Sid Meier

Since I am so fascinated by video games, I started to think about who are the best Video Game Designers in the world. I did an internet search and started learning about the men who found their passion to make games that so many of us have fun playing. Sid Meier is my hero because I would like to try doing something like he has done and the type of games he designs. I am really interested in the game "CIVILIZATION" that he created. I am interested in becoming a video game designer is because of the ideas that I have running around in my head and I believe I could design games that are challenging and fun. I am interested in designing the kind of game that makes you think without you knowing you are doing that.

At this time, the average starting salary for video game designers is $80,000 a year. It is estimated that employment for video game designers will skyrocket about 30% in this decade. It doesn't appear to be slowing down; in fact it is one of the fastest growing careers in America. The education and training requirements for a video game designer is a college degree or certificate in game design. Also, creative writing will help you get hired. General class requirements for a video game designer include game theory, storytelling & storyboarding, game planning and strategy, creative content writing, brainstorming & creative thinking, and game design project management. Some related jobs in this field are Web Developer, AutoCAD Drafter, Graphic Designer, and Mobile App Developer.

One thing about Sid Meier I really found really cool was that he graduated with a degree in computer science, long before everyone had a personal computer in their home. Some of the aptitudes that Sid showed as a kid were that he spent all his spare time reading hacker magazines, fiddling with code on his Atari, and building his own versions of arcade games like Space Invaders and Pac-Man. One time he created a space game and decided to put it on the office network where he worked. So many of the employees loved playing it so much that they spent too much time playing so his bosses forced him to take it off the office network. Another time, when he and a friend went to an electronics trade conference, they discovered some arcade games in a basement and they started to play the old games. One by one, Sid beat his friend, Bill Stealey at each of them. Then they found Atari's Red Baron, a squiggly flight game. In this game, you have to steer a biplane through a maze of different terrains and obstacles. His friend, Bill Stealey, was an Air Force man so he thought he would win this games. He completed the game with a score of 75,000 points, ranking number three on the arcade's leaderboard. He thought he definitely would beat Sid with this score. That was until Sid played the game and scored 150,000 points. Stealey was quoted as saying "I was really torqued." He wondered how did he outfly an Air Force pilot, so he asked Sid how he did it. Sid told him that while he was playing the game, he memorized the algorithms. Sid continues to work at the company he co-founded, Firaxis, as Director of Creative Development.

Sid Meier (http://www.quotesrain.com/author/Sid-Meier/popular (http://www.quotesrain.com/author/Sid-Meier/popular))

The way that Sid contributes to society is through the company that he co-founded in 1996, Firaxis Games. According to their website, the mission of the company is to "build games that stand the test of time". The name of the company, Firaxis, is a fusion of "fiery" and "axis." They chose these words as a way of letting everyone know that their way of developing games will give players a unique experience that is really fun for many different types of players. Sid Meier's creative management has led the company to release over 25 games that can be played on multiple platforms. He and the company are known as an industry leader in game development.

With a focus on game development, so I could be like Sid Meier, my high school goals are thatI would love to get in the Art of Animation class and computer art designing. I would hope to do so well in these classes that I could be nominated to take the IB Visual Art. My college goal is I would like to go to DeVry University and to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Game & Simulation Programming. My professional lifetime goal is to have a successful career as a strategy video game designer and maybe even found a company like Sid Meier did. I really admire the way Sid Meier thinks. I would also like to have a family where I could play my games with them. The way I look at life and the ideas that I think of will help me get to my goals both in school and in my life. I would like to somewhat follow in the footsteps of Sid Meier.