All that will be said in this article is my personal opinion about game design and game designers in today’s industry. If after reading this article you happen to have a desire to argue about something or to point out a more “correct” perception of reality, I will be happy to participate in the discussion in the comments.
Who is a game designer?
Often when a game designer is asked about his job by people outside the industry, they expect to hear confirmation of their theory that he either programs games or draws them. I’ve heard it’s getting a little better in recent years, but until I hear it myself, I don’t believe it.
What kind of game designers are there?
Oh, those classifications! But, if we’re going to articulate and verify something, we need to understand what it is. There are standard classifications “by seniority” or scope of duties, which can be found in various articles from various years ago, and not much has changed there. There are classifications, so to speak, by product type, by which you can take existing game designers and somehow classify them by the games they’ve made. But if we need to make a vacancy and determine the set of skills and relevant experience of applicants, we need to pay attention directly to what kind of work this designer will do. Preferably in your company and on your project.
I should point out right away that the smaller the company or project, the more likely it is that you need only one game designer, and preferably the one who will do some simple extra work like searching for game investors, or developing promo products using easy-to-use tools like free business card mockup builders. Such game designers, of course, quickly grow and get the most extensive experience, but still, there is a certain direction that the person is drawn to, or simply in this area he/she realizes himself/herself better than in others.
At first, I wanted to rewrite general articles listing the types of designers in my own words, so that I could learn about the different positions divided into groups. But in the end, I realized that this would be kind of a waste, and I couldn’t see how it would help aspiring game designers. That’s why let’s just take a look at the skills a game designer should master to occupy a competitive position in the labor market. Fortunately, this article is subjective and I can express my opinion and share my experience here.
Conclusion: What skills does a game designer need?
- market knowledge;
- Identification of key features of the project;
- knowledge of popular game mechanics;
- Understanding of key design aspects;
- ability to put thoughts into a presentation;
- Basic understanding of game balance/economics;
- Knowledge of Excel or Google Spreadsheets;
- Analytical thinking and the ability to handle statistics.
With such a set of skills, even at entry-level, you are already safe to tag in the middle class and get your hands on projects, not forgetting to research the market. In fact, it seems that this is what I wrote the article for.