What does a game designer do?
Game designers are responsible for creating the systems, rules, and gameplay that make a game enjoyable and engaging. They also help with world-building by developing the story and intellectual property. Game designers oversee both the foundation and the execution of the game mechanics, ensuring an excellent user experience.
Game designers need to be highly technical and very adept at solving complex problems daily.
The role of a Game Designer can vary depending on the size and type of the project and the studio. As games become more complex and teams become larger, some of the traditional roles of a Game Designer are separated out into specializations such as Level Designer and Systems Designer.
Level Designers create and implement levels, environments, stories, and quests. On the other hand, Systems Designers focus on designing and implementing the minute-to-minute gameplay systems that make the game engaging, like controls, movement, and combat.
Game designer job description
A game consists of many different gameplay features and mechanics, which operate in conjunction with each other to give the player a better gaming experience. Game Designers are responsible for making sure all those features and mechanics work cohesively and engagingly to help keep players entertained.
A game designer today could take on a number of specializations. Some focus on combat balance, using spreadsheets and simulations to provide challenges without impossibility. Others are writers and/or world directors who focus on player experience. Others hone in on game controls, trying to make them responsive and meaningful to players. Some game designers can even take on more Creative Director roles where it’s their responsibility to impart the game’s vision to other team members so that there is consistency and quality across all parts of the game.
Role & responsibilities of a game designer in the gaming industry:
Conceptualize, implement, and maintain gameplay systems that achieve a fulfilling flow state, addictive game loops, and a risk/reward balance
Developing the storyline, character back-stories, and dialogue, through scripts and storyboards, including any relevant research
Create and maintain comprehensive documentation (such as design outlines, diagrams, and visual mockups) that details the triggers, interactions, and subsequent events of specific features or aspects of gameplay
Work closely with User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Designers to optimize the player interface
Building levels and environments
Skills required to become a video game designer
Game designers require a balance of creative and technical skills to bring a game concept to life. They usually don’t need to be super technical, but this role does require a good understanding of some of the basic aspects of technical game design and game programming. A degree in computer science, or similar, can also be useful but is not always necessary.
Video game studios may look for the following skills in game designers:
Possess a great understanding of game levels, level layouts, drawing maps, architecture, and other design areas related to game-level design.
An ability to break things down into systems
Ability to use data to get qualitative information to affect your designs
Have a good understanding of technical implementation within games, scripting languages, syntax, and other basic programming concepts
An understanding of marketing and market research to understand what your target audience wants and how to sell it to them
Basic to advanced drawing skills to communicate ideas visually
Basic understanding of 3D art, modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, and other areas of 3D art creation, use, and conversion
Basic to advanced knowledge of user interface (UI/UX) in games
What software and tools do game designers use?
Game designers are required to drive the technical needs of the game using industry-standard computer software and the platforms that support them.
Game designers may need knowledge of a combination of the following software:
Game Engine (Unity 3D, Unreal Engine or another)
Microsoft or Google Office Software for documents, spreadsheets & presentations
Art software (Like Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator) for a wide assortment of visual design, flowcharting, mind mapping
Scripting Languages & Tools (Python, LUA, C#, Unreal Script, Blueprints)
Programming languages C++ and Python are also commonly used
