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Video Game Designer

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What Do Video Game Designer Do?

Example of Video Game Designer Job Design core features of video games. Specify innovative game and role-play mechanics, story lines, and character biographies. Create and maintain design documentation. Guide and collaborate with production staff to produce games as designed.

Daily Life Of a Video Game Designer

  • Guide design discussions between development teams.
  • Provide feedback to designers and other colleagues regarding game design features.
  • Prepare two-dimensional concept layouts or three-dimensional mock-ups.
  • Determine supplementary virtual features, such as currency, item catalog, menu design, and audio direction.
  • Create core game features including storylines, role-play mechanics, and character biographies for a new video game or game franchise.
  • Solicit, obtain, and integrate feedback from design and technical staff into original game design.

What Every Video Game Designer Should Know

When polled, Video Game Designers say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:

Programming: Writing computer programs for various purposes.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Types of Video Game Designer

  • Video Game Maker
  • Senior Game Designer/Senior Environmental Artist
  • World Designer
  • Lead Level Designer
  • Game Engineer

Is There Job Demand for Video Game Designers?

In the United States, there were 287,200 jobs for Video Game Designer in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 9.3% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 26,600 new jobs for Video Game Designer by 2026. The BLS estimates 22,400 yearly job openings in this field.

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The states with the most job growth for Video Game Designer are Washington, Utah, and Nevada. Watch out if you plan on working in Alaska, Maryland, or Mississippi. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Do Video Game Designers Make A Lot Of Money?

The average yearly salary of a Video Game Designer ranges between $47,350 and $144,820.

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Video Game Designers who work in District of Columbia, Maryland, or New Hampshire, make the highest salaries.

Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Video Game Designers in different U.S. states.

State Annual Mean Salary
Alabama $87,060
Alaska $98,830
Arizona $85,010
Arkansas $73,670
California $103,270
Colorado $102,470
Connecticut $100,340
District of Columbia $117,540
Florida $78,900
Georgia $90,140
Hawaii $89,960
Idaho $80,610
Indiana $79,310
Iowa $78,810
Kansas $79,300
Kentucky $79,420
Louisiana $66,600
Maine $79,790
Maryland $113,330
Massachusetts $92,110
Michigan $76,400
Minnesota $81,650
Mississippi $81,280
Missouri $82,610
Montana $68,430
Nebraska $86,230
Nevada $72,610
New Hampshire $112,440
New Jersey $99,210
New Mexico $79,540
New York $90,750
North Carolina $88,650
North Dakota $70,730
Ohio $82,440
Oklahoma $78,490
Oregon $79,610
Pennsylvania $87,040
Rhode Island $81,290
South Carolina $92,100
South Dakota $81,250
Tennessee $74,000
Texas $90,290
Utah $76,890
Vermont $72,220
Virginia $105,270
Washington $91,620
West Virginia $83,660
Wisconsin $74,600
Wyoming $75,780

What Tools & Technology do Video Game Designers Use?

Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Video Game Designers may use on a daily basis:

  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft Office
  • Hypertext markup language HTML
  • JavaScript
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Python
  • MySQL
  • Microsoft Project
  • Microsoft Visio
  • Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop
  • Structured query language SQL
  • Linux
  • Adobe Systems Adobe Illustrator
  • Extensible markup language XML
  • PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
  • C
  • Practical extraction and reporting language Perl
  • Blackboard

How to Become a Video Game Designer

Are there Video Game Designers education requirements?

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What work experience do I need to become a Video Game Designer?

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Who Employs Video Game Designers?

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The table below shows the approximate number of Video Game Designers employed by various industries.

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References:

Image Credit: Intel Free Press via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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