How to…Be a Game Designer

Gaming console, computer, and cellphone.

Becoming a game designer is much easier than people initially believe. All you need to start is your imagination, hard work, and dedication.
Being a game designer means you can be one of two things: the person that focuses on the technical side of the game, such as the coding and the mechanics, and the person that focuses more on the design part of the game, like designing the characters, weapons, and the backgrounds.
It is very imperative that an aspiring game designer is always prepared to continue learning. Learning new things that go hand-in-hand with this career can definitely be beneficial down the line in while on the job.
Bill Gates stated, “If you never stop learning, you will never stop seeing possibilities”.
John P. Doran has a website article dedicated to giving 12 tips for starting game designers. The tips that are listed on there are very helpful and undoubtedly resourceful for upcoming game designers who have no idea where to really start. The link to the article will be located at the end of the selection.
One of the tips discusses how it is important to plan before starting on a project. Planning is the very first thing that a game designer must do so they do not lose track of what they want to do for the final product, and so that they know what needs to be reviewed corrected throughout.
Doran quotes  Benjamin Franklin stating that “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”.
Additional useful and equally important tips are that you should not be afraid to make mistakes and that you should never give up. These are the most crucial parts of becoming a game designer as mistakes happen.
Mistakes are very common in the human race and frankly, cannot be avoided no matter how much preparation you do to prevent them. It is only expected that mistakes will be made when first creating a product.
Something else to consider is to always try your best not to get too wrapped up in any mistakes that have been made when it comes to making a game. Giving up is not an option, as if you give up then you won’t produce a good game later on, which is what every game designer’s overall goal should be.
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly,” states Robert F. Kennedy.
Here is the link to John P. Doran’s article: http://johnpdoran.com/12-tips-for-starting-game-designers/

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