Essay Draft (UNFINISHED)

This is a draft, which means it is up for altering!

Media Industries by Anastasia Selby

In this essay, the two career choices that are to be analyzed are Games Designer and Concept Artist. In particular, this essay will look into the requirements for each career, what each career requires you to do as well as hours and payments. This is to give me an idea about what to expect in a future career as what is to be expected of me.

Game Designers are in charge of the game being created from start to finish. In order to start, they must convince others to work on their idea for a game. Those who are working on the game are often kept in check by the designers so as they do not detour away from the setting and the story of the game. For example, if the setting of the game was based in New York, the setting would have to be that in New York, so there couldn't be anything that said otherwise like Pyramids or Big Ben, the story itself would have to make sense and tie in all knots (unless a sequel was to be planned in which the remaining loops were filled).
The rules are also supervised: if a character is able to swim, then they should be able to come into contact with water without dying, leaving the level or falling through the game. Also if they encounter an enemy or a boss, there must be a pattern or method in order to get rid of them with some sort of ease yet challenge.
If there are to be weapons or means of transport they must fit into the game - you can't have a Ford Fiesta in a game based in the wild west or a train station in a fantasy inspired game! Sticking to the style of the game is crucial if the game is to capture the target audience and sell successfully.

Game Designers are required to be creative and original and have a broad understanding of numerous pieces of software, most likely so they can help out team members working on the game should they get stumped. More often than ever, having a great skill with 3D art and traditional art is a favoured factor of a Game Designer and being able to adapt to any change or challenge that should happen while working on the game.
Most Game Designers are ones who find playing games and working with computers a joy and depending on experience, a Game Designer can earn anything between nineteen and fifty five thousand pounds per year (£19,000 - £55,000). These people are normally working in an office or having important meetings.

Training a Game Designer is different - learning on the job is the primary way of teaching and by keeping up to date on programs and the consumer market is a sure way to have a higher chance of success.
Normally, there is no definite path to promotion in this career choice, but the more skilled a Game Designer is, the more of a chance of working overseas and being paid a larger sum of money.

The other option this essay is to look into is the role of Concept Artist. The job description is pretty much in the title - creating concept art for the game in question - more often than ever creating and setting the style for it with traditional work. Normally, if any part becomes digital it's not until the final stages of completing. Programs such as Adobe Photoshop are used at this point. 

Having a brilliant talent for illustrating and communicating is a sure way of being looked at for a possible slot as well as being able to see what others can't by visualizing 3D space and perspective. You'll find that most Concept Artists have an interest in film, design and architecture and can often interpret others' ideas with superior skill. Working effectively as a team is a big must for one of this career which also often calls for and adaption to change.

Similar to that of Game Designer, there is absolutely no firm route that leads directly to one and the most likely thing to do to becoming one is to take on free work to get noticed. A Concept Artist can earn around forty two thousand dollars ($42,000) - around twenty six thousand pounds (£26,000) per year.

In a nutshell, while both careers of my choice have differed greatly, there are small similarities that join them together and either would prove to be a great choice of a future in The Games Industry.

Bibliography

Information from
http://creativepool.co.uk/articles/jobdescriptions/games-designer-job-description
http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/productiondesign/article_4680_1.asp

Word count (excluding bibliography) : 762
No way near the 10% margin required, just like the last one.
*sigh* essays just aren't my thing 

Game Careers

For my work in CS, I have been told to research two potential career paths that I could go into after this course out of the list given. The two blue highlited career choices are the ones i'll be looking into:

Game Designer
Technical Artist
Artist
3D Modeller
2D Texture Artist
Concept Artist
Level Editor
GUI Designer
Assistant Producer
Game Tester

Of course, the information here will be bullet pointed for expanding upon in my essay at a later date

Game Designer

Other than having to convince others to work on their game, Game Designers have to work on

 - Rules of the game they're creating
 - setting of the game
 - the story and the characters in the game
 - weapons and means of transport, if any
 - different ways others could play the game

Game Designers have to make sure that the rest of the team is on target and understands everything, whether it's training game testers to play the game it's idealed to play or checking that the team is working as accurately to the original version as possible.

Depending on skill and experience, a Game Designer could earn between £19,000 and £55,000 each year, work approximately 35 hours a week (more when the deadline dawns) and are often at a desk or in meetings. 

Working with IT and enjoying playing video games are the people who are more favoured for the role of Game Designers. Other requirements include:

 - being creative, imaginative and original
 - able to work with numerous software packages
 - having basic drawing skills aswell as 3D designing skills
 - being able to adapt to change quickly (like a chameleon)
 - working just as well on their own as with a group

and more.

When it comes to training, most GDs learn on the job and must keep up to date on software and the market information to find out what the public like.

There is normally no promotional path when it comes to being a Game Designer, but overtime (and with experience) junior designers can then become Designer and even Lead Designer. Independent and overseas work is also more likely the more experienced they are.



Information from http://creativepool.co.uk/articles/jobdescriptions/games-designer-job-description


Concept Artist

Concept artists produce Concept Art for the game (right there in the name, really). Normally, this sets a certain style for the game, especially with Characters and Enviroments. Concept Artists also work traditionally for the most part, only touching up their drawings in programmes such as Photoshop nearer to the end.

An average salary for a Concept Artist would be around $42,000 (about £26,000) per year.

Skills required 


 - Illustration skill of a high level
 - Communication skills of a very effective level
 - the ability to visualise 3-Dimensional space aswell as perspective
 - an interest in film, design and architecture
 - a good skill of interpreting other people's ideas
 - adapt to change on request!
 - work effectively as a team


After having a talk from workers at Crytek, Concept Art in a game was the more favoured stage of developing a game, mainly because it got some of your own ideas into production (giving a stronger sense of 'you' in the game).

Becoming a CA isn't a fixed route - there's no career route to becoming one.


Information from http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/productiondesign/article_4680_1.asp