Why would it be a good idea to become a video game designer?

Hi Thomas, ok so I'm gonna give you a pretty simple non-career or financially oriented answer... Because it is awesome!!!
The people that you will work with will be super creative and super fun, and extremely talented.
The places you will work are usually very laid back, super fun to work, and have a great culture and environment
Dreaming or thinking on something...then actually building it is an incredibly fulfilling feeling and you will get to do that every time you ship a game out.
You will get to be part of a very cool community of extremely talented individuals that are pushing the envelope on tech and will be working on the latest trends.
Now it will be a very challenging work, you need to be great at collaborating with other people in your team, stressful release cycles, and some long nights!
But just focus on what makes you happy! if that does you won't feel at work a day in your life

Simply, gaming as such is growing bigger by year. Many top IT companies nowadays spend more $ on supporting their gaming products / brands with future visions and plans to increase their share in this area and become influencers or even leaders. I work for example at Dell Technologies and we sell one of the top leading gaming products / brands Alienware. The company's plans go even further as to penetrate even more into Gaming business as we add more products such as Inspiron or XPS. :-)

Why go into video game design?

1. 
   

   it's interesting work with varied disciplines -- programming, art, storytelling, production, testing, marketing, and so forth.

   
   


2. 
   

   it's like the movie industry a century ago -- an art form that's just coming into its own with a long future ahead of it.

   
   

Why be careful going into this kind of work?

Here's the thing. The talent pool of people interested in video game design is VERY broad. Lots of people want to go into that field. In a way it's like people who want to be actors. Los Angeles is crawling with pretty unemployed faces looking for their big break in the movies.

In the same way the video game business is crawling with artists and programmers wanting to work on the next big game. The executives who run the video game business are completely aware of that fact. They use it to hold wages down and keep hours long. So, if you want a decent career in video gaming, become one of those executives.

It is not a BAD idea to be a video game designer. But let me put this into a slightly different context: It can be a dream to be an auto mechanic on a Formula One racing team. Not every auto mechanic will get this opportunity. But that doesn't mean being an auto mechanic is a bad... there is a lot of good paying work out there for auto mechanics that aren't working on Formula One.

Same idea here. Learning the skills to do software and video games applies in a lot of areas. You may find that video games are EXACTLY what you want to do... or you may find that it isn't all it is cracked up to be! Either way, you have a skill set that can be used in a LOT of other industries.

Important in either case to pay attention and be the best designer you can be. Continue to look around and explore. Enjoy the search!

Career longevity - the video game industry isn't going anywhere any time soon.

Work with cutting-edge technology - with the dawning of 'e-sports', there's a good chance a lot more money will go into the industry allowing companies to invest in developing even better/faster technology to meet demands

Recognizable work - this is maybe more ego-feeding, but if you work on a big title, lots of people will see your work

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Assuming you're passionate about video games- you will earn money following your passion. And that motivation will allow you to succeed at a very high level.