Opinion: How To Hire A Good Game Designer
[In this passionate opinion piece, Codemasters principal designer Phil O'Connor outlines 10 different ways you can spot a "real game designer" during the resume and interview process, and avoid hiring ineffective or unqualified applicants.]
I have the incredible fortune of being paid to design games. I consider this a privilege, the result of some luck, but at the same time, it’s something I worked for years at achieving.
I wanted to be a game designer from a very young age, and I built up the experience and knowledge that eventually convinced people to hire me to do this.
As someone who worked so hard to break into the industry, I have a somewhat stronger opinion than most about the quality of game designers that get in. I feel that every designer should pay their dues before they're allowed anywhere near game design, and that they should be supremely qualified as students of gaming! Sadly the demand for designers has created a situation in the industry where many people getting into design positions don’t fit the bill.
Game design is one of the most tricky and contentious positions in the game industry. No two companies I have worked with have treated the position of design in the same way. Some designers have producer-type duties/powers, others treat them like artists, and yet others don’t have design positions at all but instead assign the job to a producer, coder or artist.
The only thing that everyone seems to agree on is that you need game designers. The problem is, however, that everyone is a game designer, or thinks they are. What I mean by that is everyone can come up with game design ideas, ideas are a dime a dozen.
Game Designers Suffer From a Credibility Problem
The art of game design is getting the right combination of ideas for a game, communicating them effectively to the team, and executing those ideas through the cycle of development (from conception, to prototyping, to modification, and to the final implementation/cut stage).
The problem is that game designers suffer from a credibility problem. One of the causes of this is the lack of professional accreditation for game design. I realize there are schools now that supposedly “teach” game design, and you can even get a degree in it now, but most developers laugh at the idea of a 23-year-old graduate in game design having any clue about designing a computer game.
The best school for game design remains industry time, at least the years development experience and, at the very minimum, one shipped title. Since most designers working in the industry don’t have a degree in design, many of your peers are reluctant to treat you as an authority in your field, especially since anyone and their dog can come up with game ideas.
There is constant skepticism from colleagues holding computer science degrees and art diplomas about your qualification to make critical decisions about the game. Producers are also prone to “suggest” designs because they have managerial authority, and this makes them sometimes believe that they are better qualified to make design decisions than you are.
Another obstacle to the credibility of game designers is that the field attracts a good degree of charlatanry. The very nature of game design work (mostly ideas driven, no professional qualification necessary) attracts the kind of people who think they can BS their way into the job. Too many of them succeed and thus give designers an even worse name.
For development studios, this can have a fatal effect, and in an effort to improve the reputation of my profession among my peers and help developers hire the right people, I am providing some advice on how to properly interview for game design positions.
Obviously, if the candidate has dozens of shipped AAA titles under their belt and has a proven record, you don’t really need this list. Any candidate who has less than three years in the industry is more difficult to assess, so hopefully these suggestions will help pick the right people.
Ten Ways to Spot a Real Game Designer
The Resume:
1. Look for signs of a deep interest in gaming. The resume should indicate gaming as a way of life, not just a job. Modding experience is especially a key sign. Anyone who wants to be a game designer has an extensive record of making games in their spare time, for free: making levels for favorite games, modding, writing game material, creating board games, RPG background, story writing, etc.
Game designers must be gaming fanatics, not just playing them, but making them in multiple mediums. Beware any game designer that doesn’t play games every spare second of their time or have an extensive history of game making. Look for a long history of gaming interest, not just a sudden career change decision.
Some developers decide that they are tired of being producer/artist/programmer and they want to go into game design. Although experienced, they may not be suitable for design work despite this. Candidates that have a knack for game design usually have demonstrated a passion for game mechanics stretching from early adulthood.
2. Look for a wide variety in gaming taste: A real designer should have a wide interest in games, not just a single format. Look for signs of this wider interest in their hobbies, or ask them what kinds of games they play.
Ask them to describe what they like about each kind of gaming. They should be able to do this at length. I am talking cross platform, boardgames, RPGs, and the classics: cards, chess, backgammon, etc. Good designers borrow the best ideas from all mediums.
