Short answer: A game designer defines how a game works and feels—its rules, systems, goals, challenges, and the moment-to-moment player experience.
Let’s begin, before defining the position of a Game Designer, with this question: Who is not a Game Designer?
This type of question can often clarify the path much more than directly asking who a Game Designer is.
Quoting my good friend and fellow game developer, Taha Rasouli:
- A person who has played every existing game in the world is not a Game Designer.
- A person who only comes up with ideas and is creative in ideation (even presenting the best ideas) is not a Game Designer.
- A person who writes the story or narrative of the game (Narrative Designer) is not a Game Designer.
- A person who directs the game is not a Game Designer.
So, who is a Game Designer?
A Game Designer is someone who has the ability to solve problems and provide solutions.
They must have a relative understanding of technical, artistic, and managerial aspects of game development.
Short answer: A game designer defines how a game works and feels—its rules, systems, goals, challenges, and the moment-to-moment player experience.
What does a Game Designer do?
- Define core mechanics: movement, combat, progression, economy, quests.
- Design systems & loops: reward loops, risk/reward, difficulty curves, onboarding.
- Create documentation: game design document (GDD), feature specs, wireframes.
- Prototype & iterate: build quick tests, collect feedback, refine or cut features.
- Balance & tuning: numbers, pacing, enemy stats, drop rates, level cadence.
- Collaborate across teams: align art, code, audio, narrative with design intent.
- Player advocacy: keep decisions grounded in player motivation and usability.
Why this role matters
Without solid design, a game can look gorgeous and still be boring or confusing. Game designers connect intent to experience, ensuring that every system serves fun, clarity, and flow.
Common misconceptions
- “Game designers just come up with ideas.” → They prototype, specify, test, and balance relentlessly.
- “They must code everything.” → Coding helps, but many designers ship great games using visual scripting or paper/digital prototypes.
- “Design = Level Design.” → Level design is a specialization focused on spaces and encounters; game design owns systems and global rules.
Core skills & tools
- Systems thinking, problem solving, communication.
- Math & balancing: probability, curves, economies.
- Prototyping: Unreal Blueprints, Unity, Godot, spreadsheets, paper.
- Collaboration tools: Notion/Confluence, Miro/FigJam, Jira/Trello.
- Playtesting: survey design, telemetry basics, usability observation.
Career path (how to start)
- Build tiny prototypes (1–2 week scope).
- Document decisions: write mini-GDDs and postmortems.
- Recreate simple mechanics from known games to learn balance.
- Join jams; ship small but finished things.
- Assemble a portfolio: short videos + design docs + download links.
Practical frameworks (copy-paste friendly)
- Core Loop: Do → Reward → Upgrade → Unlock → Repeat (with variance).
- Difficulty Curve: Teach → Test → Twist → Mastery (ramp, not spikes).
- Feature Test: Problem → Hypothesis → Prototype → Metric → Decision.
Quick example
Think of Hades:
- Core loop (fight → earn boons → choose builds → die → meta-progress).
- Systems synergy (boons + weapons + rooms).
- Smooth difficulty ramp and clear player choices each run.
Mini FAQ
Q: Do I need to code to be a game designer?
A: It helps, but it’s not mandatory. You must be able to prototype—with visual scripting, editors, or even paper.
Q: What should a portfolio include?
A: Short videos of prototypes, one-page design overviews, downloadable builds, and notes on what you learned.
Q: How is Game Design different from Level Design?
A: Game Design defines rules/systems; Level Design crafts spaces/encounters using those rules.
Author: Pouria Mojdeh
References:
- Tracy Fullerton – Game Design Workshop
- Jesse Schell – The Art of Game Design
- Ernest Adams & Andrew Rollings – Fundamentals of Game Design
- Katie Salen & Eric Zimmerman – Rules of Play
- Game Developer (formerly Gamasutra) – www.gamedeveloper.com