作者：Jacob Stevens
高中畢業時，我的數學老師送給我們幾句話，“班上所有女生都想要成為海洋生物學家，所有男生都想要製作電子遊戲。所以你們要一直學習數學！”當然他這麼說有些誇張，但他的觀點無可非議：所有光鮮靚麗的事業都是靠來之不易的專業技術支撐的。
回到10年前，我自己被迫不得不給出相同的忠告。作為家鄉為數不多的開發者之一，我時常被問及要如何“進入遊戲設計行業”。
因此，自然有很多人，尤其是高中和大學畢業生將遊戲設計視作理想職業選擇。但根據我個人的觀察，過早涉足設計會降低大家今後變成設計師的可能性。
因此，若你想要以後變成遊戲設計師，我強烈建議你掌握程式設計或美術創作這樣的專業技能，然後鎖定能夠帶給你設計經驗的獨立專案。
文章中，我將談及若干支撐此說法的觀點：
- 設計入門職位很少見。只有在其他領域表現突出的開發者方能得到設計職位。
- 就比例來說，遊戲所涉及的多數工作都集中在美工和程式設計。若你掌握其中某項技能，你所做的貢獻會更多。
- 優秀設計師需對美工和技術有深刻的理解，所以直接瞭解這些領域非常必要。
- 學習美工或程式設計並不意味著放棄學習設計。事實上，若你同時鑽研某項製作技能，你會更快掌握設計知識。
若干聲明
在繼續內容之前，我將給出幾點聲明。
首先，我覺得遊戲設計是開發的首要工作。開發者需要通過有趣的前置內容吸引玩家眼球，確保遊戲元素具有平衡性，能夠憑直覺進行操作，讓玩家持續體驗到富有深度和多樣性的內容，而且還要協助解決開發週期中的各種小問題。正是基於開發者的特殊和重要位置，我才在文章中得出這些結論。
其次，我的觀點純粹是基於我個人的觀察結果。我的行業經驗來自於3種工作背景：1）獨立製作遊戲12年，成為專業設計師7年。2）擔任Wayforward（遊戲邦注：鎖定任天堂設備的加利福尼亞開發公司）的外包美工。3）擔任IBM的主要介面設計師。我承認自己缺乏這樣的視角：製作髙預算AAA作品的大型工作室所堅持的理念。
提高被雇傭機率
我的工作經驗使我悟到第一點：在我入行期間，及推出眾多作品的過程中，我們從沒看到有公司聘請新手設計師。初級設計職位很少見，因為大家通常是憑藉在團隊中做出突出貢獻而得到設計職位，或者是因共同創辦工作室而得到此職位。
在Wayforward，我發現主管（負責設計工作）通常會晉升為動畫師，因為優質動畫是他們公司的特色。在IBM，雖然有幾位“純”設計師是憑藉人體工學的高學位而得到設計職位，但除此之外多數設計師起初都是編碼員或美術設計師。最後，小型獨立工作室通常不會聘請新人員，若他們有聘請人員，通常也很少會是設計師，因為這項工作通常團隊共同完成，或由團隊的某位創始人承擔。
此外，我要指明的一點是，我們很難通過學校證明自己是優秀的設計師。美工可以憑藉作品，程式師可以憑藉運行代碼，但我從未在設計求職者發送的簡歷中發現任何能夠供我們進行評估的有形內容。這也是為什麼設計師人員通常會在公司內部中提拔，而不是另外聘請。
另一需要考慮的事項是設定退路計畫。我不喜歡潑冷水，但必須要說的是，不是所有希望靠製作遊戲謀生的人都能夠最終找到工作。相比遊戲設計專業人士，程式師和美術設計師更容易在遊戲之外的領域找找到工作。
小型設計過程漫長
初期職業道路不要選擇遊戲設計的第二個原因體現在簡單的比值資料上：設計遊戲所需要的總體工作時日，與執行設計內容（將其變成可供出售的作品）相比要少很多。
1天設過程作所帶來的後續工作需要團隊其餘成員花費1個月完成。我也曾同時承擔兩端的創造和接收任務。就《Cash Cow》（遊戲邦注：這是一款配對遊戲）之類的簡單遊戲來說，完成設計工作只需很短的時間，但將這款遊戲轉變成其當前的狀態卻需要花費幾年時間。在此你將擁有更多的表現機會，同時若你在其他方面表現突出，你會更有機會變成團隊成員。
優秀遊戲設計師需掌握美工和技術知識
就表面來看：遊戲由美工和技術元素推進。結合圖像、聲音和電腦是遊戲的本質，這些是將它們同其他藝術形式的區別所在。我們很難列舉出一款圖像和技術表現不盡人意但最終卻取得突出成績的作品，在很多情況下，它們在這些方面的表現都非常突出。
