Medical video games help students learn necessary skills. Image from Google/Click for link
Each month, Lindsey will feature a different IT career opportunity on our blog. Keep reading for this month’s job!
At some point we’ve all played Nintendo, PlayStation, XBOX or Wii, but have you ever thought, “I could have a career in this?” A Video Game Designer has the opportunity to really put their stamp on the world of gaming and create whatever they can imagine. What all is involved in becoming a Video Game Designer? Check out the IT-oLogy facts and information below!
Information-“Game development is the software development process by which a video game is developed. Development is undertaken by a game developer, which may range from a single person to a large business.”-Wikipedia
Video games can make colossal amounts of time seem to fly by — which is a good thing, if that’s your career. Jon Paquette is in the business of video games: he’s the design director and writer for the Medal of Honor Airborne game for EA Los Angeles.
Paquette works with the company’s development team, overseeing all design ideas and implementation. Sometimes this means days of meetings. Other days, he’ll be at a desk reviewing level designs.
“The best days are when I get to play our game and see all of our design decisions in action,” he said.
Video game design is a great job for creative, fun-loving people. “There’s not much of a downside, other than the fact that there is often not enough time to get everything you wanted to into the game… Most of the times, though, even that is OK because you have fresh ideas to incorporate into the next game you work on,” he said.
This and more information on video gaming careers can be found at careerbuilder.com
Technology – The great thing about this career is it involves not only all areas of IT, but also general education. You need to have computer science/engineering and strong math skills.
Opportunities – Nintendo, Amazon, Apple…etc. etc. etc.! Average income depends on the specific career path you choose but could range anywhere from 35k-100k.
Learning – A few institutions offering degrees or courses in gaming development are:
www.digipen.edu , www.clemson.edu, www.uga.edu, www.unc.edu, www.home.uncc.edu, and www.ucf.edu,
Other – Gaming isn’t just about fantasy. Games are currently being developed and used in educational curriculum to stimulate real world experiences without ever having to leave the classroom.
Get started on Your IT career today!
Interesting fact: Nintendo was founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi in 1889. His business was named “Nintendo Koppai” which eventually changed to just Nintendo. The company made playing cards for a Japanese game called hanafuda. Yamauchi manufactured these cards under the brand name Daitoryo, which translates to President. Each card was hand made using bark from mulberry (or mitsu-mata) trees. He sold the cards in two different shops in Japan, one in Kyoto and one in Osaka. After the popularization of his hanafuda cards, Fusajiro expanded his business into producing western style playing cards (known in Japan as toranpu).