Patrick Curry’s Thoughts on Game Design

Here is my second attempt at passing on some useful knowledge to up-and-coming game designers and game design students. Your portfolio is your way of saying “I’m awesome, hire me!” It’s what will get you in the door, or if you’re already in the door, it’s what will keep you from getting kicked out. So you gotta make it good…

If I were to imagine the ideal portfolio for a game designer, it would include the following six things. You can probably get away with four or five of them, but all six would make me go “wow, this is some portfolio!” And that’s what you want. Some “wow” in your portfolio. So here we go!

1. Cover Letter

The first thing you need is a very well-written cover letter, explaining why you want to be a game designer, and why you have what it takes. I’m afraid I can’t give you any more tips on this one, it has to come from the heart.

2. Résumé

Next you need a thorough resume that explains your experience in terms of your education, your work, and your personal projects. Don’t leave stuff out. Did you spend a year managing a GameStop? Include it! Your experience makes you who you are, and it can all be applied to making games in ways you might not think of right away.

3. A Game Level

Modern video-games are mostly level based, so a completed level for a 3D game is a must. Almost all of the tools that professional game developers use on a daily basis are either free for download, come packaged with games, or are available for cheap at a student store. There’s no excuse for you to not have used these tools to create some professional-looking levels.

Make a multiplayer level for Unreal Tournament 2004, a single-player level for Half-Life 2, or a polished mission for Dawn of War. It will show that you’ve taken the initiative to learn real-world game tools, and that you can use them to make something fun. Everything you need to make such a level comes with these games. You don’t have to be an amazing artist, but you do need to have a decent eye and a good sense of scale, space, flow, and composition. Oh, and of fun gameplay of course.

4. A Small Game

One of the best ways to show that you understand games is to make a small one yourself. This doesn’t have to be a massive, sprawling action-adventure game. A simple, 2D puzzle game that you’ve created in Flash will suffice. Show that you can translate concepts into something fun and playable. Creating a pure clone of a classic game is ok, but something new will help you stand out. If you can’t do the programming to make a playable game, make an animation or video of what your game would look like being played.

5. A Written Game Design

Next up is a written concept for an original game. You want to show that you’re a skilled writer, and that you can describe your ideas in a clear, concise manner. You might not realize it, but a good deal of the job is writing. Write a 1-4 page description of your idea for the best game ever. It doesn’t have to be a 100-page game design document for your grand action-rpg-rts-flight-sim-hybrid game. In fact, game developers are busy and don’t have the time to read all that. If you can’t make a game sound fun in four pages, another 96 won’t do you much good.

6. A Card/Board Game

And finally… you include the written rules to a card or board game that you’ve designed. The big advantage to having this in your portfolio is that it’s very easy for someone to read through the rules and see if you understand the most basic mechanics of game design. Not only that, but so long as you haven’t submitted Monopoly, it’s possible for someone to play your game and have fun with it.

Final Thoughts

Now here’s the disclaimer: Even if you have all six of these things in your portfolio, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get a job as a game designer. It will still take time, patience, and persistence. Not to mention talent! Every studio will want something slightly different from you. Some will want more levels, others will want more writing samples. Some won’t want to see any of this, and want to test you in their own way! So you have to be ready for anything.

The number of people wanting to get into game design has skyrocketed along with the popularity of games, so your best bet is to pursue all avenues of getting into the industry… be it through quality assurance, IT, or any other excuse to get in the building. Apply for any job that you’re qualified for, as you’ll need practice showing your portfolio, talking about game design, and jumping through the interview hoops.

Best of luck to you on your quest! And just to be 100% clear, I’m not hiring anyone these days, so don’t send your portfolios my way.