Description

Digital games designers develop the layout, logic, concept and gameplay of a digital game. They focus on playfield design, specification writing, and entry of numeric properties that balance and tune the gameplay.

Excludes people performing programming and coding activities.

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to digital games designer:

virtual games designer
digital game designer
digital games designers
video games designer
computer games designer

Minimum qualifications

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as digital games designer. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

Digital games designer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

Digital games designer career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to digital games designer.

3D modeller
user interface designer
ICT system architect
software architect
ICT intelligent systems designer

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of digital games designer. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of digital games designer with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of digital games designer.

Systems development life-cycle: The sequence of steps, such as planning, creating, testing and deploying and the models for the development and life-cycle management of a system.
Digital game genres: The classification of video games based on their interaction with the game media, such as simulation games, strategy games, adventure games and arcade games.
Web programming: The programming paradigm that is based on combining markup (which adds context and structure to text) and other web programming code, such as AJAX, javascript and PHP, in order to carry out appropriate actions and visualise the content.
Task algorithmisation: The techniques to convert unstructured descriptions of a process into step-by-step sequence of actions of a finite number of steps.
Digital game creation systems: The integrated development environments and specialised design tools, designed for the rapid iteration of user-derived computer games.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of digital games designer.

Use markup languages: Utilise computer languages that are syntactically distinguishable from the text to add annotations to a document, specify layout and process types of documents such as HTML.
Compose digital game story: Create a digital game story by writing out a detailed plot and storyboard with descriptions and gameplay objectives.
Design process: Identify the workflow and resource requirements for a particular process, using a variety of tools such as process simulation software, flowcharting and scale models.
Create concept of digital game: Develop and communicate every aspect of overall game vision. Communicate and collaborate with technical crew, artistic and design teams to implement the game vision.
Create software design: Transpose a series of requirements into a clear and organised software design.
Create digital game characters: Develop a typology of characters for digital games and identify their exact role in the gameplay and the narrative.
Formulate game rules: Compose a series of rules as to how to play a game.
Specify digital game scenes: Describe scenes of digital games by communicating and cooperating with artistic crew, designers and artists in order to define the scope of the game’s virtual environments.
Analyse business requirements: Study clients’ needs and expectations for a product or service in order to identify and resolve inconsistencies and possible disagreements of involved stakeholders.
Manage online content: Ensure the website content is up to date, organised, attractive and meets the target audience needs, the requirements of the company and international standards by checking the links, setting the publishing time framework and order.
Define technical requirements: Specify technical properties of goods, materials, methods, processes, services, systems, software and functionalities by identifying and responding to the particular needs that are to be satisfied according to customer requirements.
Design graphics: Apply a variety of visual techniques in order to design graphic material. Combine graphical elements to communicate concepts and ideas.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of digital games designer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Haskell: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Haskell.
Incremental development: The incremental development model is a methodology to design software systems and applications.
Erlang: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Erlang.
Sas language: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in SAS language.
Cryengine: The game engine CryEngine which is a software framework that consists of integrated development environments and specialised design tools, designed for the rapid iteration of user-derived computer games.
Ruby (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Ruby.
Common lisp: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Common Lisp.
Lisp: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Lisp.
Hardware platforms: The characteristics of the hardware configuration required to process the applications software product.
Visual studio .net: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Visual Basic.
Java (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Java.
Principles of animation: The principles of 2D and 3D animation, such as body motion, kinematics, overshoot, anticipation, squash and stretch.
Computer programming: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms (e.g. object oriented programming, functional programming) and of programming languages.
Prolog (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Prolog.
Openedge advanced business language: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in OpenEdge Advanced Business Language.
Iterative development: The iterative development model is a methodology to design software systems and applications.
Javascript: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in JavaScript.
3d texturing: The process of applying a type of surface to a 3D image.
Perl: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Perl.
Smalltalk (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Smalltalk.
Php: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in PHP.
Assembly (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Assembly.
Spiral development: The spiral development model is a methodology to design software systems and applications.
