Patrick Curry’s Thoughts on Game Design

I recently had the chance to speak at DePaul University about a number of game-related topics, and I left the students with some tips on how to go pro as game designers. Here they are for the rest of y’all in an easily digestible (and printable) format: the four simple steps to becoming a game designer!

Step 1: Play a lot of games

This is the easy step. If you’re reading this website, chances are you already play a lot of games… perhaps too many. That’s good. Being a good designer requires an encyclopedic knowledge of videogames. But I’m not just talking about the latest games to come out. You should play just as many classic games as modern games, and learn as much as you can from them. There’s the old adage: those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. You better believe this goes for games too.

The best way to learn from the games you play is to write about them. Write little reviews for every game you play, describing what’s fun and what isn’t. You don’t have to publish these reviews, but the experience of writing them will really force you to think about why the games you play are fun… or why they aren’t. Write about what you would have done differently, and what impact that would have had on the overall experiences. I find that if I don’t force myself to write about the games I play, I don’t really learn anything from them. Often when I’m writing things will just start to click, the motives behind their design decisions become more clear, and I can imagine how and why the games ended up the way they did.

Step 2: Read a lot of books

You can only learn so much from playing videogames. At some point you have to open yourself up to the wealth of knowledge hiding in books (yes, those dusty, archaic things that lurk in libraries and bookstores). There are tons of books on the subject, some good ones to get you started are Rules of Play, Game Design: Theory and Practice and A Theory of Fun. When you’re done with them, pick out a couple more. And when you’re done with them, read some more. And when you’re done with them, read magazines and Internet sites about making games. Game Developer Magazine and Gamasutra are a one-two punch of good information about making games.

But don’t stop there… Modern videogames are truly “multimedia” (to use a term from the nineties), combining an untold number of disciplines: visual art, architecture, storytelling, composing, comics, programming, user interface, and so on. Two non-game favorites are Understanding Comics and The Design of Everyday Things. Read and learn as much as you can about all manner of subjects, and better yet, find like-minded people to discuss these books with. I think this is one of the major benefits to a formal education: it forces you to read and discuss a ton of books with people who are also being forced to read and discuss the very same books.

Step 3: Meet people who make games

What’s better than playing games and reading books about making games? Actually talking with people who make games for a living. Instead of trying to guess what they were thinking, just ask them! Plenty of people who make games will tell you that you’re crazy for wanting to do it, but if you’re talented and dedicated to the dream, you will find people who are willing to talk with you, share some tips and tricks, and maybe even mentor you on your way into the field.

There are two excellent places to meet people who make games. The first is at IGDA chapter meetings. Many chapters are open to students and newcomers to the industry, so start attending. Don’t expect to walk in and have someone offer you a job, though. Just go to the meetings and soak up as much as possible. And secondly, attend the Game Developer Conference. I thought I knew a thing or two about making games the first year I attended, but it turned out I didn’t know squat. GDC is like boot camp for game developers: you cram your brain full of as much information as possible, meet as many people as possible, and then you go back home and do your best to make games.

Step 4: Make games

And finally, to become a game designer you have to start making games. There’s a classic catch-22 in our industry: you can’t get a job making games until you’ve made one. The solution is actually very simple. You have to make games on your own. Nothing will stand out in a portfolio more than a completed game. And you will learn more by making games then you will in steps 1 through 3 combined. But, steps 1 through 3 will at least get you on your way to step 4.

There are a ton of good ways to start making games. You can make levels or mods for existing “real games.” Or download one of the many open-source game engines out there. Or check out Microsoft’s crazy XNA stuff. The important thing is to pick a route and start making games. Maybe you already know a thing or two about making games? That’s great, but you have to actually finish your games so you can show them off to people. And the web is an amazingly powerful tool for doing just that.

Final Thoughts

Are you thinking that my four simple steps don’t seem very simple? Good! They aren’t! It will be a long and hard road, and frankly, you’re crazy to go it alone. Find people equally dedicated and equally nuts, and start working together to make games. This is another great reason to get into a program at a university, community college, or even one of those newfangled game-schools. At a minimum it will put you in a room with other people obsessed with games. Hopefully school will break down my four steps into some smaller, incremental ones. And there’s always the chance that they’ll teach you what you need to know, and help you get your first job in the industry.

So there you go. Get out there and get started. And thanks to DePaul for having me. It was a blast.

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