Requirements of a Games Designer

Now that I have established both the what and the why, I thought that it would be appropriate to take a deeper look at what exactly a games designer is and does.  To achieve this, I have utilized various sources across the internet, as well as taking a look at the job listings for some of the major publishers, including EA, Epic, DICE, Rockstar, et al.

“The job of games designer is not just exciting, it is one of the most challenging in the world,” shouts this article at buzzle.com.  Sources are unanimous in their assessment that the role of Game Designer is rewarding, whilst extremely demanding.  EA consider game design “a highly creative and specialized craft” in their job listings.  Ryan Shwayder concedes that “a game designer doesn’t get paid as much as someone with his equivalent skills in the business world,” that it’s going to be the creativity and passion that will propel you through your games design career, not necessarily financial reward.

Requirements

“Creativity” and “imagination” are two words that continuously lace every article and job description I read on the subject.  Interestingly though, EA DICE declare that knowledge of target audiences and markets are equally, if not more, valued.  They also consider a deep understanding of hardware platforms as well as relevant technologies, techniques and software packages to be of high value.

For a game design role with People Can Fly at Epic Games, they require "excellent theoretical knowledge of game design practices," alongside other common design requirements, including; excellent communication and presentation skills, displayable experience of creating Game Design Documentation, problem-solving skills, and the candidate is to be self-motivated, hard-working and team-focused.  They also expand on the management of staff, requiring tasking and scheduling production teams whilst managing and organising design meetings.

Playfish (an EA company) echo many of these requirements, specifically requesting demonstrable experience from concept to completion.  Jagex Games Studio require a strong knowledge and experience of game design, as well as a strong track record of prioritizing conflicting demands, from a candidate who displays "passion, experience, energy and commitment."

All roles require a portfolio of work, which I will look to consider and discuss in a future post.

Software

Some openings require experience with specific software packages that I would do well to gain familiarity (and later competence) with.  Below is a list of programs specifically mentioned;

• 3D Studio Max
• Maya
• Microsoft Excel