But it's not all fun and games, according to Cal Hung Ling-ki, a console game designer at M-Inverse Holdings, who says that it is a common misconception that designers are paid to play all the time
While the games available on the market are the final products, the bulk of a game designer's job involves testing the bits and pieces of a game's prototype repeatedly without the exciting visual and audio elements to fine-tune aspects, such as the parameters. I play games all the time, but these are incomplete ones and the process can be very time-consuming and boring. I equate the responsibilities of a game designer to those of a film director.
A designer develops an original concept for a game by exploring the possibilities of aspects such as the presentation and input of the players, for example the motion-sensing element incorporated in Nintendo's Wii console; and entirely new rules for an existing game. I enjoy the initial conceptualisation of the game the most as I can let my imagination run wild.
I graduated with an associate degree in computer science from City University and joined a team which entered Microsoft's Xbox game design contest in 2005 and was recruited by M-Inverse soon afterwards.
At the pre-production stage, a game designer is responsible for preparing a game design document which is the basic conceptualisation of the game containing sketchily outlined components, such as the basic designs of characters and weapons. When that is completed, I then initiate a discussion of the basic game concept outline with team members to make decisions regarding the feasibility of the project. After several rounds of revision based on input from the team, I work on the second draft of the document, which is closer to the final game. We then embark on the research and design based on the outline set out in the document.
I co-ordinate with other specialists such as programmers and graphic artists who come up with the game's prototype, or proof of concept. Then I will begin the trial run and provide feedback to ensure that core parts of the game appeal to game enthusiasts. When the proof of concept moves into full-game production, I need to ensure that all components match the requirements of the target game players.