Becoming a Game Designer, by Ju Jin-yeong

As graduation approached, I sent applications to a number of employers. The companies I prepared most carefully for were game studios.

I knew games better than many of the other industries I was considering, and I liked them enough to imagine making a career out of them. Ju Jin-yeong’s Becoming a Game Designer was one of the books I read as I tried to understand the work.

Applying to CJ E&M Games

I heard around 15,000 people applied to CJ E&M Games that year. I made it through the application review and aptitude test to the final interview, where my run ended.

What it meant to work for a game company

Ju’s main subject is how to become a designer, but he also takes time to make the case that a game studio can be a good place to work.

That feels like a reminder of how the industry was seen when the book appeared. By the 2020s, many applicants saw game companies as places they would actively seek out.

Does the university you attended matter?

Ju is blunt about the advantage he thought applicants from well-known universities had in getting past the first round of screening.

I thought of my own final interview, which was conducted in groups of three. Over dinner I learned that the other two candidates and I had studied at Yonsei, Sungkyunkwan, and Sogang. Out of the much larger applicant pool, only a small group had reached that stage. That was one interview, but it made Ju’s point feel familiar.

The skills that help a designer

Ju puts the fundamentals first. He makes a case for Korean, mathematics, and a foreign language as foundations for design work.

Mathematics helps with logical thinking. Writing helps you communicate it. Studying another language can widen the set of approaches you know how to draw on.

Tools a designer can use

Ju also recommends getting comfortable with the tools used to write documents, build spreadsheets, and make presentations.

A designer needs to write down decisions clearly, and a spreadsheet can make data easier to maintain and discuss.

Tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Painter can help give shape to an idea. A flowchart can make the logic behind a system visible.

• Documents: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Graphics: Photoshop, Illustrator, and Painter
• Flowcharts: mapping the logic of a system

The idea that anyone can apply

People sometimes assume that they can move into game design without learning any particular skills. Ju describes a job that takes both practical knowledge and an understanding of how the pieces of a game fit together.

Some employers look for experience. The book suggests that quality assurance or game master work can give a newcomer a way to learn how part of the industry operates.

Experience making something

The most useful experience, in Ju’s view, is making content yourself. It is one thing to have an idea and another to find out what it takes to make it work.

As games grow more complex, the ability to explain what you are doing to other people becomes more important. Writing a clear document is part of that work.

What a design document does

Ju treats writing as one of the designer’s most practical skills.

A document should quickly tell the reader what you want to make and how you think it should work. Ju suggests keeping the structure simple.

• Title: give the reader a good idea of what the document covers.
  • Summary: explain the purpose at the top.
    • Details: state the topic plainly and explain how the design works.

Start with the big picture, the purpose of the document, and the reason for the design. Add detail once the reader has those bearings.

The book illustrates that principle with sample notes for two areas.

• This document covers the plan for playing in a combat area.
  • Area name: Blue Bear Cliff
  • Player levels: 25–30
  • Play pattern: groups can pull and fight multiple enemies at once.
    • Purpose: introduce players to their first group combat area.
• This document describes the terrain of a combat area.
  • Area name: Red Bear Paw Settlement
  • Player levels: 25–30
  • Play pattern: a dungeon-like area designed for group combat.
    • Terrain: limited paths reinforce the feeling of being inside the Red Bear tribe’s territory.

A sketch can also show a relationship between places that would take several sentences to describe.

Specialties within game design

Game design covers many jobs. It helps to think about which part of the work you would actually like to do.

Combat systems, character design, player and enemy abilities, and balance all require decisions of their own.

What goes in a portfolio?

Ju describes a portfolio as a collection of your work. A company’s internal design documents, proposals, and specifications belong to the company and should stay out of it.

If you have little professional experience, give people a way to see what you can do.

If you have worked on a project, explain which part you were responsible for and what came out of it. Include experience leading part of a project or a team if you have it.

A sample design document in a portfolio has a different purpose from one submitted for approval. Its job is to let someone see how you think and what you do well.

Looking back at a guide to game design

I liked games enough to think about working in the industry and to read books like this one. My career went through public institutions and education instead. Coming back to this book brought back the time I spent trying to get into a studio.

Published in 2012, it reflects the hiring practices and tools of its day. The parts about turning an idea into something other people can work with still make a good introduction to the job.

Book details

Becoming a Game Designer

Author

Ju Jin-yeong

Published

September 20, 2012

ISBN13

9788931551877

View the book on YES24

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