穩固技術和優美圖像不是在遊戲完成設計後才添加的。這些基礎元素需要在一開始就深深植入設計中。
因此，設計師需要把握美工、程式設計、聲音、故事敘述及所有其他構成遊戲的元素。這些領域的經驗，或通過同內行人士共事獲得，或通過親自涉足。的確，要直接掌握所有這些學科的知識幾乎不可能。但經驗交流遠勝過理論知識，因此有抱負的設計師通常會深刻掌握至少一個領域的知識。
別擔心，你依然可以學習設計
我的某些雄心勃勃的設計師好友擔心的一點是，掌握另一技能（遊戲邦注：例如程式設計）是否會分散學習設計的精力。你在騰出時間學習如何編寫代碼的同時就得將遊戲設計的學習時間縮短，是吧？
值得慶倖的是，情況並非如此。首先，你在製作圖像或編寫代碼的同時，其實也是在進行遊戲設計。確實如此，無論你在團隊的職務是否是遊戲設計。遊戲設計檔，無論有多嚴謹，都會產生許多不同理解，因此多數設計工作都停留在執行過程中。
此外，你有必要在正式訓練過程中結合相應的外部遊戲開發活動。只要你已逐步能夠勝任自己所選定的技能，你就應該創建團隊，共同製作專案。團隊應該保持小規模，這樣所有人都能夠扮演設計師角色。這些專案是積累設計經驗的必要途徑，雖然設計不是教育過程的焦點。
你無需依賴我所陳述的觀點
我建議你問問遊戲設計專業背景的人士，看他們是否能夠一畢業就選擇遊戲設計作為自己的職業。我有位朋友在技術學校主修設計，他稱自己認識的同專業學生沒有一位得到設計職位。此外，問問你認識的業內人士，他們的團隊是否有在尋找新手開發者，沒有其他技能的“純”設計師。我們相信他們的答案都和我一樣。
我並不是說行業不存在初級設計職位，但我相信，美工或程式師被聘用的機率要大很多。此外，若你具備製作技能，能夠憑此展示自己的才能，你被提拔為設計師的可能性會更大。
若我不擅長美工或程式設計的話，該怎麼辦？
另一我常聽到的聲音是，某人不是優秀美工，或對程式設計不感興趣，但依然有很多很棒的遊戲構思。非常遺憾，這是糟糕的藉口。這就像是建築師說自己不想學習建築材料，或是廚師不想學習切洋蔥。圖像和程式設計是遊戲的核心要素，若你對這些不感興趣，那你就不能說自己對遊戲設計感興趣。
但不要洩氣：熟能生巧。現在你也許算不上優秀美工或程式師，但沒有什麼能夠阻止你掌握這些技能。熟練掌握技能需要耗費很多時間，但這就是競爭性行業的實況。
那麼音樂、寫作和聲音設計呢？
截至現在，我一直強調美工和程式設計是進入遊戲行業，最終變成設計師的兩個可靠管道。當然還有一些學科對遊戲設計來說至關重要，其中包括音樂合成、聲音設計、寫作和製作等。
當然我們還能夠通過其他可行方式進入遊戲行業（遊戲邦注：如果這些方面是你的強項）。但和遊戲設計師一樣，相比視覺美工和程式師，團隊的音樂師、創作者和音效設計師人數要少很多。因此，雖然我覺得這些技能更具雇傭價值，但是若堅持走此條道路，你就得做好接受激烈競爭的準備。
正面看法
本文的宗旨並不是讓大家失去信心。我很清楚，也許很多讀者都是設計專業的學生。我所陳述的觀點並不怎麼鼓舞人心。的確如此；我相信單遊戲設計專業本身就足以讓你感到頗為失望。
但我的觀點是積極的：若你學習遊戲設計，外加有形製作技能，你就能夠有效提高自己的獲勝可能。你不僅會因此更具雇傭價值，你的設計技能也會得到極大提高，你將做出更多貢獻，從而以更多的製作經驗支撐你的設計工作。
最重要的是，你將能夠把自己的設計付諸實踐，而不是僅僅停留在構思層面上，這無疑更具成就感。（本文為遊戲邦/gamerboom.com編譯，拒絕任何不保留版權的轉載，如需轉載請聯繫：遊戲邦）
以下是原文。
The Pitfall Of Game Design As An Entry-Level Career Choice
By Jacob Stevens
[Jacob Stevens, the owner of Riverman Media, offers home helpful tips for breaking into the industry, noting why a design job might not be the right fit for a fledgling developer.]
