You’re about to start a career in game design. What are the most important things you need to know?

Being a Game Designer is like being a Restaurant Chef. The job is to create a product that can satisfy the "palate" of consumers, to such a degree that they are not only satisfied, but also enjoy the entire experience of consuming it and want to come back for more. But the challenge is to answer a simple question: What would be the recipe for a delicious dish?... which is exactly the same as asking; What would be the design of a good game? The only way to answer both questions is through experience, learning through trial and error, understanding people's taste and how the right ingredients are as important as how you use the tools.

Socialize. Meet people from the industry, listen and learn. Do not stay on the "I've read design books". Make small games, test your skills and make mistakes as soon as possible. Learn other pipelines, at least the process. It helps to scope designs.

First you should understand what kind of designer you want to be: - Combat Designer - Economy Designer - RPG Designer - User Experience Designer - Level Designer - Narrative Designer - Generalist Designer - ... Knowing this will allow you to better focus on what to learn and what are your short-term goals. Of course you don't need to decide it from the get-go, you can investigate what different kind of designer do to better learn what you want to be. Once you know what path you want to take, search for articles or other people that have already been on the path you want to be on and connect with them. Learning is the first step to becoming an awesome Game Designer.

No matter which Game Design sub-branch you choose (Mechanics, Economics, Psychology, Level, Narrative etc.), if you want to specialize quickly, you MUST also choose a Genre. You need to have a very, very strong internal motivation to specialize by constantly working on different Genres... The dynamics of each Genre are extremely different from each other, each targeting different people. In fact, if you are confused about choosing a Genre, that's bad news, because every person has a Genre that they really like the most, even if their favorite game doesn't belong to that Genre. If you are in such a situation, make an effort to find your Genre.

Starting a career in game design includes understanding game mechanics, storytelling, player psychology, and the technical aspects of game development. Learning these fundamentals allows you to appreciate the breadth of the field and the interplay between different elements of game design. It equips you with the tools to analyze and critique games effectively, developing a deeper understanding of what makes games engaging. Additionally, mastering the basics serves as a springboard for innovation, enabling you to push boundaries and create unique gaming experiences. As the industry evolves, a solid grasp of foundational principles ensures you can adapt to new technologies and trends, keeping your designs relevant and compelling.

Game Design is a very recent field and as such there is not much theory out there to get started. The best way to gain knowledge is to study existing games. Try to play games that have global acclaim and try to understand what makes them work. At the same time play also bad games and understand why those games don't work. Use the knowledge of previous Game Designers that have come before you to better understand the craft.

Read books, analyze other people's games Today, there are many excellent books available on the topic of game design that help you understand the basics of game design. Read a few, then take out your favorite games and analyze them with your new knowledge. Do you recognize their game mechanics? Can you see their deeper operating systems? You have already taken a step towards game design. Imagine a simple game and try to break down its operation into systems in detail. The job of the game designer is to transform the interactions into game rules and include them in a system. If you acquire a routine in this, you will be able to communicate your ideas to others in professional language.

One of the two most important tools you will use are Presentation Slides and Spreadsheets. Slides will allow you to communicate your ideas to other people, which is key in transimiting your vision to other human beings. Spreadsheets will allow you to quickly validate Game Design ideas as well as game progression. Once you are familiar with those two tools you can start learning different Game Engines like Unreal, Godot or Unity and learn a little bit of scripting so you can create your own prototypes. Being able to actually test what you design will help you stand out among other Game Designers.

It's crucial to have a portfolio, especially since formal education in this field can be hard to come by. It will be your ticket to showcasing your skills and creativity to potential employers or collaborators. Don't worry if it's not filled with published games; the key is to show that you can create something fun and engaging. Include any projects you've worked on, from digital games to game mockups or even board games. If coding isn't your strong suit, focus on your design ideas and concepts. Demonstrating your ability to think creatively and solve design challenges is what counts. A well-crafted portfolio with a variety of projects can speak volumes about your capabilities and passion for game design.