3. If the resume lists design credit on shipped games, ask them to describe in detail what their design contribution was to those games. A real designer should be able to go into extensive detail on this, most designers are proud of the work. If the response is vague, you are probably talking to a charlatan.
The Interview:
If you follow these steps in an interview process, you should be able to spot the bull from the real deal:
1. Any designer should be able to describe mechanics in a way that is understandable. If you ask the designer candidate to come up with a sample feature for your game, ask them to describe how the feature will work mechanically. A real designer can describe mathematically and mechanically how a feature will function and be implemented with other game systems, down to every detail.
For example, if a designer talks about how the AI will be able to react to the player’s actions, they should be able to detail exactly how that will work: will it be based on how many “bad behavior” points the player has accumulated, will it depend on triggers set in the dialogue system that will play specific responses, will it be based on a proximity system that the AI checks when the player is within range, assessing the player’s reputation points, shown weapons, clothing, etc.
If a candidate cannot describe probabilities, mathematics, or outline game systems supporting a feature, then they probably are not the real deal.
2. A game designer should be able to explain clearly any of their design ideas. If they cannot make you understand how their idea works, then you should pass. All true designers are able to explain how their ideas work and play to any audience.
That is one of the biggest jobs of game design, translating the feature to the team in a manner that they can understand it and integrate it from their point of view: for coders its codese, for artists its artese, sound language, producer talk, and marketing speak.
3. Making the game is also selling the game. A designer must be able to communicate why the game is fun to you. They have to be able to do this in under a minute and leave you with the unmistakable feeling that they are right. Any designer who doesn’t understand that you are selling it the minute you start making a game, is not a designer.
A designer has to sell to all sections of development, not just the management and marketing departments. Designers have to tell everyone working on the game how fun it’s going to be without a playable version for many months to come.
They are the cheerleaders for the project early on until there is something to show. In an interview, ask the potential candidate to pitch you a favorite game concepts they would like to work on, and if you are not convinced it’s fun, them maybe they are not right for you.
4. A true game designer should be able to describe in detail what they like/dislike about a game. Ask them to talk about their favorite and least favorite games. Ask them to explain why they like/dislike them.
Lackluster opinion in this area is a Bad Sign. So is an answer that amounts to them not liking the color of the interface or the names of some of the characters. They should be able to provide clear and solid reasons for their opinion.
5. Wide areas of interest: A real game designer is inspired by the world around them: books, news events, music, history, movies, art, etc. Depending on the type of game you are interviewing for, this may be one of the most critical questions you can ask.
Ask the candidate to talk about their personal interests, what kind of books they read, movies they watched, any other personal interest them may have. A real designer should have extensive and wide interests, bringing those interests to bear in their design. One question I ask is what their favorite movie is and why. The answer can tell you a lot about the kind of designer they are. A short answer is usually a Bad Sign.
6. Attitude: Beware the Ideas Man. Some people think game design is just about coming up with bright ideas. They fancy themselves the smartest person in the room, therefore employers should be begging to hire them so they can get their hands on their wonderful ideas, which naturally will make millions. This attitude is fairly easy to spot. Stay away!
Another type to stay away from is the Industry Fanboy. A fanboy is someone who is intimately aware of the debates and major conventions of gaming, knows all the top games and the buzz about them, but doesn’t understand game design or have anything original to contribute. They rely on the game press and popular opinion for their understanding of games, basically copying what other people have said and done. They known the canon, but cannot elaborate on it or expand on it themselves.
Some may think this is not such a bad thing, so as an illustration consider someone who has learned a guitar piece by heart: they can play it perfectly, note for note, but if you ask them to interpret the piece by adding a blues feel to it or a jazzy tone, they cannot comply. They known the piece, but they don’t know much about music. Designers can be like that.
Listen to the candidate talk about games and the gaming industry -- if a lot of it sounds familiar, if it sounds straight off the pages of the game press, or if the words are not their own, you are probably dealing with a fanboy.
