The digital game industry is a thriving, highly dynamic and competitive multi-billion dollar international industry. The global game market alone is valued at an estimated US$15 billion, is more profitable than the US film industry and looks set to become the leading influence on the metamorphosis of popular culture.

In the formative years of game development, up until the 1980s, game designers were lead programmers rolled into one and usually worked solo on projects. However, as games took on more complex forms and computers became more powerful, the job of the game designer evolved into a distinct function, separate from that of the lead programmer.

In time, growing complexity demanded an exclusive emphasis on game design, making game designers ever more important to the process of game development.

With its ever-expanding nature, many governments have begun investing heavily in this rapidly developing sector to imbue and upgrade the skills of gaming technology professionals to ensure the industry continues to evolve and advance, which means that becoming a game designer is a very viable career option at this point in time and will likely be for the next decade.

However, even if creating and constructing virtual worlds is your passion, to succeed in this field, you will have to demonstrate acumen in design, psychology, have sound knowledge of history and the ability to tell captivating stories.

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