creative. Perhaps you love telling stories. You can work on game designs, and you can get into the industry that way, but these games also need stories behind them.
You might take some fiction writing classes to learn about game writing. Most games have complex narrative threads, just like novels, graphic novels, or screenplays.
Some games have very simplistic stories, and you can certainly make those. The most skilled game designers often have the most creativity, though. You may create an epic video game saga that people love, like the Halo series, the Resident Evil series, or the Final Fantasy series.
You Love Technology
You should also love and embrace technology if you start designing and creating video games. Many fields and niches use technology, but you'll seldom find one that needs it like the video game industry does.
The video game industry thrives when working with the latest and best technology. Think about how amazing games have become since their humble beginnings decades before.
If you look at Pong or Centipede versus modern games, the technological difference will astonish you. You can expect that the games you'll design will only get better. The graphics will improve, and so will how people can experience them.
Video games can involve virtual reality at this point, but that's only the beginning. In time, you might design and enjoy games so immersive that they'll plug right into your cerebral cortex. That sounds like science fiction, but it's probably coming in the not-too-distant future.
You Enjoy Making New Worlds
You should also enjoy creating new worlds if you become a video game designer. Think about the worlds that video game makers have created. They are marvelously complex in some instances.
You can make video game worlds as expansive as those created in movies like The Matrix or Jurassic Park. These movies and their many sequels touch something inside us all. If you can create some video games that have equally impressive worlds, you can become a legend.
Video game players all over the world will love you. You will make a genuine difference in their lives if they spend many hours inside the universe that you have designed.
You're Self-Motivated
You need self-motivation if you're designing and creating video games. Maybe a gaming company hires you, and you're working under their banner.
Even so, you need to push yourself. Your team leader might help you in that regard, but you also need an inherent passion that some people don't have.
Video games might seem fun, and they are, but if you're creating them, you will put in some very long hours. That's inevitable. You must save time for your spouse or partner, your kids, and your other family members, but you will also give yourself to the game to some extent.
If you want to see that finished product that might not come for years, you'll probably face burnout at some point. When that happens, you must find something in yourself that pushes you onward.
It is not just about profit or glory. You want to launch this game and see someone's face light up when they try it for the first time, and it blows them away.
You Like Working as a Team
You also can't create an entire game alone unless you sequester yourself for years with no human contact. Most games require dozens of people working on them if not hundreds.
Some people who make video games do not feel they are very sociable, but you must have collaboration skills to make your dream game. You will have endless meetings and constant back-and-forth with the other minds who want to see this thing through.
If this sounds like you, then designing and creating video games might be for you.
