I would like to one day be a game designer. How can I get started on that?

I'm a big fan of sites like Gamestar Mechanic. The exercises there help you understand how to interpret user experiences and what makes a good game. What is always important to remember is that you can design a game you think is great, but you may be the only person who thinks so - being able to understand player feedback and turn it into something marketable will be key to success.

The first thing you should do is to play a lot! Counter intuitive, isn't it? You also need to learn programming. START NOW! There is tones of information online. According to my memory, a game designer advised someone like you to start with visual basic. Lastly, there are universities that offer game design as a major.

So, You Wanna Be a Game Designer?

What Is a Game Designer?
Now, if you want to be a game designer, the first thing you need to know is what exactly a game designer does. Apparently, this could be very simple, but, as it frequently turns out, people dreaming about a future in games don’t really get what this means and what is expected from a game designer.

The Game Design Bible (Well, Almost)

The concept document is sometimes further detailed in into what it’s known as the game bible. This is a massive document detailing every tiny aspect of the game. This should work as a reference for the other team members. Every possible answer to their questions should be addressed here.

In the last few years, though, the game bible has changed a lot; since a more flexible workflow is preferred, the documentation is written by the designer during the multiple iterations of a first prototype. In this way the game grows in sync with the observation of the team. For more information or ideas about this kind of process, you should read Daniel Cook’s Game Design Logs.

However, whatever the development process is, the game designer has still the responsibility to keep the documentation updated, and to maintain the documentation and all the game related knowledge base updated.

What Should I Know?
Game design implies a very broad range of knowledge. While everything is ultimately useful, there are some pretty important things you should know in order to be a better designer. Remember, this is not an easy path, but for sure a fascinating and challenging one.

What Should I Study?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions about how to become a game designer. The answer is not that simple, though. First of all, does an aspirant game designer need a university degree? I’d answer yes, definitely. But let’s be clear on this matter. A good game designer should have a wide general knowledge, plus some kind of in-depth knowledge about a few topic. This means that even if you didn’t attend a university, in order to do this job you will need to have a personal knowledge at least comparable to the one provided by a university degree.

Now, which topics are the most important for a game designer? I guess that pretty much everything counts. But if I had to choose, I’d say literature, art, history, maths and media studies could be the most useful topics.

Then there are the universities offering specific game design tracks. I’ve got mixed feelings about those. While I’m certain that a specific game design competence is almost mandatory, these courses don’t often offer so much more than a good book on the matter. If you want to follow a game design course, I’d suggest to carefully select the ones focusing on guiding you through a complete project. Look at the course portfolio to see what projects came out in the previous years and try to stick only to tracks that put you in charge of actually accomplishing something. Game design is mostly learnt by making games, so, if a course could help you in that quest, it can’t be bad for you.

Bottom line: you have to study a lot if you want to do this job. You’ll need both to learn game design theory and to improve your general knowledge. Everything will be useful sooner or later. If you lose interest in the world and in all of its marvels, you just can’t be a good game designer.