You have almost completed the course. There's not much left, so keep on going! In this section, we'll review the basics of game design.
As you learned, the game designer's role is quite a broad one. The designers take care of the cohesiveness of the game's design and make sure that the missions, stories, and what not make sense to the players and the UI is simple to navigate and understand.
Games have surprisingly many things that need to be considered, starting from the pre-production and continuing all the way to publishing. First of all, every game design needs an idea on which to build.
The game needs more than just a basic idea, however, and that's when the game designers enter the picture. Many of them have an interest in a specific area of design, as some like to focus more on the game’s world or story and others rather on designing game mechanics. Here are some of the most common designer roles.
Lead Designer
Lead designers have responsibility of the decisions and management of the game development. They keep other designers in the loop and make sure that the overall design of the game stays cohesive.
Level Designer
Levels are designed by designers who need to see the bigger picture of the game's environments and its' obstacles. For a level designer, it is beneficial to have knowledge of programming and art.
Content Designer
As a content designer, your job is to design the playable material in the game - the quests, stories, and missions. The role’s requirements depend highly on the game genre, as big open-world games have multiple side quests and stories to follow in addition to the main storyline, for example.
System Designer
Commonly game characters, weapons, and leveling are based on a system. The number of system designers depends on how large the game is going to be. In a smaller production, one designer is enough, while larger games can have their own system designers for weapons and characters, for example.
Technical Designer
Technical designers work in programming and designing. They implement technical designs and may sometimes also develop tools that make it possible for the other designers to implement their designs.
Narrative Designer
These people are the storytellers. As the content designers focus more on the structures, the narrative designers get to write the material. Honing the skill of storytelling takes years, and the narrative designers never stop learning.
UI Designer
Some of the games' important elements are the menus and the icons. These are the UI designer's areas of expertise. They aim to make them as pleasant to use as possible.
Drag the items given into the corresponding tables.
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games, 2018)
Making new games isn't just about playing, gathering experience, and learning new skills. Many designers have supportive hobbies alongside their work, which encourages the creative process of design.
Having knowledge of subjects like human behavior and fundamentals of art can push a lot of ideas further. Utilizing people’s reactions in certain situations and meanings carried by colors is valuable information for a game designer.
Great job! The next thing ahead is the knowledge check. You can revise the course's material if you feel like it and then take the test.
Good luck!
The time has come to test your knowledge. All the questions are based on the material from this course.