Game Design is difficult to showcase, so the best way to get your skills validated is to actually build things. What I recomend is that you create small games. Come up with interesting ideas and create little prototypes out of that to show what you excel at. If you can not come up with your own ideas, try to replicate existing game mechanics to showcase that you understand their underlying workings and that you are able to prototype whatever you need. At the same time I recommend you to write some GDDs ( Game Design Document ) that you can showcase, thus showing that not only you can prototype, but that you know how to communicate ideas.

Most engines nowadays are designer friendly, meaning it's easy to get in and start prototyping despite not being the greatest developer. Focus on using tools that allow you to execute quickly without too much knowledge. Unreal's visual scripting blueprints is really great for this and very designer frinedly, and Unity has plenty of plugins that allow you to make games with limited coding knowledge! Don't let lack of technical skills prevent you from showing off how good your sense of design is!

In my experience networking is the best way to find your future job. People simply recommend you to companies :) And you’ll have somebody to ask for a piece of advice (maybe even a good friend in the future)

Networking and getting exposure. If a tree fall in the forest and there's no one around to hear it - did it make a sound? You are that tree. There's a framework called PIE which is applicable on things like success, getting a promotion, etc. It stands for: Performance, Image and Exposure. Performance is 10%, Image 30% and the rest is Exposure. Let people know about all your work!

Networking was vital to me recently landing a job in the industry. It wasn't so much that conversations and connections led directly to employment, but that they led to learning. I attended Develop and smaller local conferences. I asked what people were looking for in the game designers they hired, got face-to-face feedback on my portfolio, and had relaxed conversations about games that had recently found success. I learned loads through all of this, and built my confidence in applying, and it was this combination that I feel led to me getting hired.

Start to do research about all types high revenue games in several market or potential market you towards. Pick one and play day by day to find your own inspiration. Then the road will appear in front of you.

Don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes. Recognising errors in your design can help you more critically analyse your ideas in the future. And since you may be seeing your own ideas with rose tinted glasses, put your ideas in front of the team. You never know what angle you may have not considered or what edge case may have been unaccounted.

Game Design is an evolving field, you should always continue learning and being curious. Every month, new genres appear that take the world by surprise ( Fortnite, Vampire Survivors, etc ). It's by continued learning that you will be able to keep your game design fresh. At the same time, even if you only want to focus on a very specific kind of design, like Combat Design, there is always more to learn every day. A fighting game like Street Fighter or Smash Bros can have an infinite amount of complexity and nuances that will keep you learning for a long time.

No one is hiring you for your ideas or how creative you are. You are a problem solver, a master of connecting concepts and making sense of systems, features, requests, interactions, and player expectations. Ideas have no value, focus on execution, delivering results, and researching and validating with your players.

Game design is one of the most challenging disciplines in the video games industry. You can learn about it taking lessons, reading books and playing games. You can make a design that looks great on the paper but how can you really know that this is fun to play? I would recommend anyone with interest in becoming a game designer to learn a bit about prototyping. You don’t need to be a great programmer or artist, but you must understand their language, their restrictions and limitations and how you can tune a game to convert a software program into something fun. And be very critic with what you are doing and see the game as a player. Today’s market is crazy and you must get users’ attention immediately. User experience as a whole is key.

Staying updated on industry trends is essential, no matter your preferred platform. The gaming world is fast-paced, with new technologies, design philosophies, and player preferences emerging all the time. Make it a habit to follow gaming news, participate in forums, and play a variety of games, including those outside your specialization. Attend workshops, webinars, and conferences whenever possible to learn from leading experts and especially to network with other designers.

Be open to all games, play as much as possible One of the best pieces of professional advice I've ever received is to be open to as many games as possible. You should always be interested in what's new, but it's also worth getting to know the works of old. In this way, you will be constantly aware of what is new, but you will also have a comprehensive picture of the evolution of design. It's important to recognize what works and what doesn't, and one of the best ways to do that is to keep expanding your knowledge. Don't just play the best titles! Also try games that were not critically or commercially successful. And always have a game that you know all the corners of. This helps to see the nuances that must be included in a good game.

For newcomers. Manage your expectations, in my experience it's easy to underestimate the amount of work and breadth of skills and knowledge needed to do game design well. Many games are made by a multitude of very skilled people