When I was a senior in high school, my math teacher, never one to hold back a nugget of wisdom, had a few departing words for us. “Every girl in my class wants to be a marine biologist, and every guy wants to make video games. So you’re all going to have to keep learning math!” He was exaggerating of course-I knew several girls who weren’t interested in marine biology-but his point was well-taken: behind every glamorous and desirable career choice lies a hard-earned, but slightly less enchanting, technical skill.
Fast forward about a decade, and I find myself compelled to dispense similar advice. As one of just a handful of developers in my hometown, I am frequently asked how to “get into game design.” Indeed, it is rare to discuss my career with anyone (including non-gamers) without them proposing a game concept to me.
Thus, it makes sense that many people, especially high school and college students, conceive game design to be an ideal career choice. However, my observations have led me to the conclusion that a premature focus on game design greatly limits one’s probability of becoming a designer later in one’s career.
Therefore, if your intention is to eventually become a designer, I strongly suggest that you acquire a technical skill such as programming or art production, alongside pursuing independent projects that will give you design experience.
In this article, I will examine several perspectives that support this claim:
- Entry-level positions for designers are rare. Designers earn their positions by first excelling at other work.
- Proportionately, most of the effort that goes into a game is invested in art and programming. You will be able to contribute more if you know one of these skills.
- Good designers must have a deep understanding of art and technology, so it makes sense to develop firsthand understanding of these fields.
- Learning art or programming does not mean you have to forego learning design. In fact, you will learn design faster if you are focusing on a production skill at the same time.
A Few Disclaimers
Before I continue, I should qualify my arguments with a few disclaimers.
First, in case there is any doubt, I consider game design to be the most important job on the development team. It is the designer’s job to hook players with a compelling premise, make sure play elements are balanced and intuitive, keep players entertained with depth and variety, and to help solve all the little hiccups that occur during the development cycle. It is because of the designer’s unique and pivotal role that I have come to the conclusions drawn throughout this article.
Second, I should also add that my arguments are based purely on my own unique set of observations. My industry experience comes from three work scenarios: 1) Twelve years of creating games independently, seven professionally. 2) Working as a contract artist for Wayforward, a California-based company specializing in Nintendo handhelds, and 3) As a lead user interface designer for IBM (U.I. design being the “serious” equivalent of game design.) One perspective I am admittedly lacking is that of working for a large studio that produces big-budget, triple-A titles.
Boost Your Odds of Getting Hired
My work experience brings me to my first point: in all my time in the industry, working on at least a dozen published titles, I have not once witnessed the hiring of an entry-level designer. Entry-level positions for designers are rare because the job of designer is usually earned through outstanding contribution as a team-member, or created when someone founds their own studio.
At Wayforward, I noticed that directors (who were in charge of design) typically rose up the ranks as animators, since great animation is their company specialty. At IBM, although there were a few “pure” designers with advanced degrees in human factors, most of the designers started as either coders or graphic designers, and the ones that didn’t were hired later in their careers. Finally, small indie teams often don’t hire at all, and when they do, they are rarely looking for designers, as this job is generally performed as a group or covered by one of the team’s founders.
Additionally, I should point out that it is very difficult to prove, straight out of school, that you are a good designer. Artists have portfolios, and programmers have working code, but I have never been sent a resume from a designer with any tangible work to evaluate. This is one of the reasons that designers are typically raised from within a company instead of hired cold.
Another consideration is that of having a fallback plan. I hate to break the bad news, but not everyone who wants to make games for a living lands a job right away. Programmers and graphic designers will have a much, much, much easier time finding good jobs outside the game industry than someone trained in game design.
A Little Design Goes a Long Way
The second reason not to choose game design as an early career path is one of simple proportions: the total number of person-hours spent designing a game is miniscule compared to the number of hours that it will take to execute the design and turn it into a sell-able product.
A day of designing can easily create a month of work for the rest of the team. I’ve been on both the giving and receiving ends of this equation! A game as simple as my studio’s Cash Cow, which was essentially just a matching game, was designed in a very short amount of time, but took years to implement in its current incarnation. You will be much more able to contribute, and much more valued as a team member, if you are productive in other ways.
