As a game designer, I’ve worked on nine published titles in roles ranging from design lead to programmer to QA to playtest coordinator – and I’ve also been involved with at least a dozen still-unpublished ones! I’ve worked on board games, card games, role-playing games, computer games, casual games, and alternate reality games. I’ve worked on games that came from my own imagination, but I’ve also designed games as a contractor for corporate clients, as an employee of a game development studio, and as a semi-professional hobby with my friends. My willingness to work on any kind of game, and to be flexible about where the ideas come from, has been a big part of getting this goal done.
A lot of novice designers want to jump straight into their Big Epic Console Game Idea, but that rarely works. You can build your chops by making low-budget Flash games, or even working on non-digital games that you can easily play with friends and family. Don’t hesitate to try something small! As with many creative endeavors, “done” is much more important than “perfect.” When you’ve got some solid design work to show, you’re much more likely to get your big ideas underwritten.
