Getting Your First Game Design Experience

Love this, another one of those videos that finally puts into words one of those unspoken hurdles of getting into game-dev with all its misconceptions.

More than anything I wish the 'idea guys'that want to contribute only design and maybe documentation would understand how insulting it can be to go up to an artist, musician or programmer to tell them 'I'll supply the ideas, you make it'. Because those people with practical skills are all creatives also, and have demonstrated by having created before that they have ideas as well as skills of their own - those contributors aren't looking for a team because they need ideas, they are looking for a team because they have ideas and hope that a team will make it easier to realize them.

Ideas are, in fact, incredibly cheap - until they are designed and planned and executed and brought to light, they are nothing much at all, and I think a lot of people early in their career overvalue their own contributions by having ideas, like everyone else does, constantly, and make the mistake of thinking themselves uniquely capable in that regard. It insults the creativity of their team-members frankly, and when those team-members are contributing practically, I find that outright unpleasant.

It never occurred to me that a project management could be valued as a separate proposition for small teams! I always create documentation, keep track of tasks and discuss hurdles with the team as a means of doing game design... And now I feel obliged to participate in the jam.

I'm a UX and Product Designer and like yourself am Autistic (I think I saw this in one of your previous video's but might have misremembered so sorry if I'm wrong about that 😅)

I've been designing and developing games solo as a hobby for many years now - cause like most ppl I suck at networking.

I was wondering, from your perspective, is being skilled in UX and Product a valuable thing for game design?

My core specialisation or interest is in User (or player) Psychology / Research, and in digital ecosystems architecture.

I've always wanted to be working in design within the games industry and feel like I have very easily communicate ideas, concepts, and intentions (that pretty much design 101 after all).

When it come to getting a pathway into the industry though... I'm stuck. How might you approach finding a role considering someone with my background?

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in the cyberpunk game has annihilated me

I feel game design is the only skill you can't ignore when making a game on your own.
You can be bad at programming by using some premade in-engine stuff, you can be bad at art by either using assets or making a very minimalist art style, but if the game is badly designed, no amount of cool tech feature and nice graphics can save it.

I hope the jam goes well and you get to host many more. I don't have the bandwidth for any jams until I graduate college, and hope to participate more in your community after.

Copying old games and play testing them doesn’t same like a bad way to go about it.

The video couldn't have come at a better time!

I'd been seriously contemplating whether I'd continue developing solo projects or not. Now I've decided to start doing it again, but this time not focusing on making outstanding games. Instead, it's just to have more experience with every aspect of game dev.

Very much agree with this! I ate a big slice of humble pie for just being the team's "idea guy"
When the project went under due to some tech issues I felt so helpless

I'm mostly into writing and know enough programming to be dangerous, but am definitely not a programmer by nature. But yea, smaller teams basically REQUIRE multiple hats to be warn

Almost every self-proclaimed “game designer” are skill-less “idea guys”

Theory amplifies practical. It is close to worthless by itself.

100% agree with having some hands on exp.

Thanks great advice! 😊

As someone that was previously in a senior management role in the construction industry and who regularly worked with architects, I can confirm it is a fricking nightmare working with architects who don’t understand how buildings actually go together. So I think that was a good analogy to working with game designers who don’t understand how games go together and I can imagine it would be equally as frustrating.

Boot up a copy of minecraft
Grab some homies
Make something
Subject them to horrors beyond their imagination
????
Profit

Hi fam, just checking in as always 😂🤙❤️

edit: somehow I was today years old when I discovered you have a membership plan, but joined immediately

I feel like having rudimentary skills in art and programming (and logic!) are essential if you want to communicate well with people who will be doing that job.

An analogy is people complaining about a boss who doesn't know how their job works. Not that a game designer is a the boss in a team per se, but it's going to be a lot better for communicating about those things

i found this very helpful and encouraging , as someone with 0hours in game development.

The hardest part for me will be the social anxiety lol

At least do the other things long enough to have a decent working knowledge of them, so that you can be fair in your demands of your teammates and actually communicate with them.

Having a big ego does not work in a small team. Having a job title signals to the other team members that someone might have a big ego (even if someone does not actually have a big ego, it still signals that)
Also saying "I am a Game Designer" implicitly says "I am not here to do other tasks" while saying "I am here to make a game" says "Throw any odd jobs that are left over my way, and I will get them done"

Ooh I know this one: Just make a game!

I don't know how much I would trust oncologist Dr. Eggman but I feel like I wouldn't mind gynecologist Professor Oak

In a previous gamejam I was in, the Discord had a few people who have never made a game before and they offered to constantly stream playing demos of everyones games. So basically a community play tester. So thats a good option for people who don't have a specific game dev skillset they could provide.

exactly on point ! 👏👏