What do they do?
Design core features of video games. Specify innovative game and role-play mechanics, story lines, and character biographies. Create and maintain design documentation. Guide and collaborate with production staff to produce games as designed.
Also known as:
Design Director, Designer, Environmental Artist, Game Design Consultant, Game Designer, Gamemaster, Level Designer, World Designer
No Data Available
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2.7%
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Ranks #33 in job growth rate250Job Openings
Ranks #13 in net job growth
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- Bachelor's degree (54%)
- Master's degree (16%)
- Some college, no degree (13%)
- Associate's degree (10%)
- High school diploma equivalent (5%)
- Doctorate or Professional Degree (1%)
- Less than high school diploma (<1%)
Most Popular Majors that prepare Video Game Designers
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#1
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Degrees Granted
40,331
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Female Students
8,540
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Male Students
31,791
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Median Starting Salary
$62,633
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#2
-
Degrees Granted
25,561
-
Female Students
5,380
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Male Students
20,181
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Median Starting Salary
$53,000
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-
#3
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Degrees Granted
9,330
-
Female Students
2,548
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Male Students
6,782
-
Median Starting Salary
$53,350
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#4
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Degrees Granted
6,110
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Female Students
3,547
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Male Students
2,563
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Median Starting Salary
$38,000
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#5
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Degrees Granted
5,282
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Female Students
3,609
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Male Students
1,673
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Median Starting Salary
$41,200
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Programming - Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
People in this career often do these activities:
- Design video game features or details.
- Collaborate with others to determine design specifications or details.
- Test software performance.
- Document design or development procedures.
- Communicate project information to others.
- Manage information technology projects or system activities.
- Manage documentation to ensure organization or accuracy.
- Prepare graphics or other visual representations of information.
- Update knowledge about emerging industry or technology trends.
- Analyze market or customer related data.
- Supervise information technology personnel.
- Develop testing routines or procedures.
This page includes data from:
Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
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