What You Need to Know to Be a Video Game Designer in De Moines, Iowa

For job hunters in Des Moines, Iowa, careers in animation and video game design are among the most popular choices.  With a population of more than 200,000, the city of Des Moines is ideal for people seeking these creative, high tech positions.  Many thousand Iowa companies hire video game design professionals.  Most of these jobs are in Des Moines. 

Des Moines Schools and Training Programs fro Video Game Design

Many Iowa colleges offer degree programs in video game design.  Some future game inventors are communications majors with special focus on digital media.  Others study programming with emphasis on animation.  Some major in math with a minor in game theory. 

Colleges in Des Moines, Iowa offering degrees relevant to interactive game design include Drake University, Grandview College, ITT Tech and University of Phoenix.  Other schools offer similar training and degree programs online.  Among the most successful of these are  The Art Institutes, DeVry, ITT Tech and University of Phoenix.

Working as a Video Game Designer in Des Moines

Video game designers in Des Moines, Iowa have the potential to earn high-end salaries doing jobs they enjoy.  Needless to say, salaries will vary depending on factors like experience, effort, performance, productivity, networking and geographic location, among other things.  The reported annual income for an animator or video game designer in the United States ranges anywhere from about $35,000 to more than $200,000.  However, this data does not account for the unknown incomes of countless self-employed Americans. 

Companies in Des Moines, Iowa hiring animators and video game designers may include software publishers, mobile phone service providers, colleges, graphic design firms and animation studios.  Some Des Moines designers work for top local ad agencies like Flynn-Wright, Innova Ideas, Integer Group or Two Rivers Marketing.  Other designers team up with Des Moines movie producers like Applied Art & Technology, Associate Producers Incorporated, Construction Productions or Premis. 

For most employers, a degree and related experience are crucial, even for entry level positions in the field.  Nevertheless, companies have been known to hire self-taught professionals and highly motivated beginners.  In any case, not all video game designers work for a firm.  An extraordinary number of private businesses with websites feature (or would like to feature) their own interactive animation.  Video game designers often do freelance gigs, setting their own schedules and telecommuting. 

Recommended Skills for Video Game Designers

The chief role of a video game designer is to create rules and devise a playable scoring system, then enhance the game with puzzles, tricks, mazes, maps, traps, obstacle courses and other unexpected challenges.  The game is usually programmed with a set time limit and increasing levels of difficulty.  The designer also creates the artwork (and/or consults with professional animators) to capture the colors and visual style most appropriate for the game. 

Virtually all professional animators and video game designers know at least a little bit of math, engineering, computer programming, game art, digital media, communications  and all kinds of other useful topics.  Their primary goal is the development of virally popular, action-packed interactive products.  The highest attainable score for a video game designer is mass market appeal.