What does it take to become a video game designer?

You either have to be a shockingly talented computer programmer or a top-notch graphic designer. Preferably both. Making games is almost nothing like playing them.

Get a textbook called Computer Graphics by Foley and Van Dam, and do every problem in it. If that book is straightforward for you, you have a shot at working at the programming side of the game industry.

If you want to go the design route, you will need a bachelor of fine arts degree with a major in design or animation.

Or, you can create an indy game and release it as shareware in the Internet. Some people get started that way, but it's getting rarer as gaming gets more complex.

Video game designers are becoming more and more popular and needed. It will be pretty easy to get a job. However, in that kind of a field you're gonna need at least a master degree no matter what or everyone else is gonna outsmart you in job interviews. That's what everyone else is at least getting now a days. You may have to move to where the game developers are to actually work. I'm not really sure, you might just be able to work at home. Finding a college though is easy for game designing. They're pretty easy to find and usually you don't have to go out of state to go to one.