Game Designer Career Guide

What is a game designer?

A game designer is someone who creates video games. They come up with the rules and the big ideas that make a game fun and exciting. They turn their cool ideas into plans and drawings, helping turn what’s in their head into games you can play. Without them, we wouldn’t have the awesome games we play on our phones, computers, or consoles.

Duties and responsibilities

Here’s what game designers do:

• Think of new game ideas, characters, and stories
• Decide on game rules and how the game will go, like levels and scoring
• Work with the team, including programmers and artists, to make sure the game looks and works as planned
• Test the game, find any issues, and fix them to make the game better

Work environment

Game designers usually work in offices with teams. These teams might have artists, writers, and programmers working together to make a game. They need to talk a lot and share ideas to make sure the game turns out great.

It’s not all fun and games, though! Being a game designer can be hard work, especially when deadlines are close. Sometimes, they have to work late or on weekends to get everything done on time.

Typical work hours

Game designers normally work from Monday through Friday, about 35 to 40 hours a week. But sometimes, when a game needs to be finished, they might work extra hours or even during the weekend. Each company is different; some might have a lot of these busy times, and others might try to make sure there’s time to relax too. Some designers work freelance, which means they can choose their own hours.

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How to become a game designer

Want to make your own video games? Here’s how you can start on the path to becoming a game designer, one of the coolest jobs out there!

Step 1: Play and understand games

First, you need to play a lot of games and really get into them. Figure out what you like about different games and what could be better. The more you play, the more you’ll understand how games work.

Step 2: Study up

While you don’t always need a degree to be a game designer, it can really help. Consider studying something like computer science, game design, or something related at college. These courses teach you about making games, from coding to artwork.

Step 3: Learn the tools of the trade

Start learning how to use game design software like Unity or Unreal Engine, and pick up some programming languages like C#, C++, or Python. These are tools that professional game designers use all the time.

Step 4: Make your own stuff

Create your own game projects or designs, even small ones, and put them together in a portfolio. This is like a special folder that shows off what you can do. It can be stuff you did at school, at home, or for friends.

Step 5: Get some experience

Try to get a job that gets you close to gaming, even if it’s not designing right away. Something like testing games can teach you a lot about how games are made.

Step 6: Keep learning

Games and technology change fast! Keep learning new things, taking courses, and trying out new tools to keep up with the latest in gaming.

Step 7: Apply for game design jobs

Now that you’ve got skills and maybe some experience, start applying for jobs as a game designer. Make sure your resume talks about your gaming projects and what you know how to do. Going to game events and meeting people in the industry can also help you find a job.

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How much do game designers make?

Game designer salaries will vary by experience, industry, education, location, and organization size. Their compensation can also be influenced by the game genre they specialize in (like RPGs, FPSs, MMOs), their portfolio of previous work, and their knowledge of different game platforms (like PC, console, mobile).

Highest paying industries

• Software Publishers: $102,500
• Advertising and Public Relations: $97,400
• Computer Systems Design: $93,500
• Management of Companies and Enterprises: $91,700
• Educational Support Services: $89,400

Browse game designer salary data by market

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Types of game designers

Game designing is a cool job with many different roles. Here’s a quick look at what kinds of game designers you could become:

Level designer

Level designers are the ones who create the places you explore in games. They design levels, worlds, and environments, making sure each stage is fun and challenging. You need to be good at noticing small details and understanding how games work.

Character designer

Ever wonder who makes up all the characters in your favorite games? That’s the job of a character designer. They create everything about a character, from how they look to what they wear and even their personalities. It’s a job that mixes drawing skills with a big imagination.

Gameplay designer

Gameplay designers focus on making the game fun to play. They come up with the rules, decide how you interact with the game, and plan out the challenges you’ll face. Their goal is to make sure you have a good time and keep wanting to play more.

Narrative designer

If you love stories, this could be the job for you. Narrative designers write the stories in games. They think up the plot, the dialogue, and all the twists and turns. They make sure the story fits perfectly with the game, making it more interesting and real.

User interface (UI) designer

UI designers work on the parts of the game that you see and touch, like menus and game controls. They design these to be easy to use and good looking, so you have a smooth experience playing the game.

Game tester

Before a game hits the shelves, it needs to be tested. Game testers play games to find any bugs or problems. They help make sure that when you play the game, it works just right without any annoying glitches.

