You’ll definitely write (or at least contribute to) your project’s game design document. You may write the game’s initial “pitch” document. You may write the game’s quests and storylines. And if you aren’t good at explaining your thoughts and ideas, or collaborating with others, you won’t be able to do your job effectively.Īs a game designer, you’ll also do a lot of writing. Strong verbal communication skills are important because, as a game designer, you’ll be coordinating your work with artists, programmers, other designers, and executives. As Age of Learning‘s job posting puts it, it’s the “Ability to communicate equally well with technical and non-technical team members, both verbally and in writing.” Communication Skillsīy far, the most-required skill for a game designer is an ability to communicate ideas clearly and effectively. The top ten video game designer requirements from a survey of 29 job postings. Let’s take a look at the top ten most common “must have” game designer requirements, and discuss what you can do to build those qualifications so you can apply for the jobs. But some core skills are required by nearly all designers, which is why they show up on many of the job postings. The day-to-day job of a game designer is different from company to company. If you have a strong design portfolio with projects you completed in school or in your spare time, you should apply anyway. The remainder of companies required at least one shipped game on your resume before they’ll consider hiring you. What about a “shipped games” requirement? Good news: 38% of companies had no shipped games requirement. About 70% of job postings in this study require game designers to have one or more years of experience, but this requirement is often flexible. If you’re fresh out of school, my advice is this: Go ahead and apply for jobs that require one or two years of experience. While the others do require anywhere from one to five years experience, this is another requirement that’s usually a bit flexible. Luckily, about a third (29%) of companies had no “years of experience” qualification. After all, how can you land your first job if they require you to already have experience? It might seem unfair for companies to require a certain number of years’ experience, or a certain number of shipped games. Note: If you want to know which bachelor’s degrees might be good for a job in game design, read my article about game designer education requirements. (One simply mentioned “a degree means something.”) The other 59% didn’t list an education requirement at all. In my study, I found that 41% of companies listed an educational requirement of an undergraduate/bachelor’s degree, but they also implied equivalent experience was okay. Some job postings will even specify “Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience,” so you know it’s not a hard requirement. Most hiring managers will waive the requirement if you already have enough on-the-job experience. It’s common for game companies to require a bachelor’s degree, but I can tell you from experience that it’s almost always a negotiable qualification for game designers. Be Agile, Iterate, and Prototype Rapidly.If you want a job as a video game designer, you’ve come to the right place.
#Video game designer education how to
I’ve paired each one with advice on how to start working on the skills you’ll need to land the job.
I studied 29 game designer job postings from multiple companies, and summarized them in the study below. To give you a head start, I did the research for you. Learning how to do those things might be challenging, but learning the requirements is easy - just read the job postings.
Want a job at Rockstar Games? According to their job postings, you’ll need the ability to multi-task and prioritize work based on feedback and critique. Want a job at Infinity Ward? According to their game designer job postings, you’ll need to be creative, with the ability to communicate your ideas to your team. Instead, simply find an online job posting by any game studio you’d like to work for, and read the game designer job requirements they’ve listed. Luckily, you don’t need to ask companies what those are. Is your goal to become a video game designer, but you don’t know how to get there? Start by understanding the game designer requirements and qualifications that game companies demand.Įvery game company has specific requirements you’ll need to meet before they’ll hire you as a game designer. Understanding the game designer job requirements is the first step to mastery.
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