7. No design survives first contact with code: Ask them to describe an example of a feature change/cut and how they adapted to it. If they worked on a game, they should be able to describe at least one feature in the original design that was cut (for whatever reason), and describe why they chose that feature and how it impacted the rest of the game.
Make sure they go into detail on how the cut impacted other gameplay features, as well as how they took that into account. A real designer should be able to recall in detail the circumstances surrounding such traumatic (but inevitable) events. If they sound like they didn’t care about the feature in the first place, or if don’t have a feature cut story, this could be a bad sign.
Conclusion
Note that none of these 10 points on their own are an indication that the candidate is not suitable. But if you sense that the person in front of you checked off a good number of these warning signs, you might want to reconsider giving them a position on your team.
Of course, even if your candidate checked positive on all of them, there is no guarantee that the person will work out for your project or your culture. There are many factors that make someone a good employee that are beyond the scope of this article, but at least you may have better confidence that they are actually real game designers. Happy hiring.
[O'Connor has worked on several upcoming and shipped titles, including O.R.B, Battlefield Europe, Operation Flashpoint 2. He previously worked as a consultant for his company Iconoclast Games before joining Codemasters in 2006.]
Comments
Very good points. It's nice to see a true professional confirming my opinions on what makes a game designer.
However, there is one point I slightly disagree with: the idea man. I believe that there are people who really are geniuses when coming up with ideas, and therefore shouldn't be immediately dismissed, even though they might have an arrogant attitude. And I don't mean ideas as in two sentences long description which anyone really can come up with ("it will have robots and bunnies and awesome world with good graphics and good multiplayer"), but ideas as in how the game should work as a whole. Good ideas are thore where every aspect and feature integrate well to form a working, complete game.
Someone might argue that that's not idea-level anymore but rather more detailed design, but I think the good ideas tend to be exactly that: complete revelations about the game, not just single aspects of it like the setting or control system. Of course that doesn't mean that one immediately knows every single detail about the game, but everything that really matters really does come withing really short time of the first flash.
Posted by: Anonymous (not from 4chan) | October 4, 2008 4:55 PM
There's a difference between an idea-man and a designer, and I think that was the point.
The issue isn't that people with Big Ideas aren't useful, they just shouldn't be in charge of design.
Posted by: obo | October 4, 2008 4:59 PM
"Beware any game designer that doesn’t play games every spare second of their time...."
What an awful thing to say! I couldn't disagree more. It's no wonder why the games business is so incestuous, always finding inspiration in its own creations.
Game design is the art of crafting interactive experiences. As such, wouldn't it be nice if the designer behind your project was coming in with a whole lot of life experience to draw inspiration from? Maybe a designer who spends her spare time hiking or doing volunteer work at the local animal shelter. Maybe he enjoys painting or stand up comedy. Are you really going to dismiss designers who embrace the idea of having lives outside of games?
The article tries to save itself with point #5 of the interview section, but I can't help but feel like there's a huge population of extremely talented designers who wouldn't survive this interview process because of how small the scope is.
Posted by: Bryant | October 4, 2008 6:49 PM
I *totally* agree with Bryant - this article reads more like a checklist for "A True Gaming Hardcore" than selection criteria for someone that's supposed to be an artist!
Imagine if a movie director was interviewed based on whether or not they watched movies "every spare second of their time". The idea is just absurd.
Perhaps what the author is suggesting is that game designers should have a *passion* for gaming, which I wholeheartedly agree with. That said, this article makes seriously consider some people's claims that there really is something fundamentally wrong with the games industry.
Posted by: Ben Abraham | October 4, 2008 9:13 PM
Speaking as an outsider, I can say one thing that, were I in charge of hiring a designer, I'd look for, whether it be video or board:
Math ability.
Games ARE math. Mathematics is everywhere in them. Maybe not advanced math (although it can't hurt), but enough of math that it's soaked into the soul. And nearly any kind of mathematical ability will be helpful in some way.
