Key Skills Every Game Designer Should Have
Being a game designer opens up a completely new world of opportunities and options. It’s a combination of creativity and technical skills, so no wonder why this occupation is in huge demand. Companies worldwide are looking for game designers, who not only have a unique vision but also talent, proper qualifications, and even a few projects of their own.
If you want to design a first-person shooter or the trendy games that can be found in any online blackjack casino in New Zealand or arcades that can become hits all over the world, you won’t do without our tips on how to stand out from other candidates.
In today’s article, we will share the most important and demanded skills that every game designer should possess. Develop each of them and you’ll definitely land an interview and will find a company of your dreams!
Strong IT Skills
It’s impossible to become a game designer without knowledge of programming, hardware, and video graphics. Apart from coding, potential candidates should be familiar with character, scenery, and user interface design.
Possessing a combination of technical and artistic skills in the area of design will help to create a unique product with a realistic picture and outstanding features. Luckily, there are plenty of courses, training programs, and even college degrees for those, who want to design for the virtual world.
Problem-Solving Skills
The sphere of game design is rather vibrant, so facing challenges and solving technical problems is a part of the routine. Thus, game designers must be rather patient, calm, and concentrated when finding a solution to the problem.
Another important skill to develop is being able to look at the problem from a different angle. Who knows, maybe you’ll broaden the horizons and come up with a new project?
Time Management
Remember the first video games? They were rather simple and it took less time to create them. Modern games are completely different and contain a huge number of elements. To create one product hundreds of technical and design professionals should work for months.
It’s difficult to keep up with the pressure and constantly emerging new tasks. Thus, a game designer should learn how to manage time wisely, how to interact with others and meet deadlines.
If coping with stress and the fast-changing environment is not your strongest side, consider working on a simpler project in a small company. Thus, you’ll remain calm and will do what you love.
Creativity
This one is rather obvious: it’s impossible to become a game designer if you are not able to come up with fresh and unique ideas. Creativity is the skill, which will help the product to stand out on the market.
Some people think that it’s impossible to develop creative skills: you are either born with them or not. Luckily, they are wrong. You can boost creativity by following ideas of others, doing artistic hobbies, and connecting with your inner voice.
Everything is already in our head and we only need to hear the ideas that are trying to reach out to us.
Communication
Unlike developers, game designers should regularly coordinate with other specialists: artists, programmers, managers, etc. Thus, you need to have strong communication skills in order to share your thoughts and ideas, as well as to cooperate with others to achieve outstanding results.
Another benefit of communication for game designers is the fact that they will need to work on writing storylines, quests, dialogues, and other descriptions to make the game more vivid. In addition, game designers are often asked to describe the functions and specifications of the product via documents and email.
Strong communication skills are able to create tighter bonds between team members, get funding, and even simplify the work process making it engaging and fun.
One Of The Best Occupations Ever
Nowadays more and more people are choosing occupations related to the IT field: development, testing, and of course game design. This field is constantly evolving, which gives specialists enough room to develop and to stay updated.
However, this requires multiple skills: communication, problem-solving, time management, and of course IT background. The good news is that you can easily master all of these skills with proper devotion. Just make a study plan and improve your knowledge day after day.
