Video Game Design & Game Art Design Degree Programs

Consistently growing in popularity since the 1970s, video games have become an enormous industry in the United States and internationally. Gaming is truly a cultural phenomenon that appeals to a large demographic segment and is particularly popular among young males. "Gamers" will often gather in online environments for multiplayer games, or take part in real-life tournaments that are fully sponsored and feature cash prizes for the best players. One of the most popular games has been the John Madden Football series published by EA Sports. This game has spawned many leagues, cash tournaments and even a reality television show on MTV. This one game has made EA Sports a billion dollar company and has also made John Madden an extraordinarily wealthy man. A new version of the game is published every year to update with new players, new uniforms and new features. The popularity and success of this game illustrates one simple fact, the video game industry is huge and is here to stay. There are many opportunities, projects, employers and technologies available in this space and for those people that want to design video games this is the golden age. An educational background in video game design or game art & design provides a stepping stone into this booming industry.

The spread of video games in the popular culture has been relatively rapid with the first arcade games being developed in the mid-seventies. Atari International was the first company to develop a console that could be displayed through a normal television set, bringing gaming to the living room of thousands of kids in the late seventies and early eighties. During its heyday, Atari was one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. and the Atari 2600 one of the most popular game systems ever.

In 1983, the competition in the video game market heated up to a full-blown slugfest. Companies like Commodore International, Coleco and the Japanese company Nintendo began to challenge Atari for the throne. While Atari continues to have great success with specific games like Dragon Ball Z, they ceased to be the industry leader in the 80s.

The Nintendo Company is actually over one hundred years old, having been founded in Japan to produce game cards. The original Nintendo Entertainment System or NES was released to the world in 1983 and has had a serious impact on both gaming culture and the gaming industry. Over 60 million of these console units have been sold worldwide and the system remains one of the most popular game systems ever in the United States. In a departure from the norm, which proved instrumental to their success, Nintendo encouraged third party software developers to create games for the NES platform. This increased the volume of game units available, the diversity of the user experience, and the proliferation of the technology. Of course, the key game was Super Mario Bros. This eight level extravaganza, with its shortcuts, koopa troopas, and never-ending soundtrack loop continues to haunt the minds of a generation.

Nintendo changed the face of video games forever, bringing a huge variety of gaming experiences into the living rooms of millions. Parents were perplexed as their kids became full-blown gaming addicts, spending whole days trying to master levels, beat their friends, or complete a game to unlock some virtual treasure. Nintendo followed up with the Nintendo 64, a portable system called the Gameboy, the DS, the GameCube and now enjoys a large market share with the Wii system, which is a wireless system that is web enabled.

The worldwide success of Nintendo illustrates a difference in gaming culture and game design between Japanese developers and game developers in the United States. Both nations have been leaders in the extraordinary growth of the video game industry. In Japan, gaming enjoys a greater market share of the overall entertainment economy. Design companies are able to spend more money on graphical and character design, voice acting and level creation. Many of the most expensive titles in the history of video games have been developed in Japan and for Japanese markets.

Console systems continue to dominate the market, including the Wii, Xbox, Sony Playstation, and others. For instance, Microsoft, one of the most successful software companies on the planet, has literally spent billions to make their Xbox system competitive in the marketplace. Console systems are here to stay and represent a multi-billion dollar industry. However, games designed for computer platforms such as the PC and Macintosh systems are also quite successful. And with the rise of the worldwide web, virtual gaming environments are pushing the envelope of what games people can enjoy together. Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games or MMORPG like World of Warcraft represent a shift towards a virtual world and blur the lines between video games, social communities, and virtual marketplaces.

Like any software development, there is a prescribed process for the successful creation of professional level video games. Creativity and innovation are important elements but the key function of a video game developer is the systematic production of programming code. The basic process is as follows:

As with all multi-billion dollar industries in the United States, the marketing of video games is instrumental to their success. Companies like Sega, Electronic Arts and Sony have mastered the messaging and exposure it takes to turn a piece of software into a worldwide phenomenon. This is usually the most expensive part of the process and a well engineered and executed marketing campaign can result in millions of sales.

The successful design, creation, publishing, marketing and distribution of a video game requires the concerted efforts of hundreds of professionals. The titles and occupations that are directly related to the production of the video game include:

Just as there is a specifically identifiable culture of gamers, there is also a community and culture of game developers. There are many online support resources including forums, bulletin boards, testing environments, free software patches, and a host of experts available to mentor fledgling developers. Ambitious game developers are encouraged to join in community efforts, seek out mentors and even join organizations such as the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).

In summary, the video game industry is one of the fastest growing industries of the modern economy and represents an extraordinary landscape of opportunities. As there are further advances in technology, gaming will increasingly cross platforms, be represented in multiple media formats and expand into brand new markets. There are many resources available to aspiring game developers and an entire community of gaming enthusiasts. The future is extremely bright for this industry and would-be professionals are encouraged to learn as much as possible about technology, design, marketing and sales. A well-rounded knowledge of the products and networks available will form a great foundation for success in a fun industry!