How could a video game designer make money based off of the software and programming?

Hey Travis,

Appropriate compensation is definitely a valid concern. Game development teams compromise of various disciplines. Depending on the companies you work with and sometimes, countries, your compensation is decided from within a range.

The good news is that you can take an initiative to learn the many skills that add value to you as a Game Designer. And there are many areas where you can work on as a Game Designer. There are game development engines, scripting languages, editing softwares and many other areas that you can educate yourself with. These add value to you as a Game Designer and make you an actively contributing member to your team.

Over time, the experience you gather from actually developing and shipping work, you will gain a lot of value. Value from technical skills above combined with actual experience will translate into good compensation, stock options, increase of creative liberties and more.

Keep in mind, achieving such value takes time and hard/ smart work. If you believe somewhere inside, that you want to be a successful Game Designer then you will pleasantly overcome your concern.

I was 13 when I decided that I will be a Game Designer. I am 30 now, Designing games, having a great time... No regrets! :)
Wishing you good luck in your decision making.

Rajveer is correct that compensation can vary greatly from company to company. This may sound obvious, but companies that are more profitable tend to pay a lot better. Like other fields, your years of experience and ability will affect your salary.

You will tend to make more money as a programmer/engineer than a designer, simply because coding skills are more in demand, and make you a lot more valuable. Many designers are also programmers.

You can't go wrong learning to code, and if you decide you don't want to be a designer, you can always find work in or out of the industry as a programmer. It is true however, that typically, a comparable position will make more money in a non-game-related industry.

Video Game Developers generally make decent salaries, but it depends on their role.

For entry-level positions, Programmers make the most money, with $40,000 - $60,000 USD year salaries being a rough estimate.

Designers, Artists, Producers, and Audio Designers staff generally make less, with starting salaries as low as $25,000 USD a year, ranging up to generally $40,000 USD with substantial education or relevant experience. Location also matters, as developers on the East/West cost are paid more, but also lose much more money to housing and taxes.

Once you have some experience, the salaries even out more, but Programmers still generally make the most money besides company leads or department leads (like design leads). Salaries for experienced non-Programmers usually caps out at around $85,000 a year, and Programmers may go as high as $100,000 annual. Again, leads, company heads, or project heads will often make anywhere from 20-50% more than this, and company owners can make substantially more if they own a portion of a very successful company.