C#: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in C#.
R: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in R.
Groovy: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Groovy.
Asp.net: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in ASP.NET.
Apl: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in APL.
Waterfall development: The waterfall development model is a methodology to design software systems and applications.
3d lighting: The arrangement or digital effect which simulates lighting in a 3D environment.
Ict security legislation: The set of legislative rules that safeguards information technology, ICT networks and computer systems and legal consequences which result from their misuse. Regulated measures include firewalls, intrusion detection, anti-virus software and encryption.
Microsoft visual c++: The computer program Visual C++ is a suite of software development tools for writing programs, such as compiler, debugger, code editor, code highlights, packaged in a unified user interface. It is developed by the software company Microsoft.
Typescript: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in TypeScript.
Software design methodologies: The methodologies such as Scrum, V-model and Waterfall to design software systems and applications.
Rapid application development: The rapid application development model is a methodology to design software systems and applications.
Coffeescript: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in CoffeeScript.
Objective-c: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Objective-C.
Id tech: The game engine id Tech which is a software framework that consists of integrated development environments and specialised design tools, designed for the rapid iteration of user-derived computer games.
Ml (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in ML.
Unreal engine: The game engine Unreal Engine which is a software framework that consists of integrated development environments and specialised design tools, designed for the rapid iteration of user-derived computer games.
Ajax: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in AJAX.
C++: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in C++.
Sap r3: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in SAP R3.
Frostbite (digital game creation systems): The game engine Frostbite which is a software framework that consists of integrated development environments and specialised design tools, designed for the rapid iteration of user-derived computer games.
Swift (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Swift.
Matlab: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in MATLAB.
Application usability: The process through which the learnability, efficiency, usefulness and ease of use of a software application can be defined and measured.
Source (digital game creation systems): The game engine Source which is a software framework that consists of integrated development environments and specialised design tools, designed for the rapid iteration of user-derived computer games.
Python (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Python.
Unity (digital game creation systems): The game engine Unity which is a software framework that consists of integrated development environments and specialised design tools, designed for the rapid iteration of user-derived computer games.
Scratch (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Scratch.
Agile development: The agile development model is a methodology to design software systems and applications.
Vbscript: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in VBScript.
Software interaction design: The methodologies for designing interaction between users and a software product or service to satisfy the needs and preferences of most of the people who will interface with the product and to simplify the communication between product and user such as Goal-oriented design.
Cobol: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in COBOL.
Pascal (computer programming): The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Pascal.
Abap: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in ABAP.
Prototyping development: The prototyping development model is a methodology to design software systems and applications.
Ict performance analysis methods: The methods used to analyse software, ICT system and network performance which provide guidance to root causes of issues within information systems. The methods can analyse resource bottlenecks, application times, wait latencies and benchmarking results.
Devops: The DevOps development approach is a methodology to design software systems and applications focused on the collaboration and between software programmers and other ICT professionals and automation.
Scala: The techniques and principles of software development, such as analysis, algorithms, coding, testing and compiling of programming paradigms in Scala.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of digital games designer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Create 3d environments: Develop a computer-generated 3D representation of a setting such as simulated environment, where the users interact.
Apply 3d imaging techniques: Implement a variety of techniques such as digital sculpting, curve modelling and 3D scanning to create, edit, preserve and use 3D images, such as point clouds, 3D vector graphic and 3D surface shapes.
Create 3d characters: Develop 3D models by transforming and digitising previously designed characters using specialised 3D tools.
Animate 3d organic forms: Vitalise digital 3D models of organic items, such as emotions or face movements of characters and place them in a digital 3D environment.
Manage localisation: Modify content or a product for the transference from one locale to another through the use of content translation or localisation service providers.
Estimate duration of work: Produce accurate calculations on time necessary to fulfil future technical tasks based on past and present information and observations or plan the estimated duration of individual tasks in a given project.
Operate 3d computer graphics software: Use graphical ICT tools, such as Autodesk Maya, Blender which enable digital editing, modelling, rendering and composition of graphics. These tools are based in mathematical representation of three-dimensional objects.
Perform resource planning: Estimate the expected input in terms of time, human and financial resources necessary to achieve the project objectives.

ISCO group and title

2166 – Graphic and multimedia designers

 

 


 

 

References
  1. Digital games designer – ESCO
Last updated on August 8, 2022