If you have been gaming as long as I have, the chances are good that at one time or another you have actually considered designing games yourself. Unfortunately for me, I fall on the wrong side of the "geeks versus suits" controversy. In other words, my talents lie in places other than the intricacies of code or how to get the most out of the latest graphics design engine. Whereas I believe I can offer opinions on what makes a great game, it is because I have played so many, not because I have any talent designing them. Nevertheless, although I cannot teach you how to best use C/C++, Delphi, Visual Basic, or some other programming language, I can offer you some fundamental advice on how to maximize your chances that someone like me will eventually have the opportunity to play a game you design.

Continued from the pages of Computer Gaming World.

Conventional wisdom in the game industry is that the days of a single person or a small group of people designing a game are gone. There are several reasons for this assumption. First, it takes a great deal of money to design, produce, and market a game. Until just a few years ago, the list of credits on a typical game included the lead programmer and a few others. Today, the efforts of actors, graphics designers, animators, sound mixers, musicians, and a host of others are needed to make a top-notch commercial production (AAA title). The budgets of the top games rival Hollywood productions. Nevertheless, whereas it is unlikely that a "lone wolf" developer could tackle a major production like Unreal or the latest Wing Commander, there are still opportunities for single-minded mavericks in the computer game industry, especially in niche genres (such as wargames, where eye candy is not necessarily as important as playability). In fact, as the Internet and proliferation of inexpensive computers rapidly changes the traditional means of marketing and selling computer games, the business climate for start-up game developers should only improve.

Next: Forming a game company