Where to start?

[GamerAnonymous]

I'm a Freshmen in Highschool and I would really like to become a game designer. I need to start looking into to it but I'm not sure where to start. So if you have any advise on where to start, who to talk to, where to volunteer for beta testing, how to get noticed, or anything else I'd really appreciate it :) thank you

[CraeSC111]

It really depends which part of game development you want to look into. I would definitely start by learning a programming language though. Look into popular ones like python (which is the one I know the best), lua, or C++ (another one I know)

[GamerAnonymous]

Thanks that's very helpful.

[CraeSC111]

You are very welcome. Python is a pretty easy one to learn and knowing one language can help you to learn others. I would suggest starting with that. Also welcome to the forum. I hope you will stick around and manage not to anger the forum gods :D

[GamerAnonymous]

Alright then that's we're I will start :D and I will haha thanks again

[Kalgalath]

I have an open invite to several large gaming companys, EA being one of them (i'm not a desk sitter though, so F that). Beta testing is the way to go if you want the invites to pour into your inbox. The way i got the one from EA was i applied to be an alfa tester for an up coming game of theirs. I was denied several times but finally i just straight up lied about my computer specs, giving them top of the line information about my dream PC, they sent me an invite to download the game and gave me access to a dev website which i became active on the very next day. The initial invite will be for their CS department which you should take, be warned however, that customer service and GMs pull about 80 hours a week. But, from there the options are limitless. They will send you to school and everything. so my answer to you is Step 1. Find info about an up coming game and join the forums . Step two. apply for beta testing. Step three ask mommy and daddy for the money to get a top end gaming rig (Void this if your willing to bend your morals to get ahead in life). Step four. take the testing seriously by becoming active on the dev forum and finding glitches and any other small unfair advantages. Step five. check yer inbox ;)

Also if your HS offers a trade school computer anything take those classes.

Be dedicated!!! I cant stress that enough. I learned Basic on my own in 87 the year before i started high school. i don't need windows to operate my pc and i don't need a mouse to operate windows.

[GamerAnonymous]

Thanks! That's a good plan! So for beta testing, I've found a few so far, but where's the best place that you know of where I would be able to apply? Also how long have you been doing this?

[CraeSC111]

I would agree with kalgalath to a point about the beta testing. It could get some people looking in your direction, but you should definitely seek to bring more to the table. Out of the thousands of beta testers having something like programming knowledge could give you a huge lead.
And as kalgalath said taking high school classes for things like programming or other computer skills is wonderful. I went to high school with someone who was picked up a year before he graduated by I believe Cisco as a programmer because he was so good at it, and now he makes more almost as much money as my father. I myself took classes on engineering and they have given me a huge lead in my college classes.

[GamerAnonymous]

Really? Wow! Then I will definitely take more of those classes! And another question.. What's a good collage? I would like to look at the requirements

[CraeSC111]

Try searching for that on google. Some universities have better programs in specific areas than others. Depends what you are looking into. I would just try for the highest grades possible so you could go anywhere you want. And remember that your interests can change as you take more classes. High school serves as a really great place to figure out what you like. Hence why I'm studying to be an electrical engineer rather than a game programmer. :p

[BobTD]

You can learn a lot about creating a game by working on game mods. I would suggest giving the game "Mount and Blade" a try if you want a good game to start with (the non steam one would be easier to alter). If you dont know anything about programming or game design it might be good to get your hands into something early.

Mount and blade has a lot of mods and modders in their community who are generally very helpful and friendly. Start by playing the game and making small changes. The game can be edited using Python, Wings 3D and a few other tool like a dds converter. But you can change text, music and event orders without knowing much about code just yet. Once you get the feel for applying mods and testing them its a lot easier to focus on learning more about these tools. Or confusing, but at least you will have a better idea where to start learning.

MB Repository - Browsing: Modding Tutorials (http://www.mbrepository.com/category.php?id=2)

Another great thing to do is follow indie developers. Following them can help you learn more about resources and programs used in game development. A great development blog to read is the overgrowth project blog:

Wolfire Games Blog (http://blog.wolfire.com/)

By watching the blog you might get an idea of the scale and effort, and skills implemented in making a good game. Also if you are looking at a career in game design sign up for an participate in as many beta's as you can because they actually do like to see that sort of stuff on applications.

Read and learn anything you can. A while ago valve posted their employee handbook and by reading it I not only got to learn a lot about a great company but understand what they look for in a skill set:

http://newcdn.flamehaus.com/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf

These are just general suggestions and you ultimately have to choose what you learn and how to go about it, but using google you will find a lot of advice given to people asking the same question you are. The best thing I think you can do is to get an early start on as much as you can handle. After highschool you can go to school for game design but ultimatly the people who make games are the ones that are motivated and already moving down that path.


*edit*

Concerning beta testing, in my opinion thats a small perk on a resume. Its like volunteering and looks good, but its not what really gets you the job. There are a ton of beta's you can participate in if you do a simple google search. Computer game beta testing is usually the easiest to get into. Right now Path of Exile is about to go gold, so its almost over. But the closed beta for Hawken is taking applications, For example. Some games claim to be in beta but are so far advanced that they wont be changing much and may just be trying to advertise, the Tribes beta actually has or had a micro transaction system up. Technically not a beta once you start trying to get people to pay money IMO.

[CraeSC111]

Came across this page (http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2TbUUv/www.videogamedesignschools.net/20-great-sites-to-learn-the-ins-and-outs-of-video-game-design/) today and though you might appreciate it. It contains information about useful game development tutorials. Enjoy :D