Good Game Designers Must Understand Art and Technology
Let’s face it: games are driven by art and technology. The merging of visuals, audio, and computers is the essence of games, and is what differentiates them from other art forms. It is hard to think of a critical or commercial success that isn’t both artistically and technically competent, and in many cases even groundbreaking.
Solid technology and stunning visuals are not elements that are injected after a game has been designed. These cornerstone elements must be deeply integrated into the design from the beginning.
Therefore, it is absolutely essential that designers have a fundamental understanding of art, programming, audio, storytelling, and all the other components that comprise games. Experience in these fields can either be gained by working with people who fill these roles, or as someone who fills these roles. Indeed, firsthand knowledge of all these disciplines is unlikely. Nonetheless, experiential understanding beats cursory theoretical knowledge by a long shot, and therefore aspiring designers would do well to cultivate a deep understanding of at least one of these fields.
Don’t Worry, You Can Still Learn Design!
One concern that one of my aspiring designer friends has is that mastering another skill, like programming, will detract from learning design. All the time you spend learning to write code is time you aren’t spending learning how to design games, right?
Fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth! First of all, any time you are making art or programming, you are also designing. This is true whether or not design is your official role on a team. A game design document, no matter how thorough, leaves oceans of room for interpretation, and therefore large amounts of design are left up to the individual performing the implementation.
Additionally, it is imperative that you supplement your formal training with outside game development activities. As soon as you are at least somewhat competent in your chosen skill, you should be working toward forming a small team to produce projects with. The team should be small enough that everyone will act as a designer in some way. These kinds of projects are an essential way to gain design experience, even if design isn’t the focus of your education.
You Don’t Have to Take My Word for it
I challenge you to ask anyone you know who has focused their education on game design whether or not they were actually able to make a career out of game design straight out of college. I have a good friend who has a degree in design from a major technical school, and he says that he doesn’t know anybody with his degree that was hired as a designer. Additionally, ask anyone you know who works in the industry whether their team is looking for entry-level, “pure” designers with no other skills. I have a feeling that their answers, frustratingly, will align with what I’m telling you.
I am not claiming that entry-level jobs for designers don’t exist at all, but I’m confident that your odds of getting in the door are an order of magnitude higher as an artist or programmer. Additionally, your prospects of rising to the top as a designer are much better if you have a production skill that you can leverage to show off your talent.
What if I’m No Good at Art or Programming?
Another argument I commonly hear is that someone isn’t a good artist, or isn’t interested in programming, but still has a lot of great game ideas. I’m sorry, but that’s a poor excuse. That is like an architect saying they don’t want to learn about building materials, or a chef not wanting to learn to chop onions. Art and programming (along with a few other disciplines that I’ll mention later) are the core elements of games, and if you aren’t interested in them, you really can’t say you’re interested in making games at all.
But take heart: Nobody is good at something until they practice. You might not be a great artist or programmer now but there is nothing stopping you from acquiring these skills. Mastery will take time-a lot of time-but that’s the reality in any competitive industry.
What About Music, Writing, Sound Design, etc?
So far I’ve emphasized art and programming as the two most reliable ways to break into the industry and eventually become a designer. There are of course other disciplines vital to game development, including music composition, sound design, writing, producing, etc.
These are certainly viable ways to get into games if they are where your strengths lie. However, as with game designers, there are many fewer musician and writers and sound effects designers on a team compared to visual artists and programmers. Consequently, while I do see these skills as somewhat more hire-able, expect lots of competition for few openings if you go this route. (As an aside, I should mention that I get more unsolicited resumes for music composers than all other disciplines combined. That leads me to believe that the supply of composers far exceeds demand in the industry.)
The Good News
My intention with this article is not to dishearten or frustrate anyone. I am especially conscious that many readers might be enrolled in an educational program that emphasizes design. What I’m telling you probably does not sound especially encouraging. It’s true; I believe that a game design degree, on its own, is likely to leave you frustrated.
My point, however, is an optimistic one: If you learn game design, along with a tangible production skill, you can increase your odds of success by an order of magnitude. Not only will you be substantially more hire-able (both inside and outside the game industry), but your design skills will improve tremendously, you’ll contribute more, and you’ll be able to back up your designs with production experience.
Most importantly, you will have earned the ability to act on your designs by bringing them into reality, rather than limiting them to the realm of ideas, which is infinitely more fulfilling.（Source：gamecareerguide）