Video game design is a growing industry with more games being produced now than ever before.
With an increasing demand for video games comes a need for new video game design jobs and workers in the industry.
You only need a high school diploma to get a video game design job. But, you will have more success entering the video game industry if you obtain a certification or degree in video game design.
Each video game designer job is different, mainly depending on the gaming studio you work for and that company’s needs. Pay attention to the job description so you can assess if your skills fit the position.
Below, we explain a few different video game designer jobs.
Quality Assurance Tester
A quality assurance tester is someone in the video game industry who tests games.
They play the games before they’re released to make sure there are no bugs or glitches. Quality assurance testers also ensure that gameplay is smooth, suggest changes to make the game better, and play the game many times over as they look for flaws. Quality assurance is considered an entry-level position in the game design industry, so if you want to become a game designer, a quality assurance tester may be a good fit.
Level Designer
A level designer specifically designs different levels of a game. In games that have big worlds or many levels, level designers are responsible for one level only. Level designers ensure that their level fits in properly within the game’s story and objectives. Most level design is relatively straightforward as laid out by the game designer, but there can be room for creativity in things like tasks on specific levels or the layout of a level.
Being a level designer can be the gateway to getting a job as a junior game developer or a game designer.
Junior Game Developer
Depending on the size of the gaming studio, a junior game developer will have a lot more responsibility for the game design overall. Junior game developers work on things like the story, text, and overall objectives of the game while also working on the specifics of levels and themes.
Animator or Game Artist
Animators and game artists work to render the world the game is in, levels of the game, and characters that are both playable and not playable. They first make preliminary drawings of what they want the game, level, or character to look like and then use those drawings to create what you see when you play the video game.
Animators and game artists typically have animation skills or 3D design skills. These jobs can be some of the harder video game designer jobs to get because of the specialized skills required. If you want to be an animator or game artist, you will probably need to complete a certification program or get a degree. You can also qualify for one of these jobs with an impressive portfolio of work.
Game Designer
The game designers oversee almost every aspect of creating a video game from start to finish. So they can oversee development, game designers need to know at least some programming. Game designers are the leaders of the team and make sure the game is enjoyable for players.
Game designers also oversee things like:
- Themes of the game,
- Characters in the game,
- Game objectives,
- Level constraints
- Budget.
A game designer oversees everything while creating a video game so there are a variety of tasks to complete before a game is released.
Interested in a Career as a Video Game Designer?
Explore Stratford Career Institute’s video game design class to learn more about video game designer jobs today. You will learn everything about a career in video game design, including:
- The evolution and history of video games,
- Video game design principles and practices,
- World building,
- Video game analysis,
- First-order optimal strategies,
- Preparation, prototyping, and testing,
- Character design, level design, and rewarding the player,
- Plotting the player path,
- Interface design and audio design,
- Sizing, wayfinding, silhouette design, and choke points,
- Understanding monetization and funding,
- Using publishers or going independent.
Enroll in our video game design class today!
RATE THIS POST
Loading...Explore a Career in Video Game Design
Take your skills to the next level with Stratford’s comprehensive online course!