First of all, you need to know the positioning of planning. There are many kinds of planning.

Broadly speaking, it is divided into main planning and execution planning; In a narrow sense, there are mainly planning, level planning, numerical planning, system planning, plot planning and so on. Some companies also have UI (interface) planning, task planning and script planning.

1, master plan

Responsibilities: Responsible for assigning tasks to subordinates' implementation plans; Responsible for the communication between the program and the art department; Responsible for the quality supervision of planning and design work; Responsible for the project schedule and overall design framework.

Threshold and ability requirements: the chief planner is generally promoted by the senior executive planner. At present, the industry needs at least 3 years of design experience by default to do master planning (some large companies require at least 5 years). In all planning, the ability is the highest, that is, the need is all-rounder; In addition, you need to have some management experience.

It is impossible for a newcomer to be a master planner at first (unless he has the money to start a company and then become one himself), unless he is a genius or has a particularly strong ability. Moreover, it is impossible for ordinary companies to let an inexperienced novice lead the design of a game with an investment of hundreds or even tens of millions. Therefore, it is unrealistic for a novice to be a master planner.

Of course, there are still people in the industry who have no industry experience and will do the overall planning after entering the industry. As far as I know, the chief designer of EVE (eve online OL) in Iceland is one, but this person is a double master.

Salary: the highest in all schemes.

2. Horizontal planning

Responsibilities: Need to master drawing tools to design checkpoints. Use numerical planning to set values, use plot planning and design, and even system design. Need to follow up the program and realize the task system; Put forward the requirements of task editor and scene editor; Submit the demand for art resources; Follow up the production of art resources and so on. In addition, it is necessary to build the whole task system, carry out scene architecture, write tasks and so on.

Threshold and ability requirements: the threshold is medium, neither too high nor too low. The most important thing is to master a drawing tool skillfully, and recommend VISIO, which is the fastest to get started. Others such as PS and AUTOCAD can also be used. I use AUTOCAD to draw pictures. Remember to use tools skillfully, not without knowing how to use them.

In addition, you need to have a certain artistic foundation. For example, after you design the scene and submit the resource requirements to the artist, the artist's production is completed. At this time, you need to check whether the art resources meet your requirements. Without a certain art foundation, it will be more troublesome.

In addition, it also needs certain system design ability, because the level planning needs to design the task system, and after the completion of the later level design, it also needs to submit the editing requirements of tasks, scenes and so on.

Finally, the level design ability. This requires a lot of design scenes and levels to master, so it is better to play more games. In addition, I recommend the book Game Level Design, which is one of the few specialized level design reference books on the market at present.

Others need to have a certain understanding of history, geography and architecture. For example, if you design an ancient Greek scene, then you need to know the relevant knowledge of ancient Greek history, otherwise how to design the scene? How to plan the task? How to design NPC? You also need to know geography. After all, level planning needs not a scene and a level, but the whole world. In addition, architecture also needs to be understood, after all, there will definitely be various buildings in the checkpoint.

In short, the level designer can be said to be the creator of the whole game world, and his work is also very diverse and extensive.

Salary: medium level.

3. Digital planning

Responsibilities: Balance and formulate numerical values, design various formulas in the game, build the whole economic system, design the whole combat system, etc. According to different companies and projects, it may also include system design closely related to combat systems and values, such as professional systems, skill systems, equipment systems, refiners and building systems. In addition, you need the assistance of level planning to make monster values, and you need the cooperation of system planning to set various values in the system.

Threshold and ability requirements: This position is very demanding and it is difficult to be competent without strict logical thinking. In addition, the ability of system design is needed. Because general numerical planning can also be used as system planning, these two positions generally need strict logical thinking ability and system design ability, so good numerical planning must also be good system planning. If you are good at college mathematics, there is generally no problem.

Salary: higher.

4. System planning

Responsibilities: As the name implies, he is the designer of the main system in the game.

Threshold and ability requirements: this position needs a lot of planning, because the general novice planning is to do system design, and the design will inevitably have loopholes, thus exploiting loopholes for players.

In addition, this position also requires high logical thinking ability, similar to numerical planning; There is no numerical planning for general projects, so systematic planning and numerical planning are needed.

In addition, due to the need to deal with programs frequently and follow up the realization of program functions, certain program skills are needed. If it is the program itself, it will be easier to switch to system planning.

It can be said that the threshold of this position is the highest among all the schemes.

Salary: second only to the chief planner.

5. Plot planning

Responsibilities: Mainly responsible for game background, world outlook, plot expansion, task design, task dialogue writing, etc. In addition, in plot design, plot planning also needs to work closely with level planning. Because the level planning is based on the world outlook and the background of plot planning and design when building the world. The plot planning will design related plots according to the world of level planning and design.

