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Electronic-Game Designer

Electronic games today have more in common with movies than they do with games of the past. Game designers devise plots and write scripts that invent all the possible outcomes of any play session. Then, in collaboration with directors, computer programmers, and graphic artists, the game designers execute the scripts and create the games. They are also responsible for quality assurance - making sure the games work as they are intended to. Designers are usually credited for their work, and the very best of them can earn lucrative royalties on their games. While the game business seems like lots of fun - and it is - the deadlines can be demanding and rigid.

Prospects

Each succeeding generation of technology allows for more sophisticated games and increases the demand for designers with ideas that suit the technology and the skills to execute them. The jobs tend to be in those high-tech corridors where software companies cluster.

Training Required:

You need two different types of attributes: the imagination to create and write dramatically, and some computer programming skills. Ideas for graphics, though not necessarily the ability to execute them, will help.

Characteristics

You have to love and understand electronic games to enjoy and succeed at working on them all day. Collaborative team players who are self-directed are best suited to the job.

Information Source:

100 Jobs in Words. New York: Macmillan, pp. 62-63.