作者：Conor M.

在找工作时，没有哪个人乐意遭受制作简历与面试方面的焦虑与困扰。而当你还不清楚自己打算从事的职业时，找工作一事会变得更加痛苦。毕竟，如果你不能完全明确自己的发展方向，那你该如何告诉面试官，自己能够专心致志并热爱这份工作？游戏领域可以提供一个充满乐趣、令人兴奋且报酬可观的工作。以下，我将列出关于游戏设计师是个不错的职业选择的5点原因。

1.动态行业

你可以大量讨论游戏行业的种种现状，但你不能说这是个静态行业。通常，游戏行业会涌现许多新游戏类型与技术。在此，你必须时刻保持警惕，因为你不得不奋力赶上当前潮流，比如，玩家都会购买哪种游戏？他们需要哪些特性？以及你在构造游戏中采用的技术。

2.可观的收入

虽然你不该为了利益而从事某项职业，但如果你能取得不菲收入，这仍然是个不错的附属条件。美国劳动统计局2011年秋季报告指出，游戏设计师、音频设计师与美工的平均收入至少可达6万8000美元。对于这种将艺术视野融入到新型电子游戏的工作，这并不算有失体面的报酬。

drawn-trail-of-shadows(from bigfishgames)

3.多种发展渠道

劳动统计局报告指出，进入电子游戏开发领域的门槛将比以往更低。初级电子游戏设计师不再需要费力挤进大型游戏工作室，因为他们可以利用一些廉价的设计方法进行独立创作。

同时，休闲、移动与社交游戏的出现也能够让那些较小型的游戏公司在市场上占有一席之地，因此，游戏行业将出现多种不同类型的工作环境。

4.发展创造性思维

根据劳动统计局报告可知，游戏设计师主要负责创作游戏的整体风格或主题。他们负责制定故事脚本、描述角色特征，在形成初步理念后编写设计文档。设计师岗位会让你处在主导地位，如同Ryan Gosling在《亡命驾驶》中的“司机”角色，但现在是电子游戏世界。我们无法保证，你在穿上牛仔夹克后可以散发出Gosling的酷感，但作为游戏设计师，你必须决定可以让游戏充满魅力的特性。

这种工作并非总是充满乐趣，也不只是“游戏人生”。你必须制定一些可以改变游戏整体风格的艰难决定。同时，你还得选择符合游戏整体理念与目标的游戏元素，删除那些无法达到效果的元素。也就是说，你会面临一些工作压力。但这是作为领导者的积极压力。

5.与充满热情的人共事

fun-game-people(from bigfishgames)

我们并不认为制作电子游戏是件易事。事实上，你需要投入大量时间与精力设计出一款出色的作品，这意味着，你的合作者必须热爱电子游戏（否则，为何他们会致力于游戏设计呢？）。当你爱上自己的工作后，你会觉得自己投入的时间，以及承受的项目交接压力都是值得的。而且，你可以环顾四周，看看同事脸上洋溢的工作激情。

你是否已经考虑步入游戏设计行业？你打算制作哪类游戏？你认为哪种特性是游戏体验的关键？（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

5 Reasons to Become a Game Designer

by Conor M.

Job hunting. No one likes the anxiety that comes with resumes and interviews. It’s even tougher if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. After all, how can you tell an employer that you’re dedicated and passionate in what you do when you’re not entirely sure what you want as a career? We might be a little biased. OK, OK, we’re more than a little biased, but we can’t help it. Careers in gaming can be fun, exciting, well-paid, and did we mention fun? Here are five reasons why becoming a game designer is a great career option!

1. You get to enjoy an evolving industry

You can say a lot about the gaming industry, but one thing you can’t say is that it never changes. New types of games and new technology are always on the horizon. Working in the gaming industry will have you on your toes, as you’ll have to keep stride with current trends – i.e. What are gamers buying? What features are they demanding? – and the technology you get to use to build your games.

2. Competitive Salary

Although you shouldn’t get into a career just for the money, it’s still a nice bonus if you’re paid well. The average salary for game designers, audio workers and artists is at least $68,000 according to the “Work for Play: Careers in video game development” report, released in Fall 2011 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not too shabby for getting to put your artistic vision into new video game releases.

3. Multiple paths to take

According to the BLS report, the barrier to entry into the video game development field is lower than ever. Entry-level video game designers no longer have to struggle to get into a large game studio, because there are inexpensive design tools they can use to start building a portfolio independently.

Casual, mobile and social games have also given smaller companies a good spot in the gaming market, so there’s room to break into several different kinds of work environments.

4. Flex your creative muscles

Game designers are responsible for developing the overall feel or theme of a game, according to the BLS report, “Working so Others Can Play: Jobs in video game development.” They create storyboards, develop character sketches and write a design document after the initial concept is planned. Working as a game designer puts you in the driver seat – think Ryan Gosling’s “Driver,” but of the video game world. We can’t guarantee you’ll look as cool in a denim jacket as he does, but as a game designer you get to decide the features that will make your game irresistible.

It’s not all fun and games, though – pun intended. You’ll have to make some tough decisions, which could alter the entire feel of the game. You’ll have to decide which game elements fit with your overall concept and objectives and find ways of editing out the ones that don’t. In other words, there’s pressure. But it’s good pressure. It’s the pressure that comes with being a leader.

5. Work with people as passionate as you are

We won’t lie to you and say making a video game is easy. It’s not. It takes a lot of time and effort to design a good game, but that also means the people you work with in the game industry are passionate about video games (why else would they dedicate large chunks of their lives to designing them?). Long hours and strict deadlines are worth it when you love what you do – and you can look around the office to see just as much passion in your coworkers’ faces.

Have you already thought about a game design career? What kind of games would you want to make? Which features do you consider essential to the games you play?(source:bigfishgames)