Digital Game Design

We have all played and enjoyed games, but how do people actually design them? How do you describe a game? What are the basic elements? How do designers create an experience for the player? What about prototyping and iterating? A programme in Digital Game Design answers all of these questions and more.

Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Game design creates goals, rules and challenges to define a casino game, role-playing game, sport, war game or simulation that produces desirable interactions among its participants and, possibly, spectators. It is a trending career in today’s modern world and has excellent scope for growth in the coming years.

Digital Game Design at a Glance

Digital Game Design has evolved in a tremendous manner in the past few decades :

  • The rise of open-world game design : Yes, there were open-world games before 2004, but the era of Grand Theft Auto IV and V, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Saint’s Row, and Witcher has seen the whole philosophy of level design evolve from highly prescriptive linear experiences to the provision of playful experimental spaces.
  • The rise of the social experience : With broadband internet, we also got the irresistible growth of online multiplayer gaming overtaking both the sofa-based experience of traditional two-player console games and the local area network complexity of early 1990s PC titles.
  • The growing influence of games on wider culture : It used to be that games existed in a cultural ghetto kept away from other art forms, cropping up only when some crazed Hollywood executive felt that they could make some quick money from a movie tie-in.

    Now there are video games in the Victoria and Albert Museum. There are immersive theatre companies and art collectives name-checking games as their inspiration, there are television shows and movies drawing heavily from the aesthetics and structure of games.

 Designers perform the following tasks on a regular basis :

  • Design, develop and deliver systems and high quality code using programming languages
  • Perform code reviews to ensure code quality
  • Quality test coding in a systematic and thorough way to find problems or bugs and record precisely where the problem was discovered
  • Debug programs and solve complex technical problems that occur within the game’s production
  • Work closely with designers, artists and other staff involved in the design process in order to create a quality product to schedule
  • Develop designs or initial concept designs for games including game play
  • Generate game scripts and storyboards
  • Create the visual aspects of the game at the concept stage
  • Use 2D or 3D modelling and animation software, such as Maya, at the production stage
  • Produce the audio features of the game, such as character voices, music and sound effects

 The following Skills and Aptitudes are required to be successful in this field :

  • Technical ability, in particular familiarisation with a range of programming languages and/or software packages
  • Team working skills to liaise with other developers and other teams involved in making a game
  • A creative and innovative approach to solving complex technical problems
  • Flexibility to meet deadlines and client requirements
  • Attention to detail and good communication skills
  • A forward-thinking approach to work and willingness to keep learning and developing your skills
  • Enthusiasm for and knowledge of the gaming industry
  • Reasonable fluency in a range of 2D and 3D graphics and animation packages, such as 3D Studio Max, NUKE or Maya

Graduates can work in the following Industries :

  • Educational institutions
  • Broadcasters
  • DVD and CD-ROM authoring companies
  • Information providers such as local and national government
  • Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
  • Marketing and advertising agencies
  • Mobile phone companies
  • Design companies

 Following are the best Companies / Studios in India for this Discipline :

  • 2Pi Interactive
  • 99Games
  • Creatiosoft Solutions Pvt Ltd
  • Electronic Arts Games
  • Game Show Network (BitRhymes)
  • Griptonite Games India Pvt Ltd.
  • GSN Games
  • The Walt Disney Company (India)
  • Apar Games
  • CreatioSoft
  • Dhruva Interactive
  • DigiKhel
  • Dumadu Games
  • GamersFirst 

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