Threshold and ability requirements: the entry threshold is the lowest. Even if you have no planning experience and are just a novice, you can easily enter the business as long as you have a certain literary foundation. After all, everyone can write words and articles, and the difference is only the quality of writing, and the criteria for judging personal quality are different, so text plot planning is easy to enter the industry.

However, domestic game companies generally don't pay much attention to the plot, which is completely different from foreign countries. In fact, plot planning is a very important position abroad, but it is not taken seriously in China (just look at the domestic online games developed in China). Often this position is reserved for a novice, and the salary is the lowest among all the plans, and it is also the most hopeless.

Salary: the lowest in all schemes.

6. Other non-mainstream planning

UI planning: the design of the interface in the game, the management of art resources and so on. However, generally speaking, this position is less recruited by game research and development companies, and is generally held by other planners. Many companies will also let art hold relevant positions.

Script planning: Generally, some companies also have script planning. This position requires you to have some programming skills, which will be similar to LUA and other scripting languages. General companies will have various editors related to special programming, such as scene editor, prop editor, skill editor, NPC editor, etc., so there is no need for script planning. The ability of this position requires closer to system planning.

Creative planning: some companies will also recruit some creative planning, that is to say, handyman. A position similar to that of a planning assistant. There are generally many newcomers.

Task planning: Some companies will also recruit task planning designers, whose job responsibilities are closer to plot planning, but different, and will share some task design work that level planning should do, so that level designers can focus more on level design.

Level Editor: This is not really a plan. Some companies will let novices do planning, the main purpose is to save effort; Some companies will let art works.

Entry difficulty: level editing > creativity > scenario > task > UI> level > value > script = system >; General plan

Threshold and ability requirements: master plan > system = script > value > level > UI> task > scenario > creativity > level editor.

Salary level: Master Plan > System = Script > Value > Level > UI> Task > Scenario > Creativity > Level Editor.

Above, according to your own ability, as well as the knowledge and skills you have mastered, determine which kind of planning you are suitable for, and then study hard.

If you want to enter the business as soon as possible, you'd better start with plot planning, because this is the best entry and the lowest threshold. It is not too late to transfer to other aspects when you have relevant experience.

In addition, you can go to the online professional game design website to collect information, which is very good for you. By the way, recommend several websites:

1, GAMERES: the most famous comprehensive game development forum in China.

2. Soul of the Game Forum: At present, domestic professional game design forums only focus on game design and planning.

3. Designer 123- Website Navigation Station for Game Planning: A collection of blogs about game planning currently employed in China, including a large number of information websites, books and development forums in the game development industry. Many of them are well-known game designers in China, such as Du Ji (who developed Wang Shiying, the general planner of Legend of the Sword and the Chivalrous Man, The Sword Inn and Tom Dick Harry 2).

There seems to be my blog: the wizard's magic cabin, hehe.

The address is just below Baidu search, but you can't give the address here.

Second, if you are interested in art

There are many kinds of artistic positions. Although I am not an art, I know one thing:

1, the main beauty: similar to the main planning. Responsible for assigning tasks to subordinate artists; Responsible for the communication between program and planning department; Responsible for the quality supervision of art design; Responsible for the schedule of art work, the framework of the overall design framework, and the unity and grasp of art style.

2, the original painting: requires strong hand-drawing ability, and has high requirements for sketching and sketching. Mainly responsible for some conceptual art design. Posts are divided into original paintings of scenes and original paintings of characters. Among them, the level designer handles the original paintings of the scene the most.

3.3D modeling: master 3D graphics software such as 3DMAX and MAYA as needed. In the project, according to the requirements of planning and submission, people and scene models are established. All kinds of models in 3D games are made by 3D art modelers.

4. Cartographer: responsible for drawing and drawing models made by 3D modelers. For example, the clothes on the characters are made by cartographers.

5. Action designer: responsible for coordinating the actions of various roles.

6. Level editing: the same as level editing in game planning.

7.UI designer: The same interface designer in game planning.

8.2D artists: Making 2D games requires a large number of 2D artists.

9. Others

I don't know the salary. After all, I'm not an artist and I don't know much about it.

Third, if you are interested in programs.

1, master plan: similar to master plan. Responsible for assigning tasks to subordinate programs; Responsible for communication between art and planning departments; Responsible for the quality supervision of program design; Responsible for the progress of the program, the overall design framework and server-side architecture.

2. Client program: responsible for the coding of the client. Similar to the implementation planning in planning. How to classify it is not clear.

3. Editor program: responsible for the implementation and maintenance of various editors, such as scene editor, NPC editor, monster editor, etc.

4. Engine architect: responsible for the development of the underlying game and engine. For example, the Raytheon Hammer series engine was developed by Kamak. Generally such people are programming geniuses. It seems that there are few such talents in China at present, and most domestic game engines are purchased from abroad.

5. Others

Programs are mainly divided into two categories: client-side and server-side programmers. Generally, the requirements for server-side programmers are very high, and they are usually served by the main program.

Above.