Computer games designer

As a computer games designer, you will create ideas for computer games and apps, and help to decide the way they look and play.

Also known as:

Level designer

Work activities

Computer games are developed for a number of different platforms. These include PCs (personal computers) and laptops, consoles (dedicated games machines), mobile phone apps, tablet apps, online via the internet (including social network platforms) and through smart TV.

There are several different types of games designer, specialising in a particular area of the game, including:

Level designer: You will be responsible for creating the digital environment of the actual game, and for placing the game’s characters and items (enemies, weapons, obstacles etc) within that environment. You will also need to make sure that the games objectives are clear to the player. What do they have to do to move on to the next level?
Quest designer: You will have the exciting job of creating, designing, planning and implementing quests within games. This could include creating the narrative structure of the quest (the storyline), writing dialogue, and producing a quest script.
World designer: You will be able to let you imagination fly and create your own world! You will create the space in which the game takes place, including the size and type of landscape, the weather, and the actual time cycles which underpin the game. You might create a city with buildings and streets, and decide whether the sun will shine – or maybe it is nighttime? The choice is yours.
Encounter designer: You will be responsible for creating the encounters, or enemies that players will take on as they play the game. You will plan, design and implement just how these enemies will behave in the game, including the use of weapons, spells and dialogue. You will work closely with the whole game design team to create new characters, locations and enemies, to provide the game player with exciting encounters.
Cinematic designer: Your main role will be to design, create and edit the video game background scenes. Working closely with the world designer and level designer, you will need to make sure that the different game scenes flow smoothly. You will need to understand the intended speed of the game – how fast does it need to change from one scene to another?

The different roles listed above all overlap in many ways, and in whichever role you choose, you will be working as part of a tightly knit team. This team could also include graphic artists, writers, musicians and developers/programmers. The team is often led by a product manager.

Personal qualities and skills

As a computer games designer, you’ll need:

An enthusiasm for, and good knowledge of, computers and computer games, platforms and popular games culture.
Good verbal and written communication skills.
A strong visual imagination.
The ability to work with highly complicated, multi-stranded specifications and programs.
Creative design skills.
Business skills.
A logical, methodical approach.

You will also need to be:

A good teamwork
A confident speaker in order to present your ideas.
Patient and able to pay attention to detail.
Able to plan and prioritise, to meet deadlines.

For some types of computer game, scriptwriting skills are also important. Some programming knowledge and ability is needed. However, computer games designers do not necessarily have to be expert computer programmers.

Technical skills are highly important in this industry. However, employers have also highlighted the future need for the following nontechnical skills:

Business skills.
Good communication skills.
Teamworking skills.

Pay and opportunities

As a computer games designer, your salary will often depend on your experience and ability. Pay rates can vary from a starting salary of £25,000 per year to as much as £70,000 with experience.

Salaries might include performance-related pay, profit share or company bonuses.

You will usually work a basic 30-40-hour week, Monday to Friday. However, late finishes and weekend work might be required, especially as deadlines approach.

Many designers are employed on a short- or fixed-term contract basis.

The UK has a small but thriving computer games industry. Competition for games designer posts is very fierce.

Employers range from large firms involved in creating, publishing and marketing new games, to smaller software publishing houses that specialise in a particular range of games, and tiny studios employing only a few people. Opportunities for games designers occur in some towns and cities throughout the UK. Areas with some clusters of games companies include London, the Midlands and parts of Scotland. Opportunities for games designers occur in other countries, including France, Germany, Finland, the USA and Japan.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised in specialist magazines/websites such as mcvuk.com, on IT job boards and employers’ websites, in national newspapers, and on the Government’s Find a Job service.

Entry routes and training

You'll usually need an IT qualification or work experience to get a job in this industry. Employers will be interested in your talent and creativity. You could choose to go onto university to study a relevant subject such as computer science. At university you will learn some of the skills, techniques and technologies, that employers need.

Alternatively, you could do a level 7 degree apprenticeship in the role of game programmer. This way, you’ll learn on the job within a structured programme and work towards a relevant degree, studying on block or day release.

Experienced developers might become team leaders and then programming or product managers.

Qualifications

For entry to a degree course in a relevant subject, the usual requirement is:

Two to three A-levels.
GCSEs at grades 9-4 in two to three other subjects.
English and maths at GCSE.

You might need maths and/or another numerate science subject (for example, Physics) at A level for some courses.

Alternatives to A levels include:

Edexcel (BTEC) level 3 National qualifications
International Baccalaureate (IN) diploma.

However, course requirements vary so check prospectuses carefully.

It might also be possible to enter this work without formal qualifications, if you have relevant programming skills.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

If you don’t have the qualifications needed to enter your chosen degree or HND course, a college or university Access course could be the way in. These courses are designed for people who have not followed the usual routes into higher education. No formal qualifications are usually needed, but you should check this with individual colleges.

Related careers

Computer games developer
Computer games writer
Graphic designer
Software tester
Web designer