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Prior to the Wii’s release, it was leaked that Nintendo was sending free developer kits to small scale game designers. Following that, they announced that indie game designers could get their hands on these kits for less than two thousand dollars. All this made it obvious that Nintendo was opening the door to fresh talent and ideas. Of course, not just anyone can get involved with video game design at Nintendo, as there are still many requirements that have to be met. Here are just a few of them.

To start with, you have to be a qualified developer to get authorized by Nintendo if you want to design games for them. This requires showing proof of previous development work for Nintendo or even on other platforms. Furthermore, you have to provide details about your business and convince Nintendo that you have secure offices and the equipment, the staff and money needed to fund and complete game development. If you think you can get permission to develop games for Nintendo by yourself out of a home office, you are off your rocker.

If your company makes it through this intense screening process, you might be invited to become an authorized designer. Be prepared to sign off on many non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements at this point. Nintendo is very strict about protecting its technical information and know-how and you will be expected to hold up your end of the bargain. In fact, you will be legally bound to do so.

Once you become an authorized developer, you will have access to Nintendo’s developer resources. This includes private websites where you can interact with other developers. It also means you’ll be able to purchase the necessary software development tools such as the Wii dev kit. Keep in mind, development costs will require thousands of dollars in hardware, and plenty of time. Even for a fairly simple and inexpensive title, indie publishers usually require at least several people on the development team and several months of work before a new game is ready for release.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that not every title will be a hit, or even profitable. Because of this, game designers should have the financial backing to have several titles in the works at any one time. By doing this, the company’s risk is spread and it becomes more likely that at least one of the titles you release will be profitable.

As you can see, although Nintendo has lowered the barrier to entry, getting into game design at Nintendo is only for those who are truly ready. If you are just starting out with your game design passion, maybe try working for one of the many indie game developers that are already partnered with the Nintendo corporation before you try launching your own design company.

If you believe what the old timers have to say, video games and television sets are ruining the American family. In particular, those who grew up in a less technological time will tell you that today’s children are negatively impacted because they play video games instead of exercising. While it is probably true that the truth lies somewhere in the middle of extreme theories, it looks like there is finally something definitely productive coming out of the video game buzz. The children of this generation now have grown to not only love video game play, but to be interested in video game design. Programs are now arising in the field of Animation and Game Design that are geared towards children who are high school aged or even younger.

With new game systems coming out every couple of years, opportunities in this exciting field are growing by leaps and bounds. When companies like Microsoft and Sony are able to sell their game consoles for more than five hundred dollars each, it should be very apparent that there is some potential in this field. Children and teenagers, not content with just playing the games, have become very interested in creating the games. For those older individuals who want kids to be outside playing, this seems like at least some sort of compromise.

Some question how kids are getting the knowledge to get a good start in the animation and game design field. There are the very popular aforementioned programs that have classes designed specifically for them. One very popular program is in the field of robotics. It seems that robotics is the next in a long line of video game technology. Games have evolved at such a rate where it has become very apparent that gamers will no longer be satisfied with only high-quality digital games. They want to get involved through robotics. Nintendo took the first step this holiday season when they released the Nintendo Wi, a game console that enables the players to use their own motions to dictate the movements of the characters on the screen.

Robotics classes for young people are not designed to be taught like a normal class. Because of this, kids learn in an environment that will remind them nothing of a normal school classroom. Keeping with that theme, children are not relegated to a harsh and limited curriculum for their classes. Instead, these programs, taught at many places around the United States, are offering a chance to learn in a very relaxed atmosphere. Children are taught the art of animation and game design by adult mentors who have the time, desire, and expertise to impact knowledge into young people that will undoubtedly get them started on the right path.

Students in these programs learn all about animation and robotics. They learn how to think creatively in order to bring these objects to life. At these programs, creativity and the lively human imagination are valued like premium commodities. When students get further involved in the extensive learning programs, they will even be able to create their own robotic machines in an attempt to create game designs.

Today’s children and teenagers are no longer interested in just playing video games. They want to get involved in the action. Animation and game design programs geared specifically for children have allowed them to put that long-standing creativity to use and get to work on something special. While they might not be out playing in the back yard like their grandfather would prefer, they are putting that passion for video games to a good use. As these programs continue to be designed with young folks in mind, today’s youth will continue to take advantage of the great opportunities to learn and grow.

Game development and designing is not as easy as it seems so. Various software development companies over the world have tried to carve a niche for themselves but only few companies have been able to succeed. To make good games, only few companies know the art. Especially, India has emerged as a hub for game development and designing. Some of the reasons for successful game development and game designing in India.

Game development involves game designing, sound designing, music composition and writing. To enter the world of game development, one has to have serious communication, theatrical and imaginative skills. Some companies also require a BS in Computer Science. Artistic experience is required for game development, as computer games have color and resolution restrictions. So if you have skills in this area, you can easily get a job. Most companies ask for a portfolio of your work. However, don’t try sending this electronically, as most companies respond better to snail mail than e-mail.

The product specification of the game design details how the features of that game design will be implemented in the final design. Then there is the graphic bible, which helps in determining the look and feel of the characters, maps, props, etc., of the game. If appropriate, there is also the interactive screenplay in the game design, which contains the storyline that will be implemented into the product.

