Range designer

The range designer is one of the trades of the industry of the Video game. It is about the person who conceives a play, which makes of it the Game design . This term was born in 1994 from the need for formalizing this trade.

The term is very much used in the video game where it is about a position of responsibility. But one also finds it in the design more traditional, like the board games.

In the video game

A designer of video game develops the form, the concept and the Gameplay, in short the Game design of a video game, whether it is on console or Ordinateur. That included to design the field of the play, the specifications, the properties of the objects, the rules… A range designer works for a Développeur of video game (Which can possibly be about it editor of video game). Certain range designers, known as leading is in the editor to check that the productions follow the leading Ligne established.

Its first work being to write, this person has much experiment in writing, and can even be a writer (it is the case of Roberta Williams old range-designer before the hour at Sierra), or graduate in literature or language.

To have true knowledge in Programming or Art are also very useful. Many a range-designer are old Programmeur S or Graphiste S. the range designer are also extremely interested by the developments of the Social sciences like the Psychologie, the Sociologie or the Philosophie.

In the video game, the work of range designer is often idealized, often by young players wanting to integrate this Industrie, and was too quickly compared with a Réalisateur of cinema, by forgetting the components of decision which are the Project manager or the team. The players out of industry often believe that they have the concept of play which kill ( killer app or killer range ) and want to see it developing, and much of editor receive not requested number of design, and thus often, not read.

With budgets increasingly stronger, in million euros (2 million being the average budget of a video game in France) the video game is a risked company, and a failing project can put a company in Faillite. Thus the design of play is a critical field, and the industry is often criticized for its absence of taking risk, its temptation of the continuations and the licenses. Few range designers , in fact, appreciates this situation, but is however obliged to subject itself to it.

History of this trade

The first video games of the years 1960 with 1980 were primarily the result of a pastime of Programmeur S, since it neither had gone there, neither place of sale, nor means of thus earning money. (The plays requiéraient expensive computers). Some were conceived by electric Engineer S, for visits of laboratory in Informatique (OXO, Tennis for Two), others by students, creating for them or their friends. (Spacewar! , Dungeon…).

Some rare plays of this period, like Zork or Air Warrior began the transition between these trades. Early in the industrialization of the video game, the range designer were the lead Programmer S , or the only programmer of the play. This person was even often Director artistic, which was the case of Sid Meier, Chris Sawyer and Will Wright. An exception to this logic being Coleco, which as of the beginning, separated design and programming.

When the plays curve more complicated, and the more powerful platforms (allowing more functionalities), the two trades separated, the lead programmer not having more time to conceive the plays, some remaining in this new branch, the Game design. That became increasingly obvious with time, and beacoup veterans chose the design, délégant the tasks of programming to others.

Today it is extremely rare to find a video game or the lead to program is also the lead designer , with share in a Jeu casual like Tetris or Bejeweled. With increasingly complex plays, like MMORPG, or of the plays to the increasingly strong budgets (manifestly on the Plays of sport, the designers can be several tens. There is then one or more lead designers then, and of the designers juniors . In the largest companies, like Electronic Arts, each aspect of the play (controls, level design or vehicles) can have a separated team, with project manager and designer…

Trades of range designer

It is about a trade with whole share, whose contours are still badly defined, since according to the companies he is called or used differently. It gathers some essential achievements, often separate in several trades in the great structures like Ubisoft:

  • Design of the rules of the game or range mecanics in English. One speaks sometimes about Gameplay designer .

  • Design of the scenario or story-boarding in English. One speaks sometimes about story designer
  • Conception of the universe of the play. One speaks sometimes about background designer .
  • Design of the characters of the play. One speaks sometimes about Character design er .
  • Sometimes, design of the interfaces. One speaks then sometimes about ergonomicist or GUI designer .
  • Sometimes, design of the artistic choices. One then speaks about Director artistic .
  • is to be brought closer to that which conceives the levels, the Level designer .

It is thus a critical trade, generally reserved for people talented and tested. In general, the trade of range designer is seldom the first employment in the field of the video game. It is necessary to begin in another trade association, like the programming, graphics, the level design or the test. Because they are people having rather empirical qualities:

  • Capacity with to communicate, explain its proposals;
  • capacity with to synthesize other ideas;
  • capacity with to write;
  • capacity to convince or accept the choices of the others;
  • enormous knowledge of the Video game, and its culture of the video game;
  • flexibility of spirit (to be able to work on any play).

Tools

The communication passes by the realization of a document explaining to the other members of the project the elements of the Game design . It is called the Game design document (GDD) or Game documentation ( GameDoc ) and contains the near total of the elements which make it possible to manufacture the play. This work of design is in general completed by range designers but also of the artistic director , Scénariste S or a project manager. It is often about a synthesis of work of each collaborator, realized by a member of the team.

In order to communicate on its work within its company, the originators of plays ( ranges designers ) are sometimes brought to carry out One page so called Game concept. In all the cases, it is necessary for him to communicate on its documents, and to enormously put at the place his technical collaborators.

Formation

See also: List of the schools of the video game

Although the trade is still stammering and indefinite, there exist from now on schools which form with this trade, for the video game. Being often supported by a company, or a current of the video game, these schools define the station of range designer according to the statute that gives them the professionals who give courses to it.

ISART DIGITAL proposes since 2007 the first diploma of Range Design recognized of state approved Bac +4

Degrees of hierarchy

Often, when a project has a many team, within the range designer is named a lead . It is often about the person more tested and talented. The Project manager delegates part of the decisions to him, in confidence, in its field.

The range designer “junior” them, deal with very small and localized parts play, under the responsibility of a range designer .

The range designer is he an author?

The question remains complex and made debate. From a legal point of view, the range designer is generally not recognized to be an author. It is paid, and the company is condérée author. There is often the same debate on this question between the developer or the editor, one putting forward its artistic responsibility, the other financial one.

Certain exceptions ( Rayman , figure headlight of Ubisoft belongs to Michel Ancel for example) make move the lines.

However certain companies or association push to recognize the range designer as tel. the debate is thus open, the more so as some range designer could deserve this title.

They is on this subject that several originators were rewarded by the title for knight for the Ordre for Arts and the Letters, in France:

And others benefit from a statute close to that to a high-speed motorboat author:

However, the range designer is generally not decision maker alone on his project, other requirements, financial in particular (like the Industrialization of the video game), often taking the step, with inciting in particular of the project manager.

The relation leader project range designer

The balance of power is very different between the range designer and the project manager, according to the Entreprise which employs them, and its uses. The two stations besides are sometimes amalgamated, pointing out the Réalisateur then Cinéma. It is currently the case at Etranges Dragonflies.

If the project manager is the leader of the play, the range designer is the tuning fork. Thus in fact, the Range Designer proposes but does not impose, the force décisionnaire generally remaining with the project manager, because of the requirements of the projects. Without formalism, it is hard to communicate within a team, and to make a comprehensible play, and in the constraints of a project. The Game Designer is thus the ally necessary of the Project manager.

However, certain Range Designer of talent have a capacity décisionnaire higher than that of their project manager, with the sights of their talented and profitable achievements. It is in particular the case of the medal-holders quoted previously.

In the traditional plays

August 1st

Range notable designers

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