Stupid question, but how does one become a "games designer?" Someone like Alessio Corvatore? How did he get there to become a games designer and get paid for it? Not even joking, I've been curious about this for a while but I never really asked.
I somewhat designed a sentinel racing game when I was around a hobby store when I was younger, but it never really went anywhere but people had fun playing it.
Seriously curious about this and how to go about it.
>>46084595
I spelled his name wrong. It's Cavatore.
Please respond.
>>46084595
How does one become a writer or designer of anything? Go write. Produce content. If you want to be a game designer, go design games. Write about them. Show them to people. Put them out there. If people like them, polish them up and sell PDFs. Establish a name and try to get freelance gigs or a position with some company or make a business of your own work.
>>46084846
Makes sense, I reckon. I guess I was wondering in a more "official" capacity than that, but I see what you're saying.
>>46084919
It's a creative profession. You only become "official" when people start paying for your creation.
If you're wanting a job in a creative industry working for someone else, you're going to need a portfolio of your prior work to show them. The best way to establish yourself as valuable is to create and publish some stuff on your own or get some freelance work in.
>>46084995
I guess if I'm not creative enough to have thought of that I wouldn't really cut it.
Step 1 make games
Step 2 repete step 1 until you stop sucking at it.
Step 3 publish
Step 4 hope someone else likes what you did and gives you cash.
>>46085033
If you want to make stuff go make stuff. Hang out on the homebrew General thread and get ideas, ask questions. Do your research. Play games - lots of games. Read everything you can get your hands on. The more stuff you expose yourself to the better off you'll be.
Along with everything said in this thread, I recommend looking up the podcast series: Drive to Work, by Mark Rosewater. He is the head designer for Magic: The Gathering and has been in the game design industry for over 20 years now. Lots of his podcasts talk about general game design and how he applied it with games he took part in. He also writes countless articles with the same theme. Recently, he did a talk At GDC 2016 (Game Design Convention) about 20 lessons he learned in game designing. I believe there's a 10-part podcast that talks about the 10 things every games needs. Finally, I hear he recommends this book called "A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative" for exactly what the title states. I haven't read it myself, but others who have follow-up on the recommendation.
Good luck with your journey!
>>46085105
Real step 4 Go and network. This is the real and depressing answer.
>>46086415
In a market full of amateur indie games and designers, the big trick is getting someone to notice your work in the first place.
>>46086648
Real time-savers include guilting friends, blackmail and leveraging nepotism wherever possible. Ex:
All the game designers at GW (since @40k2 anyway) were just a bloke who knew a bloke and, to be fair, studio staffers need no relevant credentials since they have never claimed to be competent writers, nor shown the slightest interest in codex balance. So, the biggest factor in riding the Grimdark Gravytrain seems FAR more likely to be luck than any deliberately marketable skillset.
So, good luck, I guess.