If you plan to become an artist in game development, then take art classes with a good paint program and a 3-D modeling program. Those with writing skills should vie for writing positions in game development. Create some sample scripts with story lines to succeed in game development! Game developers should also have some experience laying out levels. Note the structure of levels and environments in the top-selling games. Take theater, communication and computer science classes to get a good job. Once you enter the game industry, you’ll find this field is always changing, very addictive and as challenging as it is rewarding.

However, the game designer may not be qualified to write all of these documents. The game’s producer, lead programmer and artist create the product specification of the game, while a professional writer crafts the screenplay. However, the game designer is considered the ‘guardian of the vision’ and has the final say on what goes in the product, and is involved in all the aspects of the game design.

Video game design is undergoing a dramatic shift. It is transforming from a creative pursuit that has a lot of work involved to a creative pursuit where the work is handled by the computer. This is the goal and impetus of game making; to get closer to the creative process, harnessing creativity, while leaving the mundane tasks to the computer. And the computer does this so well.

There are three different realms of game making that I will adventure into. And I will make some exciting predictions as to where we are headed.

The Language of Computers and People

The first realm of game making advancement lies in language. And what I mean by this is that when you are designing a game you have to communicate with a computer. You have to tell it what you want to see in the game and what you want to happen in the game. This began with programmers writing out long lines of code in a programming language. This language was something that took many hundreds of hours to learn. In effect, people had to learn the computers language. But, as computers advanced things changed and the Graphical User Interface came into the forefront as a much better means of communication between people and computers. Now you could use your mouse and navigate on the screen to get things done without knowing any computer language at all. And this also applied to game making. Now there are applications that are almost exclusively drag and drop. You can build worlds and insert items, objects, models, and behaviors into the without doing any coding.

Okay, so what is next in the world of language and game making? It lies in the golden fleece of the computer world: “Natural Spoken Language”. Software companies have been chasing after the goal of making computers totally hands free for a long time now. And while there are lots of voice recognitions software programs out there they don’t perform well enough yet. But we keep moving forward and we will get there. And when we do the technology will become an integral part of game making and game design. You will be able to tell an application “I want a castle. No, make it bigger. Good, now put stained glass windows. Now I want a character that is a big muscle bound hero. Etc. …etc…

When voice recognition is perfected and becomes ubiquitous we will have crossed an important threshold in technology. No longer will we as people have to learn the language of computers. Computers will have learned ours. And this will have a dramatic impact on game making.

Algorithms of Growth

Another very exciting area of development when it comes to game making is the area of self teaching and self growth. Games will be able to take small amounts of information and guidance that you provide and grow themselves in ways that you want, and also in unpredictable but rules based ways that you design. The computer gaming world is already making big advances in this area and some good examples of this are the Sims games where the world grows on its own but under your guidance. A game soon to be coming out that very much takes this self-growth into mind is the new game called Spawn. As a game designer you will be able to dictate a set of rules and watch as your game grows.

Interfacing with people

The potentially most exciting aspect of game design comes in the advancements of interfaces. As computers move toward the creation of virtual 3d worlds that are free of the monitor so will game makers become free of them. There will come a time that game makers actually see three dimensional models of their games as they make them. You will be able to reach right into the game world and move things around, stretch objects bigger, squeeze them smaller, and paint them different colors all with a stroke of your hand. This freedom will tap directly into the power of our eyes and take game making to heights never even imagined.

Game Design has come a very long way since the early days of long lines of programming code and the art will continue to develop in very exciting ways. And while it is difficult to predict which ways the technology will go it is a fact that we will continue to move in ways that will bring it closer to bringing to life your imagination and your ideas while sending into the shadows all the computer work. In effect the computer itself will become less and less obvious in the process and creativity more and more powerful.

Many gamers look at the games they play and dream of creating their own. Perhaps with a pet idea for a game that hasn’t been done yet. Maybe you think a particular game is brilliant, but the plot is so thin, surely a better writer could have pulled so much more out of the experience. If you find yourself thinking like this, maybe a video game design job is for you. Let’s take a look at what positions are available.

Lead designers write and program and organize. It is the responsibility of the lead designer to make sure the universe of the game is a place players will find interesting. The lead designer needs to keep track of the pulse of the gaming world, to know what is hot, what is cold and what gamers will expect in a new game. The lead designer tries to find the best compromise between the resources and time available and the needs of the project to create the best possible game, knowing where to cut corners and where to focus attention.

Another of the tasks is to ensure that everyone in the project understands and works towards the themes of the game. What seems like a minor change can cost weeks of work and waste thousands of dollars. The lead designer has to determine when it is worth those changes, and to plan well enough that changes aren’t needed more than a tiny amount of the time.

Game designers take the notes given to them by the others and turn them into virtual reality. Game designers are given parts of the game and are told to make each module work, and work together with the modules the other designers are managing. Game designers have to be good analysts and outgoing people who will seek out the other members of the team to make every piece work correctly together and leverage every skill and asset available to better the game.

They have to be able to figure out what is working, what isn’t working and what needs to be done to correct those problems. They also need to be good writers who can produce clear and concise reports and emails to communicate this with others.

Artists turn those short notes that say a dozen women in chain mail bikinis riding dinosaurs and carrying crossbows will then attack the party into a vision. In a very real sense, an artist did anything you see in the game.

There are artists specializing in character design, some who do the background images, others who create the equipment and even animals. Artists must understand how the images will be rendered, so they can create the best appearances while using the least possible amount of system resources.