Become a Video Game Designer
The video game industry is one of the largest sectors in the world. Within this booming industry, video game designers are among the first to kick off game development, defining game rules, characters, and the central storyline. This 100% online course will help you design and create your own video game for the PC. You will be prepared to join a video game development team or work as an independent designer.
Job Outlook for Video Game Designers
- According to Payscale.com, the median annual salary for video game designers was $64,800.
- As the video game industry grows, so does the opportunity to specialize. For instance, VentureBeat found that the eSports field grossed over $1 billion in 2019 alone.
Video Game Designer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Do Video Game Designers Do?
The role of video game designer will vary depending on where they work, but these professionals work on concepts like gameplay and user experience for a video game in the pre-production phase. This can range from defining game mechanics to creating levels and puzzles or drafting character art and animations.
How Do You Become a Video Game Designer?
Although some traditional forms of advertising have struggled in the digital age, businesses still need well-trained professionals who can communicate their messages. The American Marketing Association notes that content and digital marketing professionals are in especially strong demand as data-driven marketing grows in importance across all industries.
What Is the Difference Between a Video Game Designer and Video Game Developer?
While video game designers are more involved with character, level and animation design, developers build out the world of a video game using various programming languages. Having both technical and design skills is an important aspect of planning and shipping a video game.
Course Objectives
- Create your own video game as a portfolio piece
- Learn how to design and create video games for PC
- Understand the technical and aesthetic fundamentals for creating a successful game
- Master the math, programming language, and game engine knowledge needed to design video games
Prerequisites and Requirements
To succeed in this course, you will need basic computer skills and a high school-level understanding of mathematics.
Curriculum
C++ Programming for Game Developers I
Learn the fundamentals of creating a C++ program. You'll understand console input and output, arithmetic operators, functions, and more.
C++ Programming for Game Developers II
Discover template classes and functions, how to handle errors, number systems, data representations, and bit operations.
Game Mathematics
Move on to learning game mathematics, including algebra, set theory, polynomials, trigonometry, and more.
General Game Modeling
Learn about interface and rendering modes. Find out everything you need to know about primitives, meshes, and mesh editing.
Game Texturing
Understand pivots and manipulators, the 3D cursor, object joins, separation, and duplications. You'll also learn about polygon structure and count, and how to model with bevel, extrude, and multi-resolution.
Unreal Engine Foundation
Create projects and understand the user interface. Learn about viewport navigation, as well as how to view modes and show flags. Discover how to place objects in a level, as well as how to manage content and lighting.
Instructors
Frank Luna
Frank Luna has programmed interactive 3D computer graphics for more than a decade. He has 15 years of C++ programming experience, having worked as a contractor, with Hero Interactive, and on the open source Scorch 3D engine. Since 2004, he has taught C++ and mathematics for games at the Game Institute. He has also written a number of best-selling textbooks on game and graphics programming, including "Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 11.0."
John DeGoes
John DeGoes began writing software and designing digital logic circuits during the early 1980s. He has been actively involved in the fields of computer science, mathematics, and game development for more than fifteen years. He has authored two games programming books, "3D Game Programming with C++" and "3D Game Programming with C++ Gold Edition" and several published articles on the subject. DeGoes holds a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Montana State University-Billings and is working on his doctorate in applied mathematics.
Registration and Enrollment
This course is 100% online. Start anytime.