I'm currently in the games industry and have been for the last 2 years. I'm a lead QA Engineer but my heart is in designing games. I know there are a few other industry people here and I was hoping for some feedback from you. I'd like to become a designer but i'm unsure what skills you really need. I'd like to apply for some designer jobs, should I put together some mock up games on paper to show? I've got various skills, like 3D Max, mapping, I understand programming and have written a few programs. I also understand game engines and the technology plus i'm a games tester so know the problems/design issues games hit upon. To me, I think I should stand a good chance but do I really? What other skills are necessary? Cheers for any responses.

Cool, thanks. I'm going to design a game and produce a portfolio of work, hopefully that'll get me somewhere.

<--What's going on here??

Why would that be considered jumping in at the deep end?

Ok, when I said I was going to design a game - I meant on paper . I know creating a full game would take one person a ridiculous amount of time. I'm currently working on my own HL2 mod and so far i've only created one custom model and two (not yet finished) maps, thats taken me about 2 months on and off so far. I was actually talking about showing I can come up with creative yet realistic ideas (realistic in terms of engine/hardware limitations etc). Basically - design the character/s, the environment, mood settings, game mechanics etc etc etc and show that it can all be done but most of all will actually be fun.

I wish I had time to give you more info, but I don't. I had to answer this question a couple of weeks ago. I received an animation degree from the Art Institute of Houston, and currently work at Insomniac Games as a designer. Btw - the role of 'designer' is going to be very different from company to company. Anyway, I thought this might be appropriate information for you.

*What did the company like in you portfolio or like about you?*

I think it was a combination of many things, that won my position at Insomniac. From the start, I think my portfolio showed that I was a fairly well rounded artist/designer, who had gone the extra mile to gain experience in my craft. Besides just having formal education, It was obvious that I had put hundreds of personal hours into level desing, in the amateur mod community. I think this little extra push, and bit of portfolio content, spoke alot about my dedication.

The other half of this formula, was my interview and design test. I put everying I had into my design test, and I think it showed. When it came time to actually interview and discuss this test, I think that my ability to communicate well, and take criticism well, won me alot of ground. Even though my design test was pretty good, it had obvious flaws, pointed out during the interview - I welcomed this criticism, and was able to discuss these problems professionally, and honestly. I believe this sincere desire to learn, and improve, was a big plus in my interview