Here's how you can overcome common challenges as a beginner in the Game Design field.

Tools like Unity or Unreal Engine are the bread and butter of game development, and while diving into them might feel like learning a new language, it’s totally worth it. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! the only way to master tools! Plus, who doesn’t want to add “game development sorcerer” to their resume?

Learning how to use popular tools is an excellent way to build your portfolio. Come up with a simple (and I mean very simple) idea for a game and try to implement it using a new engine or technology. If it works, great—now you can polish it and add it to your portfolio. Not all ideas will be good enough to showcase, but even in the worst case, you'll gain valuable experience. In the best case, you might end up with a market-worthy product (look at how well simple games like Buckshot Roulette can do).

Perfecting your games can be just as important as designing them, especially if you intend to show them to potential employers. To train in game development, you must be prepared to face all challenges, including addressing problems your own design has generated. If you stop at the design stage without testing on real players, you'll miss a crucial step in game production. Move along the process without fixating on any single part, aiming to finish your project without skipping steps. Don't focus on making the best game on the market, but do prioritize quality. Accept that smoothing out the player experience is critical for creating a commercially viable product.

As they say writing is re-writing. The same goes for game design. One practice I found quite helpful is to take the games I play, figure out their design patterns, mechanics, systems and see how I could improve them. Could I genuinely create a better version of X games? If I could re-do a certain mechanic in a game how would I do that. From there these designs can become a library you can go back to when designing original titles and borrow from. Also be prepared to re-work your designs, you might feel you have designed the greatest thing in the world but your play testers might say otherwise, figure out a process to understand if the design is the issue, the execution or if you chose the wrong audience.

Constructive criticism in game design is like a cheat code for success. Reach out to communities, forums, or mentors to get feedback on your work—think of it as gathering XP from various sources. Reddit and LinkedIn are the platforms I personally use, you can also try YouTube! (this is ignoring the obvious routes of friends family and co-workers!)

Remember, it’s not just about who you know; it’s also about who knows you and your work. So get out there and make those connections! LinkedIn or YouTube or Reddit! Connections and community is the key to an easy path!