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Games Designer

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Primary Secondary Post-16

Imagine a job where you get to think up new games all day long! That is what a Games Designer does. They are like the architects of fun. They think about how a game will work, what the players will do, what stories will be told, and what challenges players will face. They decide on the rules of the game and what makes it exciting and fair. They do not usually draw all the pictures or write all the computer code themselves, but they tell the artists and programmers exactly what to create to make their game idea come alive. It is a very creative job where you need to be good at solving problems and explaining your ideas clearly to a team of people. A Games Designer might start by dreaming up a new world or a cool character. Then they will think about what actions the player can take, like jumping, running, or solving puzzles. They often write documents called 'design documents' which are like big instruction manuals for the game. They also test the game lots of times to make sure it is fun and everything works properly. They work with a team to make sure the game looks good, sounds good, and feels great to play. It is a super exciting job for anyone who loves games and has a big imagination!

Games Designer

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📊 Statistics

Average Starting Salary

A new Games Designer in the UK might earn around 20,000 to 25,000 pounds a year. As you get more experienced, this can go up a lot!

Experienced Salary

Experienced Games Designers in the UK can earn between 35,000 and 60,000 pounds a year. Some very senior designers can earn even more.

Number of Jobs

The UK games industry is growing! There are thousands of people working in games development across the country, with new jobs appearing regularly for creative people.

🚀 Careers in this path

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Level Designer

Imagine you're building a whole new world inside a game! A Level Designer makes all the fun maps and stages you play in, deciding where the good stuff is hidden and where the baddies might jump out. You get to think about how players will move around and what exciting things they'll discover.

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Character Designer

Do you love drawing funny, brave, or super-strong characters? A Character Designer invents all the heroes, villains, and helpful friends you meet in games. You'll think about what they look like, what special powers they have, and even what clothes they wear. It's like bringing your favourite toys to life!

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Game Tester

Imagine getting to play brand-new games all day long! A Game Tester plays games before anyone else to find any wobbly bits or glitches. You get to tell the grown-ups if something isn't working right or if a part of the game isn't super fun yet. Your job is to make sure games are perfect and enjoyable for everyone.

Playing and Imagining

Play Lots of Games

To be a great games designer, you need to play lots of different games! Try all sorts, from puzzle games to adventure games, on computers, consoles, and even board games. Think about what you like and dislike about each one.

Playing many games helps you understand what makes a game fun, challenging, or boring. Pay attention to the rules, the characters, and how you win. This helps you learn what players enjoy and what makes a game exciting to play over and over again. You can learn from what other games do well and what they could do better.

Imagine Your Own Games

Start thinking up your own game ideas! What kind of game would you love to play? Who are the characters? What's the story? How do you win? Draw pictures of your ideas or tell stories about them.

This is where your creativity shines! You can draw pictures of your game worlds, characters, and even special items. Write down ideas for challenges or puzzles. Share your ideas with friends and family to see what they think. The more you imagine, the better you get at creating new things.

Learn How Games Work

Try to understand the 'magic' behind games. This means learning about the rules, how points are scored, and how players move through the game. You can even try to make simple games with things like building blocks or cards.

Understanding game mechanics means knowing why certain actions lead to certain results in a game. For example, if you jump, your character goes up. If you collect coins, your score goes up. By making simple games yourself, even with physical objects, you start to grasp the basic ideas of game design, like setting rules and goals for players.

Learning and Creating More

Learn to Code

Coding is like giving instructions to a computer. If you want to make computer games, learning to code is super important! You can start with easy programs like Scratch, which lets you drag and drop blocks to make things happen.

Many schools and online websites offer fun ways to learn coding for kids. Scratch is a fantastic place to start because it's visual and easy to understand. As you get older, you might learn languages like Python or C++, which are used to build bigger and more complex games. Coding lets you bring your game ideas to life on a screen.

Draw and Design

Practice drawing characters, backgrounds, and items for your games. Even if you're not an amazing artist, being able to sketch your ideas helps you explain them to others.

