What You Need to Know to Be a Video Game Designer in Salt Lake City, Utah

A great many gaming enthusiasts in Salt Lake City, Utah seek exciting careers in animation and video game design.  With a population well over 185,000, Salt Lake City is a good place to earn a decent living in these high tech fields.  Businesses all over Utah hire video game design professionals.  Most of these jobs are in Salt lake City. 

Salt Lake City Schools and Training Programs for Video Game Design

Some who are pursuing video game design careers are communications majors with special focus on digital media.  Others might study programming with emphasis on graphic design.  Some major in math with an interest in game theory.  Some even design their own degree programs.

Several excellent colleges in Salt Lake City, Utah offer degree programs relevant to animation and video game design.  These include Eagle Gate College, Salt Lake Community College, ITT Tech and University of Utah.  Nowadays, many schools offer similar training and degree programs online.  Among the largest of these are University of Phoenix, ITT Tech, The Art Institutes and DeVry. 

Working as a Video Game Designer in Salt Lake City

The pay scale for video game design jobs varies with educational level, experience, performance, productivity, networking and geographic location, among other things.  According to a recent statistic, the median yearly income for a U.S. animator or video game designer is somewhere between $35,000 and more than $200,000 per year.  However, this statistic does not account for the salaries of self-employed individuals.  In any case, animators and video game designers in Salt Lake City, Utah can potentially make lots of money doing what they like.

Businesses in Salt Lake City, Utah that hire for these positions may include software publishers, mobile phone service providers, schools, graphic design firms and animation studios.  Some Salt Lake City designers work for top local ad agencies like In-Store Broadcasting Network, Penna-Powers-Brian-Haynes or Summit Group Communications.  Other local designers team up with Salt Lake City motion picture producers like Gartner Productions, Lenz Works, Lumenas Animation Studios or Utah Jazz Productions. 

Ideally, professional animators and video game designers increase a company's revenue by developing a winning product.  Businesses invest time and money selecting designers from an increasingly large pool of qualified applicants.  Many employers require a degree and related experience, even for entry level positions in the field. 

Not every designer works for a firm, thanks to many well funded start-ups with websites in need of interactive animation.  Video game designers often score freelance gigs, setting their own schedules and telecommuting.  Some of them are independent contractors for corporations and private businesses.  Some design and sell games independently.  Some build interactive websites. 

Recommended Skills for Video Game Designers

A video game designer develops an idea for a video game by outlining the rules, devising a scoring system and enhancing the player experience with increasingly difficult challenges that may include  puzzles, quizzes, mazes, maps, tricks, traps, obstacle courses and other unexpected tasks.  The designer also creates the artwork (or consults with professional animators) to capture the colors visual style most suitable for the game's main features. 

Animators and video game designers study math, programming, game art,, digital graphics, communications, marketing trends and all kinds of other useful topics.  The idea is to create popular, action-packed interactive products with genuine mainstream appeal.