Are you an avid gamer who dreams about creating your virtual world? If so, a career in the gaming industry may be just what you’re looking for.
The gaming industry is booming, with the video game market growing annually by 8.76% until 2027. That means more jobs in the field are becoming available. Whether you have a talent for coding, art or storytelling, there’s a path you can take. Here are some examples:
Game Designer
Game designers are at the core of game creation. They create the rules and systems, help build the worlds, and monitor the user experience and game mechanics to ensure they function efficiently.
As a game designer, there are many career paths you can follow. You can develop video games for console or PC gaming, online betting and gaming in the educational sector.
You need strong technical skills to design games. Complex problems may plague your day-to-day life, and you need to be able to solve them to ensure that games run smoothly while still being entertaining and engaging.
Narrative Designer
Does your interest in gaming accompany a passion for writing and storytelling? Narrative design can help you create an elaborate, emotional storyline with charismatic characters and plot twists.
As a narrative designer, you work closely with writers, game developers, and artists to ensure that the gameplay, interactivity, and storyline blend smoothly. You’re responsible for giving players exciting quests, deep dialogue and meaningful choices.
Whether surviving a zombie apocalypse or journeying through a fantasy realm, your writing brings the world to life. It immerses players in the story with emotional depth and exciting adventures.
Gameplay Animator
If art is your talent and you like bringing it to life, then gameplay animation is an excellent path to follow. You use motion capture and key-framing software to turn concept art into living, breathing characters, creatures, and functional, operational vehicles.
Every game element moves thanks to gameplay animators, from trees blowing in the wind to objects players can interact with. They even implement each action, behaviour, and movement that non-player characters (NPCs) make.
Gameplay animators need attention to detail and an intimate understanding of movement physics to find success in this field.
3D Character Artist
3D character artists turn concept artists’ illustrations into fleshed-out, 3D character models. However, this career path isn’t limited to gaming. It’s also a valuable skill in films and animated features. You bring characters to life, giving them visual depth and personalities that elicit emotional responses.
As a 3D character artist in the gaming industry, you collaborate with technical and creative teams to maintain consistency and quality. You aim to deliver graphics and artwork that meet gamers’ expectations nowadays.
Environment Artist
Do you ever wonder who’s responsible for designing the buildings, landscapes and foliage you journey through while playing a game? The answer is environmental artists. They create and set 3D digital environments using scans, concept art and real-world references.
Environment artists create every asset that makes up a game world, from rocks and trees to signposts and streetlights. In the gaming industry, you need to create environments where players can interact with and follow the laws of physics (and the game world’s natural laws).
This career requires an understanding of physics, attention to detail, and storytelling ability. The environment must paint a picture of what transpired within it.
Find Your Path in the Gaming Industry
The gaming industry lets you create a unique world for gamers to explore and interact. It’s a field where technical and creative skills combine to tell stories and give people a second life. If these sound like paths you want to walk, contact a career counsellor today and find out where to start.
