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Aspiring designers often think they're going to get rich. Actually game design is a hobby for most, not a living. But there are many reasons other than money to design games. My favorite game is the game of designing games, though I do make some money.
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The Joys of Designing Games (no, Not Money)
Dr. Lewis Pulsipher
Pulsiphergames.com
A Hobby for Most
My favorite game is the game of designing games
Though I’ve made it a business as well, it’s not a highly lucrative business for me, not a way to make a living
And that’s true for most game designers, just as it’s true for most fiction writers, most composers, most painters, etc.
Many more make a living designing video games than tabletop
More fans = more money
But not making a living doesn’t stop people from designing
There are lots of reasons to design other than “making a living”
Yet a designer recently lamented (on BGDF) that with so many games on the market (especially in video land), it was so hard to get your game played, and so little could be really new, why keep designing?
It depends on
your expectations
But he’s right:
Commercial prospects are grim
There are so many published games that most gamers have never heard of most games
Tens of thousands of video games per year
A thousand tabletop games per year
The “big video games” have millions in advertising behind them
But these are games you won’t design until and unless you have many years of experience
Even then, you only design a little part, in most cases
Virtually Nothing is “Original”
As with everything else, most of the possibilities have been thought of for games, even if YOU haven’t heard of them
So striving to be “innovative” is fruitless
Whether a game is truly original doesn’t matter much anyway, what matters is entertaining the players
It’s not the money
Because you almost certainly won’t “get rich”
You’re much more likely to get rich playing the lottery
And you probably won’t make a living
Though some do . . .
For most people, you could probably make more money picking up cans and bottles and turning them in for deposits (where that’s still done . . .)
Other “Practical” Reasons to Design
Help teach or train, advertise, etc. (simulation)
Train – learn by rote
Teach (education) – learn how to solve specific sets of problems that have no “pat answers”
“Gamification” is the big buzz-word today, but “the folks trotting out gamification seem strangely disconnected from actual gamers.” (Michael Tresca)
Gamification originally meant scorification
Adding scoring to something that wasn’t a game
Now it’s used to mean “game-based learning”, which is quite a different (useful) thing
Personal Reasons
Design is fun for some people the same way games are fun – I’ve played games over 50 years, and my favorite game is the game of designing games
Satisfy the urge to be creative (personal expression)
Most people think it’s “cool”
“Art” or “Meaning”
Interesting problem-solving
Entertain friends or just “other people”
Help someone learn (education and training)
Advertising
Political activity
Make a little money?
Fame?
And you might become the “least unfamous” person you know
Though designers are known more for their games than by their names
There’s no substitute for hearing someone spontaneously say about your game “I LOVE this game”
Or you meet someone who’s played it 500 times!
Or you’re asked to sign a copy
You could have a greater effect on the world as a whole through your games than through anything else in your life!
Keep in Mind a Danger . . .
If you really get into game design, it could interfere with your enjoyment of game playing!
“When you consider becoming a developer, you are going to develop a certain type of hypothetical 'developers glasses'. This means you'll be able to recognize the structure of games and how they are constructed. This sounds great at first, but it will soon transform you into an extremely critical judge, and these glasses will make it harder to swap back to your 'consumer glasses'. I won't say you will not enjoy games anymore, but pleasing yourself with what once was your hobby gets harder.” -Koen Deetman
Above quote about video games also applies to tabletop
But mainly, it’s fun . . .
. . . especially if you don’t have the pressure of trying to make money!
If you like solving interesting problems, game design can work for you
If you like making something out of nothing, it can work for you
If you like entertaining people, it can work for you
My tabletop game Sea Kings is in a Kickstarter through 1 Nov. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1456271622/sea-kings
Also see my article "Why design games?" http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/687/why_design_.php
And “Consider Changing Your Hobby Into Your Job” by Koen Deetman: http://gamecareerguide.com/features/1327/consider_changing_your_hobby_into_.php
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