Types of game designers

Game designers create immersive virtual worlds and design user experiences. Their main task is to make the game interesting and memorable. Such that gamers want to return to it again and again, and are ready to spend dozens of hours of their personal time in front of the screen. To do this, game universes are carefully designed, filled with characters, graphics and mechanics in accordance with the main plot.

Game designers perform creative, technical and managerial tasks at the same time, and are involved in the development of the game from the first stages to the moment of release.

By itself, the profession of a game designer is a fairly broad concept, covering several different specializations. In this article, we will talk about what types of video game designers exist and what tasks each of them performs.

As the name implies, a level designer is responsible for designing levels. He acts as a video game director, and integrates the work of other specialists – character models, textures, lighting, sound and mechanics into a coherent project that gamers will interact with.

Also, the level designer is responsible for the complexity of the levels, the location of enemies, secrets, additional challenges in the location, as well as their logical connection and the sequence of the storyline.

System game designer is a more technical specialty. He is engaged in the selection of technologies for the production of the game, which can ensure its optimal performance, and also calculates the metrics necessary to ensure the gameplay.

An example is the horror Dying Light 2 with elements of parkour, where the task of system designers was to calculate the length of the jump of the main character and the distances between objects that he could grab onto.

Another example is the implementation of a stealth mode in the Assassin’s Creed series of games, with which, under certain conditions, the player can move around enemies and remain unnoticed.

In fact, the systems designer makes the calculations on the basis of which all other game mechanics and objects will be developed, and then combines these systems into a coherent mechanism.

The game interface is what connects the gamer to the in-game universe. It includes many elements: menus, graphics, health and mana bars, maps, loot design, and even visuals. That is, everything with which the user directly interacts during the game. Depending on the specifics of the project, different specialists may be engaged in the development of the interface.

Game Artist 2D

Interface artist for 2D games. In addition to creating graphics, he also optimizes animations and develops typography, in accordance with the overall style of the game. As he works, he interacts with the rest of the development team and, in particular, with other game designers, to determine the logic of using each interface and improve its user-friendliness.

Game Artist 3D

A 3D graphics specialist whose duties are largely the same as the tasks of a Game Artist 2D, only he performs them in a three-dimensional space. To do this, he transforms the concept into a 3D mesh, respecting the correct geometry and proportions of each object.

Motion designer

An animation specialist who animates already designed static interface elements. For example, the Motion designer visualizes the decrease in the character’s life bar, displays the damage inflicted on the enemy, adds interactivity to the skill upgrade menu, and so on.

The narrative designer works to create a logically correct and balanced virtual universe in which game mechanics will complement the storyline, and not contradict it.

To do this, he can use different types of content, including text, sounds, visuals, and more.

There are two main types of narrative:

• Visible – provided to the player in an open form: character stories, dialogues and notes that contain specific information.
• Hidden – formed by the player himself based on his personal experience and emotions.

Combining them properly allows narrative designers to create deep and memorable virtual universes that are fun to explore.

Game balancing is not only balancing the systems a systems game designer is working on, but also controlling difficulty and leveling ability.

Balance designers work with numbers and mathematical calculations, and they determine how much experience a character earns for performing actions and how many points are needed to level up, how much damage a weapon does, how effective armor is, and so on.

In addition, balance designers constantly analyze the actions of the players and make adjustments in order to achieve the “golden mean” between too difficult and easy levels.

Multiplayer games require special attention in terms of balance. In League of Legends, for example, champion stats and gear are updated almost weekly, allowing you to control gameplay dynamics and player preferences at the peak stage. Thus, the game is constantly changing and remains interesting for many years.

Such a specialist is engaged in the development of content that will fill the locations. This includes creating scenery, writing dialogues, puzzles, quest scenarios and other elements that a gamer can interact with on location.

A variety of content fills the virtual world with meaning and makes the passage of the game more exciting, which increases the chances of the project for commercial success in the market.

To develop an exciting and balanced game, the actions of all game designers must be clearly coordinated. AVADA MEDIA has already formed teams of specialists.

They have experience of working together on projects, which significantly increases their productivity and the quality of the result. To learn more about game design development in our company, contact us by filling out the feedback form.