Game Design Programs Offer Various Career Alternatives
Character and level designers, character
and 3D modelers/texture artists, concept and environments and effects
artists, character animators and game concept artists are just some of
the positions available to those who have graduated from a
post-secondary level game design program. Schools Game design
starts with an idea, which may fall within one or several genres. The
game designer usually produces an initial game proposal document
containing the concept, game play, feature list, setting and story,
target audience, requirements and schedule, staff and budget estimates.
From there, production begins with each game professional contributing
his or her talents at different stages. For example, the Level Designer
creates the levels that build upon skills of the gamer. This person must
plan how the player interacts with the game to move onto the next
level. Meanwhile, Character Animator, who is the “actor” behind the
performance.
At Centennial College, students who have an Ontario
Secondary School Diploma or equivalent or are 19 years of age or older,
may apply for its Game Art and Design program. In addition to this
requirement, they will also have to have completed the compulsory
English 12C or U credit, a skills assessment or equivalent. Another
requirement is a portfolio assessment. Pieces may include 10 to 15 life
drawings, sketches, paintings, sculptures or digitally produced artwork.
Preference for the game design program
will be given to applicants who can demonstrate some familiarity with
one or more graphics applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, 3DS
Max or Maya. If one does not submit digital artwork, he or she will be
tested to determine your level of computer proficiency.
This
14-month undertaking offers its students hands-on training, which
teaches them how to build 2D and 3D art assets for games, develop game
environment and characters and express their one-of-a-kind creativity.
Because industry professionals and instructors developed the game design
program, the curriculum has a uniquely combined emphasis on both game
design and creative story development skills. Specific lecture-based
courses include Game Theory (gives students an overview of the gaming
industry and includes a discussion of the history of games, an
exploration of different game genres and platforms, as well as in-depth
lectures on story development for different game platforms) and Social
History of Design (introduces students to the history of design and
encourages analytical thinking about the development of design form in
human communication). Meanwhile, hands-on learning in the game design
program is obtained through courses such as: Drawing for 3D Modeling and
Animation, Character Design, Digital Painting, Post Effects and
Material Editing, Lighting, 3D Modelling and Texturing, and many others.
Additional hands-on training occurs via a field placement in
the last semester of the game design program. As part of the
professional experience, students are expected to send their portfolios
to the company of their choice in order to show their work. Once they
are accepted into their chosen field placement, students are exposed to
the world of design where they will work alongside professionals
obtaining new knowledge and applying what they have learned in the game
design program.