Computer Game Designer

By Shifrah Aron-Dine

What Does a Computer Game Designer Do?

• A game designer decides what the goals of the game are. They create the setting and characters. Then they draw sketches. Once done with their sketches they work with the programmers to bring the game to life on the screen.

When were the first games made?

• The first games were made in 1972. They were not made for your computer (as most people did not have a computer). They were made for pizza parlors, restaurants, and video game halls.

What were the first games like?

• The first games were very simple games such as Pacman and Gunfight. These games had very poor or no graphics.

Pacman

Gunfight

Why did they not have good graphics?

• The games did not have good graphics because the computer chips in 1972 were not capable of holding much information. The games we have today with their beautiful details rely on powerful computer chips which were not available in 1972.

Where should you go to college if you want to be a computer

game designer?

• Some of the best schools are M.I.T., Berkeley, and U.C.S.C. But many schools have good computer science departments.

What do you have to study in College if you want to be a Computer

game designer?• You should study

computer science, but you should also take some art classes.

What Degree Should You Get?

• A bachelor in computer science is good, but a masters is even better

What are the salaries like?

• A starting salary would be around 50-75k but senior game designers make around 100k.

Job Advertisement (from the internet)

• Job IDRG-Game_Dev_SF• Position Type Full-Time

Employee• Company Name• Cyber Coders • Location San Francisco, CA;

San Mateo, CA • Salary$75K -$120K• Date Posted May 23, 2005• Experience2-5 Years

Experience • Desired Education Level

Bachelor of Science

Sims

Warcraft

Backyard Football

Zelda

Zoo Tycoon

Grand Auto Theft

Prisoner of War

Super Mario

Tomb Rader 3

Age of Mythology

Galleon

Rayman3

Beach King

Silent Hill 2

Madden football