The job of computer game designer is one of the most sought after professions in the game development industry. People who are new to the workings of the game development industry are often confused about what designers actually do, what skills are required of them, and how they break into the profession.
Games designers are the creative people behind computer games, and to get into the games industry as a games designer is obviously tough. The computer gaming landscape is such that it is no longer possible to create a game alone and become famous overnight. A games designer, games developer or any other area of gaming must now work their way up the ranks and demonstrate a wide range of skills.
It’s also not a case of pitching to a games studio and hoping they like your idea, Dragon’s Den style. Instead, game development studios hire games designers to work for them full time, and those games designers are tasked with working on the game concepts, helping to see them through to a finished video game. Games designers can’t just rely on their natural creativity to come up with ideas and leave the implementation to others either. A good games designer will be required to devote serious time to execute their ideas alongside the games developer team. This means a designer will develop a vast wealth of expertise throughout a career, learning aspects of being a games developer, artist, editor and more.