Becoming a Video Game Designer

Masters at Work

by Daniel Noah Halpern

A revealing guide to a career as a video game designer written by acclaimed journalist Daniel Noah Halpern and based on the real-life experiences of legendary designer Tom Cadwell of Riot Games—required reading for anyone considering a path to this profession.

Becoming a Video Game Designer takes you behind the scenes to find out what it’s really like, and what it really takes, to become a video game designer. Gaming is a $90 billion-dollar entertainment industry, and designers are the beating heart. Long-form journalist Daniel Noah Halpern shadows top video game designer Tom Cadwell to show how this dream job becomes a reality. Cadwell is head of design at Riot Games, the company behind award-winning blockbuster games like League of Legends, which has an active user base of 111 million players. Creating a massive multiplayer online game takes years of visionary R&D—it is a blend of art and science. It is also big business. Learn the ins and the outs of the job from Cadwell as well as other designers, including Brendon Chung, acclaimed founder of Blendo Games. Successful designers must be creative decision makers and also engineers and collaborators. Gain professional wisdom by following Tom’s path to prominence, from his start as a passionate gamer to becoming one of the most revered designers in the business.

144 pages, Hardcover

Published August 18, 2020

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that becoming a video game designer is small and a quick read.

My favorite thing about reading the book was learning about Brendon Chung the creator of Blendo games. I had never heard of him or his game company before. And his games sound interesting.

I also enjoyed learning about league of legends. I had heard of it before. I had no idea it was free to play. And I had no idea it was so popular. I also learned that its updated about 2 times a month.

I also thought that the further reading part at the back of the book that recommended more books and websites about video games was not bad either.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I were mulling a potential career as a video game designer, I would absolutely want to read this book to understand both some of the bigger-picture questions of what such a pursuit is all about and to glimpse a few of the pathways forward. I’m not considering such a career, and I’ve spent very little time in my life thinking about video games, but the book is also a delightful piece of narrative reporting on the lives and works of two prominent game designers and a rewarding meditation on the place video games increasingly occupy in our culture.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting enough little book. It doesn't really talk about the kind of casual games that I prefer, but for somebody with an interest in the industry it would be a very good place to start.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author interviewed video game designers, surveyed on their career and the whole history of video game development. This is a go-to book if one is interested or is curious about the business.

[Jake Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Occasionally informative but ultimately a skin deep look at the gaming industry written by someone who makes a genuine effort to learn about the subject but not knowledgeable enough to write about.