Video Game Design Career FAQs
What Kind of Video Game Designer Can I Be?
That largely depends on your specific aspirations and the types of courses you choose. For instance, you might decide to develop your abilities in one or more areas such as:
- Concept development—coming up with a game's story, settings, characters, and theme
- Art—designing the look and movement of characters, objects, or background environments
- Game mechanics—establishing the rules as well as how elements interact based on an underlying mathematical structure
- Audio design—finding, recording, and editing music and sounds used throughout a game
- Coding—making everything work using appropriate programming languages and strategies
Should I Train Online or in a Traditional Classroom?
Both options offer the chance to receive a good education. So think about how you prefer to learn.
Given its electronic nature, video game design is well-suited for learning online. The digital environment offers a lot of flexibility and makes it simple to transfer work to your instructors and receive useful feedback and assistance as you progress.
On the other hand, taking your courses exclusively in a face-to-face classroom setting provides a way to interact with your classmates in a more personal way. It's especially beneficial if you enjoy having more structure.
Of course, you might find that a hybrid program matches your individual learning style best. In this scenario, classes are given partially in the classroom and partially online. And, in some cases, most of your classes are conducted in-person, but you have access to a lot of Web-based training resources as well.
What Is My Salary Potential?
Video game designers in Canada tend to make anywhere from $48,817 to $71,236 per year.* But since this is a high-growth and high-profit industry, it's possible to make more than that. As your skills advance and you accumulate more experience, you increase your chances of being able to command a larger salary. That's especially true of many designers who go on to create their own game companies or know how to develop titles for multiple gaming platforms, including mobile ones.
Which Schools Offer What I Need?
Every school above has options you might want to consider. But you can also use the easy search function on this page to find additional programs that can help you begin realizing your goal of enjoying a highly creative career.
* Payscale.com, Video Game Designer Salary (Canada), web site accessed July 21, 2016.