Video Game Designers

Also called: Computer Game Designer, Computer Video Game Designer, Content Creator, Design Director, Designer/Writer

jobs advertised

courses available

Varies

estimated salary

Design core features of video games. Specify innovative game and role-play mechanics, story lines, and character biographies. Create and maintain design documentation. Guide and collaborate with production staff to produce games as designed.

Balance and adjust gameplay experiences to ensure the critical and commercial success of the product.
Provide feedback to designers and other colleagues regarding game design features.
Create core game features, including storylines, role-play mechanics, and character biographies for a new video game or game franchise.
Devise missions, challenges, or puzzles to be encountered in game play.
Guide design discussions between development teams.
Develop and maintain design level documentation, including mechanics, guidelines, and mission outlines.
Create and manage documentation, production schedules, prototyping goals, and communication plans in collaboration with production staff.
Present new game design concepts to management and technical colleagues, including artists, animators, and programmers.
Conduct regular design reviews throughout the game development process.
Solicit, obtain, and integrate feedback from design and technical staff into original game design.
Document all aspects of formal game design, using mock-up screenshots, sample menu layouts, gameplay flowcharts, and other graphical devices.
Provide feedback to production staff regarding technical game qualities or adherence to original design.
Prepare two-dimensional concept layouts or three-dimensional mock-ups.
Consult with multiple stakeholders to define requirements and implement online features.
Oversee gameplay testing to ensure intended gaming experience and game adherence to original vision.
Keep abreast of game design technology and techniques, industry trends, or audience interests, reactions, and needs by reviewing current literature, talking with colleagues, participating in educational programs, attending meetings or workshops, or participating in professional organizations or conferences.
Create gameplay prototypes for presentation to creative and technical staff and management.
Write or supervise the writing of game text and dialogue.
Collaborate with artists to achieve appropriate visual style.
Determine supplementary virtual features, such as currency, item catalog, menu design, and audio direction.
Review or evaluate competitive products, film, music, television, and other art forms to generate new game design ideas.
Prepare and revise initial game sketches using two- and three-dimensional graphical design software.
Provide test specifications to quality assurance staff.
Create gameplay test plans for internal and external test groups.

Work Context

Electronic Mail — 96% responded "Every day".
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 91% responded "Every day".
Face-to-Face Discussions — 91% responded "Every day".
Work With Work Group or Team — 77% responded "Extremely important".
Spend Time Sitting — 72% responded "Continually or almost continually".
Contact With Others — 58% responded "Constant contact with others".
Level of Competition — 48% responded "Highly competitive".

Work Activities

Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.

Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.

Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.

Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.

Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.

Detailed Work Activities

Analyze market or customer related data.
Communicate project information to others.
Update knowledge about emerging industry or technology trends.
Develop testing routines or procedures.
Communicate project information to others.
Design video game features or details.

Design video game features or details.

Supervise information technology personnel.

Collaborate with others to determine design specifications or details.

Communicate project information to others.

Prepare graphics or other visual representations of information.

Communicate project information to others.

Prepare graphics or other visual representations of information.

Test software performance.

Collaborate with others to determine design specifications or details.

Design video game features or details.

Document design or development procedures.

Design video game features or details.

Prepare graphics or other visual representations of information.

Manage information technology projects or system activities.

Manage documentation to ensure organization or accuracy.

Collaborate with others to determine design specifications or details.

Test software performance.

Collaborate with others to determine design specifications or details.

Document design or development procedures.

Design video game features or details.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Design

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

English Language

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Programming

Writing computer programs for various purposes.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Active Learning

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Systems Analysis

Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Systems Evaluation

Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Persuasion

Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Operations Analysis

Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.

Originality

The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Fluency of Ideas

The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Selective Attention

The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Visualization

The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Category Flexibility

The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Finger Dexterity

The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Visual Color Discrimination

The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

They do well at jobs that need:

Achievement/Effort

Persistence

Initiative

Leadership

Cooperation

Concern for Others

Social Orientation

Self Control

You might use software like this on the job:

Data base user interface and query software

Structured query language SQL
Microsoft SQL Server
Blackboard software

Web platform development software

Hypertext markup language HTML
JavaScript
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
Ruby on Rails

Operating system software

Linux
Job control language JCL

Get started on your career:

New job opportunities are very likely in the future.

Find a job

Video Game Designers

Explore Avacko

Find a job

Explore Avacko

Modal Window