What does a game designer exactly do? What types of designers there are? At the end we will give some tips on becoming a game designer if you realize this specialty is perfect for you.
If we take a game designer in the general concept of this profession, his very first task is to convey to the entire team a vision of how the game should turn out. He collects information on how to implement the vision, writes documentation and distributes tasks for the team. Next, the game designer looks at how the task was completed and compares the result with the vision that the team has. If there are inconsistencies, he makes corrections, and if everything is perfect, he passes the material on to work. And so on with each of the specialists until everything is completed.
When everything is collected, the game designer analyzes the result and thinks about how to improve it. For example, how you can end the plot of the story, what mechanics to remove, what to add, or how to change the design of the last level before the final boss. As a result, it turns out that a game designer is a person who can combine text, graphics, programming, and special effects into one big picture of genius.
What a Game Designer Should Be Able to Know
Come Up with Ideas
It seems that this is the main task of a game designer – to constantly generate ideas. However, this is not his main responsibility; for example, working with documentation takes more time. It’s also a shame that almost everything that can be thought of has already been thought of. Today, the principle “Everything new is well forgotten old” works.
In addition, an important part of a game designer’s job is to sift out ideas, understand which ideas can be realistically implemented, or which ideas will appeal to gamers.
Make Prototypes
The second point follows from the first point – to test an idea, you need to test it on prototypes. They will help you understand how interesting the idea of the game turned out to be and how much resources will have to be spent on its development. The prototype should be simple so as not to waste time on developing models and programming. This way you can quickly show the prototype to your colleagues, hear their opinion, and if the idea is rejected, you won’t feel so bad about wasted time.
Write Documentation
This is certainly not the most interesting activity, but it is important. You will have to write a lot of documentation: describing tasks in a task tracker, explaining goals for programmers, or describing the vision of a visual for artists. The main purpose of the documentation is to convey to developers of other specializations what the game will be like and what needs to be created for it.
If you want to learn how to write documentation, then follow the example of experienced game designers. They post their work in portfolios or LinkedIn accounts.
Work With the Engine
In order to become a game designer, you need to learn how to work in Unreal Engine. This is one of the most popular development engines, an industry standard. It is simple, clear, and most importantly free. In Unreal, you don’t need to know how to program because there are blueprints. This is a visual programming method in which you do not need to write a single line of code, everything is done through special flowcharts. Blueprints are easier to master than learning a programming language, it will save you time.
Possess Soft Skills
Game designers constantly interact with other studio developers. Therefore, it is important for them to be able to communicate with other people and correctly convey their thoughts. This is important to avoid conflicts among the team. For example, if a candidate comes for an interview with well-developed game designer skills, but he himself is not a team person, then he will not even be hired.
Be Able to Analyze
This is another skill that game designers cannot do without. The ability to analyze the work done is the key to the development of a designer. This skill comes with experience, so the main thing here is to plow and plow. And almost every company analyzes competitors to understand why their project became successful. Bet22 also emphasizes the importance of this analysis to understand the market better. A tip for beginners to learn how to analyze is to try to figure out why your favorite games made such a strong impression on you. Write down all your ideas on paper and remember them.
A tip for beginners to learn how to analyze is to try to figure out why your favorite games made such a strong impression on you. Write down all your ideas on paper and remember them.
Play a Lot of Games
Great gaming experience is your source of ideas and inspiration. Moreover, you need to play both in genres that you like and in those that you don’t like. You need to know the best projects of different platforms: PC, consoles, mobile phones and even virtual reality games. The more varied your gaming experience, the easier it will be to become a game designer.
What does a game designer exactly do? What types of designers there are? At the end we will give some tips on becoming a game designer if you realize this specialty is perfect for you.
If you want to learn how to write documentation, then follow the example of experienced game designers. They post their work in portfolios or LinkedIn accounts.
A tip for beginners to learn how to analyze is to try to figure out why your favorite games made such a strong impression on you. Write down all your ideas on paper and remember them.