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Top skills for game designers

Becoming a game designer is not just fun; it takes some serious skills. Here are the top ones you’ll need:

Creative thinking

Game designers need to be super creative. They come up with new game ideas, interesting stories, and cool levels. You’ll need to think of fun and unique ways to keep players interested and excited.

Technical skills

Depending on what kind of designer you want to be, you might need to learn some technical stuff. This could include learning to code in languages like C# or C++, using game engines like Unity or Unreal to build the game, or working with art tools like Photoshop to create graphics and models.

Project management

Making a game is a big project, and it needs to be managed well to succeed. They need to know how to plan the game’s development, keep track of all the tasks, and make sure everything is done on time without going over budget.

Problem-solving skills

When making games, you’ll definitely run into problems like bugs or parts of the game that aren’t fun. These designers need to be great at figuring out these problems and solving them quickly so the game is as good as it can be.

Understanding of player psychology

To make great games, designers need to understand why players play and what keeps them coming back. This includes knowing how to make games challenging but not too hard, and rewarding players at the right times to keep them happy.

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Game designer career path options

Becoming a game designer can lead to some really exciting career opportunities as you get more experience. Here’s a look at where you could end up:

Senior designer

The first big step up is becoming a senior game designer. In this job, you get to handle bigger parts of the game and help guide the newer designers. You’ll have more say in how the game turns out, which is pretty cool!

Lead designer

If you do well as a senior designer, you might become a lead designer next. This is more of a boss role where you manage the whole design team. You’ll work with other teams too and make the final decisions about how the game should look and feel.

Creative director

The top job for game designers is being a creative director. In this role, you’re in charge of all the creative stuff for several games, not just one. You get to decide on everything from the story to the art, making sure all the games fit the company’s style.

Independent game developer

If you like the idea of being your own boss, you could become an independent game developer. This means you get to make your own games, just the way you want them. It’s a lot of work, but you get to be creative and have fun.

Specializations

You can also choose to specialize in one part of game making, like creating the levels (level design), crafting the rules and systems (system design), or writing the stories (narrative design). Specializing lets you become super good at one particular thing.

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Similar job titles

• Mobile Application Developer
• Software Developer
• Java Developer
• Python Developer
• Software Engineer
• UI Developer
• UX Developer
• Front End Developer
• Back End Developer
• Full Stack Developer

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Position trends and outlook for game designers

Game designing is changing fast, and there are some cool new areas to explore if you’re thinking about becoming one:

• Emerging technologies: Game designers now need to keep up with awesome tech like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). These technologies make games way more immersive, which means you can create games where players feel like they’re really inside the game world.
• Online multiplayer games: Games that let you play with others online are getting more popular. This means designers need to be good at creating games where players can have fun together, share experiences, and keep coming back for more.
• Mobile gaming: With so many people playing games on their phones, there’s a big push for making quick and fun mobile games. These often have short playtimes and simple ways to pay small amounts for extra features or to move ahead faster in the game.

Employment projections

The need for game designers is expected to grow a lot – by about 23% through 2031, which is really fast. This is because more people want new games to play, and technology is getting better all the time. But, lots of people want to be designers, so it can be pretty competitive to get a job in this field.

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Game designer career tips

Know your players

It’s super important to understand who will be playing your games. What do they like? What games do they play? How old are they? Knowing all this helps you make games that they’ll really want to play.

Work well with others

Making games is a team sport. You’ll work with other designers, artists, and programmers. Good teamwork means talking well with your team and working together to turn your awesome game ideas into reality.

Learn the tools

To make games, you need to know how to use some cool tools and programs. Learning programming languages like C++ and how to use game engines like Unity or Unreal will help a lot. Also, knowing how to use art tools for making graphics and 3D models will be super useful.

Make connections

Meeting other people who make games can help you a lot. They can teach you new things, help you find jobs, or even work with you on games. You can meet these people at game events and through groups like:

• International Game Developers Association (IGDA)
• Game Developers Conference (GDC)
• Independent Games Festival (IGF)

Never stop learning

Games keep changing, and new stuff comes out all the time. You need to keep learning new things. You can take courses, go to workshops, or read up on the latest game news and tips. You might even want to get special certificates that show you’re great at designing games.

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FAQs