Game Design Videos

Game design videos is a bit of a broad term but I have put together here a variety of video resources that will help you in your quest to design video games. I have a couple of actual dvd's you can get to show aspects of game design and I have embedded some youtube videos that show you different aspects. For each of these youtube videos I give you a synopsis .

Character Modeling for Next-Gen Games

In this DVD, Richard Smith guides you through modeling a Next-Gen game character. Richard starts with a rough concept design and then creates a low-res base mesh. From there he sculpts each part in ZBrush with special attention paid to creating realistic clothing folds. Once each part is completely sculpted Richard retopologizes it inside of Maya using a plug-in called Nex. Finally, using XNormal he creates the normal map and then sets everything up in Maya. This DVD is intended for artists with a basic understanding of polygon modeling in Maya, but the techniques he demonstrates could be applied using other 3D modeling software

Gears of War Creature Design: Sketch, Model and Paint with James Hawkins

In this DVD Jay Hawkins works from start to finish on the design for a Gears of War creature called the Locust Hydra. Jay covers everything from the intial thumbnail sketch to the final rendering of the concept used for production. He explains his design process using a combination of Adobe® Photoshop® and Autodesk® 3ds Max®. Jay also delves into his experiences in the game industry and at Epic Games, discussing what it takes to be a successful concept artist in today's ever changing and highly competitive market, and emphasizing the importance of teamwork for developing a successful game.

Game Design With Will Wright

He is an icon in the game development world and was a member of Electronic Arts. His big claims to fame are the Sims and Spore.

He takes a look at early games, the development of games and gives us some insight as to what they really are. This video doesn't tell you how to place pixels or build a thing in a game. It does, rather brilliantly, tell you how to design a game in terms of interest, playability and success.

This is an excellent video made by InsideEA (Inside Electronic Arts) A lot of great stuff about game design from the high level and what makes a great game.

Some good advice from an industry expert on what software to use when designing video games.

Want to get a look at how a game is made? Want to look right at the development screen and watch how something is done? This is a pretty good video made by garage games with their torque engine. It takes you through steps in the creation of a model. There are a number of videos in this series.