I get a ton of questions from students who are researching careers in the game industry, or more specifically the career of a game designer. Rather than answer them each time I’ve compiled the following list of Frequently Asked Questions. If that’s what you’re doing, try to find questions on this list that match the questions you’ve been given to research. I’m afraid if it’s not here, I won’t have time to answer it by E-mail.

One word of warning: My answers are atypical because I’m older, and now an independent consultant. I started long before there were any college courses in game development, and I’m self-employed. If you want to know what game design is like for the average designer, you should ask someone who is between about 25 and 35, employed at a company.

What is your name and job title?

Ernest W. Adams, Game Design Consultant.

Who is your employer?

I am. However, I also work with a design company called International Hobo.

What is your salary?
What is the range of pay in this job?

I’m not going to reveal my company’s earnings. They vary considerably from year to year, depending on what I’m working on. Writing a book, for example, pays peanuts but is valuable in the long term.

The range of pay for a game designer varies depending on your level of seniority. According to the 2007 Game Developer Magazine salary survey, designers earn an average wage of $63,649. The most junior people probably earn around $35,000. At the top end, I would guess it's around $100,000. It also depends a lot on what country you're in. America pays the best.

How long do people work and what do they do all day?
What are your activities and responsibilities on the job?

Game development sounds like fun, and it is, but it's very hard work. It's not uncommon for people to work 10, 12, and even 16-hour days at the end of a project. A lot of people also work some on weekends.

A game designer spends most of his or her time researching, thinking, writing, planning, and testing software builds, as well as attending meetings with other members of the team. The research is required to understand what it is that the game will be about, if it's not a purely abstract game.

How many and by whom are work decisions made that affect you?

As I’m self-employed, I make all my own decisions. Game designers who have jobs work very collaboratively with the rest of their team, so they all make a lot of decisions that affect each other. In addition, they are often affected by decisions made by the producer or executive producer (who is usually their boss), and marketing people.

How much influence do you have over decisions that affect you?

As a self-employed person, total influence. If I were employed, I would have a lot of influence -- people normally talk to a designer before making a big change in his or her working conditions.

What do you find most difficult about your job?

Keeping up with all the news and changes in technology.

What about the job would you change if you could?
What do you like least about your job?

People would pay me on time and without having to be asked more than once!

What sort of person do you have to be to be really good at this job?

Imaginative and detail-oriented. Game design requires an unusual combination of the technical and the aesthetic. Leonardo da Vinci would have been perfect.

What are the different positions and what promotions can I expect?

Positions in the game industry are very fluid, and no two companies use exactly the same job descriptions, unlike in Hollywood where it's all defined by union contracts. However, the general positions in the design sphere are:

• Level designer/World-builder
• Writer
• Assistant game designer
• Game designer
• User interface designer
• Art director/Audio director
• Lead game designer

The lead game designer is responsible for the overall design vision of the project.

What are the skills, experience, and training I need to do well in this job?

Above all you need to be able to write well: clearly and unambiguously. That's because you have to transmit your design vision on paper to others. It also helps to have some mathematical skill, because all computer games are numerical simulations at some level, and it helps to be able to draw -- to make quick sketches of what it is you're thinking about.

At this point most companies in the United States are now looking for a bachelor’s degree in a related field. It used to be that you could get in without a degree, but that’s getting harder and harder to do.

What do you like best about your job?

Seeing my ideas end up in a published product.

Does your job require you to travel?

As a freelance consultant, yes. However, most game designers are employed by a company and all the work is done in their office, so it requires little or no travel.

What companies do you recommend an aspiring video gamers work for?

This changes too often to give specific advice. Big publishers offer the best benefits and the most money, but they are hard to get into. Small companies offer the most freedom and opportunity to be creative, but they go out of business frequently.

What games have you worked on?

You can see my list of game credits here. Bear in mind that only one out of every three projects that gets started in the industry actually ends up on the store shelves, so I’ve worked on a lot of things that never saw the light of day. Most other developers have too. As a consultant I also do a lot of work on confidential projects that I can’t talk about.

How long does it take to create a video game?

Typically 18 months to two years. Small games can be done in a year. A few monster blockbusters take three to five years.

What advice would you give to someone like me?

I'm sorry, but that's too large a question. I’ve collected a list of resources for wanna-bes on this website. You can read it here.

Can you tell me how you got started?

I learned computer programming in college. I was a computer programmer in a different industry. Eventually I applied for a job in the game industry and got it. After about four years I started doing design and production work. Most recently, I was a Lead Game Designer at Bullfrog Productions in Britain. Now I'm a freelance consultant.

You don't have to start with computer programming, but it is one good way. People also come in via writing, art, production, and very occasionally, music.

How did you decide to enter this field?
What inspired you to become a video game designer?

My first experience playing a computer game, on a teletype machine attached to a mainframe computer, in 1970. As soon as I had played a game or two, I knew right away that I wanted to learn how to make them.

When you were younger what video games did you like to play?

Adventure and Super Star Trek, both text-based computer games. Later, in arcades, Tempest, Star Wars, and Gauntlet.

What video games do you still play?

There are far too many to mention. I often don’t have time to play complete games, so I play demos -- that enables me to get a feel for the gameplay and the feel of the game.

What type of video games do you like playing? Why?

Mostly real-time strategy, role-playing, and adventure games. I have little physical dexterity, so I'm bad at action games. I like games that tell a story and include a mental challenge.

How much time do you spend designing and playing video games?

It's hard to say, because as a consultant my work is enormously variable. Probably about 20 hours a week.

What other jobs did you consider doing or did?

I have been a software engineer and an audio/video producer. Before I went to college, I was a surveyor’s rodman, a book packer, a soil sampler, and a parking valet.

Have you ever played a game you didn’t like and what was it?

Tomb Raider. I was offended by Lara Croft's ridiculous proportions, and I found it too difficult and repetitive. But there are whole genres of games that I don’t much enjoy because I’m not any good at them -- fighting games and frenetic shooters, for example.

What systems do you have?

A Wii, a PlayStation 2, a fast IBM PC clone, a Nokia N95 cell phone (it plays games too), and an iPAQ hx4700 (it also plays games too).

What do you think if anything should be done about the sex and violence in video games?

Parents need to be educated about the rating system so they won't buy games that are unsuitable for their children. Otherwise, nothing. I don’t believe in censorship; I believe in people taking responsibility for their own children’s upbringing.

Would/or do you allow your children to play video games which contain sex and violence?

I don't have any children. If I did, it would depend on the game and the age of the child. But I would certainly turn down some games for some children.

What classes did you take in high school?

Typical college-bound curriculum: advanced English; analytical geometry, trigonometry and calculus; computer programming. I took several different English classes, including one called “Logic and Critical Thinking,” which served me very well. I also took a short-story class. No art, which I should have done.

What classes did you take in college?

I was a major in philosophy, but I took a lot of programming courses as well. I also took some music, creative writing, play-writing, and poetry-writing courses. They all were useful.

Where do you expect to go from here?

I'm thinking of getting a PhD and possibly becoming a university professor. I enjoy teaching about game design. However, if I get another industry job it'll probably be as a Chief Creative Officer or something similar.