   Oddball question...
  For those of you in the industry:My ultimate goal is to be a game designer but I want to make some home brews on the side as well as make some larger scale games when I work for a company. I currently am learning C++ and will have learned a lot more C++ (and other languages that I see in the course description) by the time I am out of college. My question is this:Is it common for a programmer to switch to a designer? I would assume yes with the proper portfolio but I just didn't know if it was a common thing.Also I know a lot of people talk about taking art and writing classes, I have that down pat, I used to make a decent living on art (back in my photography/digital art days), and I am good at story writing/scripts, character development etc.)So is this a feasable thing to do?   
  I know a few programmers that moved into a designer/producer role. It's a bit hard to develop a game design portfolio while you're working as a professional programmer (although if you can do it, more power to you), but some companies have ramp up programs for people switching job roles.So, yes. While I wouldn't say it's common, programmers can and do become designers.   ;  Chro wrote:>Is it common for a programmer to switch to a designer? I would assume yes with the proper portfolio but I just didn't know if it was a common thing.You assume wrong. It isn't "common.">So is this a feasable thing to do?Not sure what "this" is (you changed the subject from programmers to artists), but "yes."