I’ve stressed it before and continue to stress it now;: If you want to get into the game industry, you must practice, practice, practice. You must get into the game-design mode of thought, and the easiest way to do this is to surround yourself with the same tools game developers do. Consider Counter Strike, one of the world’s most popular online first person shooter games. This was a game created by simple fans of Half-Life who recognized the capabilities of the engine and adapted it, using what limited tools were made available to them.
The consequence has been astounding.
The Counterstrike series has been officially incorporated by Valve, dropping the “Half-Life” title and becoming its very own game, it remains the single most played first person shooter online game in the world, and the designers have been hired on by Valve for their excellent work. Much the same can be said for Defense of the Ancients – otherwise known as DOTA, a modified version of WarCraft III that has become incredibly popular throughout the world. Even Blizzard has begun using this map at their own conventions for tournaments.
Gaming companies take note of these efforts, especially if they become world renown sensations such as DOTA or Counterstrike. Although it’s not necessarily likely that one will create the next DOTA, there is neither any harm in trying or getting the necessary practice so that one can put it on their resume as “experienced with game design tools. Yes, every little piece of fluff helps.
The best tool I can recommend for any person interested in working with designer tools is the Elder Scrolls Construction Set. Meant to allow players to heavily modify originally Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and later Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, this all encompassing tool is a better one than many modern game designers have in their offices. Nevertheless, it is effectively a streamlined version of all the tools technically at a designer’s disposal, and gaining a grasp of it will teach you all the fundamentals needed to create your own games.
For example, it introduces you to the important of understand spreadsheets and databases, introduces you to basic NPC behavior and placement, zones, maps, layouts, A.I. and the all important scripts (which really aren’t all that important at all for basic game and level design).
One can literally create their own game with this tool – could literally erase the entire Oblivion or Morrowind world and, starting from scratch, could hand craft their own video game, populate it with everything necessary to make an enjoyable game, and the only similarity would be the game engines. Graphics can be changed, models can be changed, imported, or exported, everything. This is truly the best design tool anyone could ask for
Most importantly, it really only costs $20 – since a copy of Morrowind along with its two expansions has depreciated so in value. Nevertheless, this still remains one of the best games ever released, so you’re certainly getting your money’s worth.
There are other tools one could surround themselves with likewise though. As games age, studios die out or are bought out, and copyrights expire, several source codes become “open” – or companies are sometimes even gracious enough to outright give away the source codes for their games. These are powerful tools, as tampering with the source code itself allows you to effectively create your own beast of a game.
However, you’ll most likely find “older” games’ source codes, such as Police Quest, or the deceptively simple Sierra Game Maker, which allows you to make any adventure game in the style of Police Quest or King’s Quest.
While you can technically skip the step of actually practicing with these tools, confident in your own coding skills, I would not recommend it, as there’s an entire “mindset” that comes with game design, and any of these tools would be an excellent way to help you develop that mode of thought.