Good design isn't just about pretty pictures; it's about making things clear and easy to understand. If you can draw a character, you can show what they look like. If you can draw a level, you can show where players go. You can use paper and pencils, or try simple drawing apps on a computer or tablet. It helps to communicate your vision for the game.

Work on School Projects

When you have school projects, especially creative ones, think about how you can use them to practice game design skills. Maybe you can design a board game for a maths project or write a story for a new video game character.

School projects are great opportunities to apply your growing skills. For example, a history project could inspire a game set in ancient times. A science project could involve designing a game that teaches about animals. This helps you practise thinking creatively and solving problems, which are both very important for a games designer.

Future Steps

Study Relevant Subjects

When you're older, choose subjects at school that help with game design, like computing, art, maths, and even English to help with storytelling. These subjects build a strong foundation for your future career.

Computing teaches you about how computers work and helps with coding. Art helps you with visual design. Maths is important for game logic and physics. English helps you create compelling stories and characters for your games. All these subjects combine to give you the skills you need to design amazing games.

Join Game Clubs or Communities

Look for clubs at school or online communities where people talk about games or make them. You can meet other people who love games and learn from them. You might even make a game together!

Being part of a community helps you learn from others, share your ideas, and get feedback. There are many online forums and groups for aspiring game designers. You might even find local game jams, which are events where people try to make a game in a short amount of time. This is a great way to collaborate and build experience.

Build a Portfolio

As you create more games, even small ones, keep them all together. This collection of your work is called a portfolio. It shows off your amazing ideas and what you can do when you apply for jobs or university later.

Your portfolio is like a show-and-tell of your best game ideas and projects. It can include drawings, written game ideas, small games you've coded, or even simple board games you've made. When you're older and applying for university courses or jobs in game design, a strong portfolio is super important because it shows people what you're capable of.

🎯 View Apprenticeships

Explore relevant apprenticeships that can help you kickstart your career in Games Designer. Apprenticeships offer hands-on experience and training while earning a wage.

🎓 View Apprenticeships

Career Progressions

This page showcases various career options and the pathways to reach them. Each career listed here shares transferable skills and knowledge, making it easier for individuals to transition between them.

Your current career is highlighted to help you see how it fits into the broader landscape of potential career choices. By clicking on any career, you can learn more about it, including the training and education required to pursue it.

Remember, progressing in your career often involves further learning and training. This page provides insights into future career options as well as those that can lead up to your current one.

These career progression decisions are informed by comparing the skills and knowledge needed for different occupations, along with data on how people move between them. Explore the possibilities and discover the exciting journey ahead in your career!

Sample Qualifications

A Games Designer's primary role is to conceptualise and design the gameplay, rules, and structure of computer games. This aligns closely with the responsibilities of a 'Computer games developer', who would be involved in bringing those designs to fruition and shaping the overall game.

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role

University

You could do a foundation degree or degree in:

  • computer games design
  • computer games development
  • computer science
  • interactive media
  • mathematics

If you'd like a job that includes game design as well as programming, you could do a foundation degree or degree in a subject like animation or graphic design.

You may have an advantage when you look for work if you do a degree that includes a work placement.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • at least 1 A level, or equivalent, for a foundation degree
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

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College

You could do a college course before moving on to a higher level qualification. It may help you to get a trainee position with a development company.

Courses include:

  • computing
  • creative media and games development
  • T Level in Digital Software Development

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

More Information

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Higher Apprenticeship to get into this career, such as:

  • Software Developer Level 4
  • Junior VFX Artist or Assistant Technical Director Level 4
  • Game Programmer Level 7 - postgraduate level

Foundation apprenticeship

You may be able to start in a junior or assistant developer role by doing a Software and Data Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship.

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

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Work

You could start with a company as a games tester if you play a lot of games.

You'll usually need a computing qualification or some relevant work experience. Employers will also be interested in your talent and creative ideas.

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Career tips

You can create a portfolio of work or online demo to highlight your skills to potential employers.

You can get information on how to start creating your own games from Into Games.

You can also search for games companies and educational institutions, offering courses in digital gaming, on the UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) games map.

Further information

You can get more advice about working in games development from ScreenSkills and Into Games.

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