At the very least, all designers must read a as many of Martin Gardner's old Mathematical Recreations columns from (the good) Scientific American as they can. They were what introduced celluar automata to the wider world. They are brain changers.
Posted by: John H. | October 5, 2008 2:13 AM
I think that the hiring process of a game designer will necessarily relate to what exactly you want from them.
Are you looking for someone to pitch you whole games within a particular genre? Do you have a specific game concept that just needs fleshing out? How important is the story to the overall game? Is this an existing IP or will you create a new concept? What is the design process of your particular company?
Hiring a game designer should be about finding a qualified individual who will be able to thrive in your particular situation. If you're making a sequel to a long-running RPG, then someone with a strong background in history and mythology and writing ability will be preferable to someone who can describe mathematically the acceleration dynamics of the player's movement in their favorite arcade shooter. But if you already have a talented writer who has the whole script well in hand, then you're gonna want the guy who sits down and identifies the major obstacles and obfuscations in the existing game's UI and imbalances in the game's design. Perhaps, for example, magic is a limited resource used for more than just killing bad guys, as in FF8, which leads to players avoiding the use of magic, since that magic is not sufficiently more effective than physical attacks, which serves to create obvious routes for min/maxing that in essence diminish player choice.
The game designer you choose should depend on the specific role they will play in your organizational structure.
Posted by: Uriah Zebadiah | October 5, 2008 2:06 PM
Oh look, it is a picture of der Struwelpeter! That was one of my favorite books, which scarred my psyche at a very young age.
Also, I agree with some of the other kommenters -- one who does nothing but play games all the time does not of necessity make a good game designer.
Posted by: Karsden Mörderhäschen | October 5, 2008 4:27 PM
To Bryant and Ben Abraham:
The author hasn't bothered to respond to this, so I guess I will. In short, you both hit the nail on the pointy end. In picking a game-designer for your team, you want someone who lives and breathes gaming. Gameplay and game design have an internal "language" of style and structure that a good designer will know as well as an author knows the "language" of plot and character.
So yes, you want someone who lives and breathes gaming. If they aren't spending their every waking moment immersed in gaming, they should be thinking about it and throwing together mechanic-systems that tickle their fancy. Non-gaming interests are important to round out their experiences as a person, but if you hire someone whose passion isn't gaming over someone who is - well, you get what you deserve.
Posted by: Mycroft | October 6, 2008 12:39 PM
Aside from more-or-less agreeing that the candidate
need not "do the thing all the time", I think this
is a pretty good list for considering all kinds of
software design candidates,
not just games.
Posted by: jrl | October 6, 2008 3:09 PM
I would have to agree with Mr. O'Connor that good game designers should constantly be playing games. I don't think that this concept is absurd in the least. Any artist or creator should be completely obsessed with his/her art form. Nabokov and Borges constantly read books, Scorsese is a well-documented, obsessive film viewer, and Picasso constantly studied different kinds of visual art from a very early age. You should want to take in as many examples of what you do as possible. This isn't to say that you ignore everything outside of your art form's sphere (I also agree with the "wide areas of interest" point), but if you don't love playing games, why would you want to make one?
Posted by: Krouch | October 9, 2008 9:41 AM
My name is Judi Chung and I am a Recruiter at ATR. Currently, I am working on 3 very FUN positions:
1. MOBILE GAME DESIGNER
2. PC GAME ENGINEER
3. J2ME/BREW ENGINEER
If you are interested, please email me your MS Word resume to judic@atr1.com ASAP. Please provide your salary / pay rate expectation.
(1) Mobile Game Designer
Xyz America is looking for experienced game designers with the desire to create games for the ever-expanding mobile market. The Mobile Game Designer is responsible for generating a detailed, comprehensive Game Design Documents, which are the roadmap for the entire development team. An important part of the role is then communicating that vision clearly and concisely to the rest of the team. A strong technical or art background is highly desired. Designers are a key member of the Production team and are expected to proactively create, manage and coordinate the implementation of game designs with a primary focus on product quality.
Responsibilities:
" Communicating the game design and vision to the team and company.
" Designing and documenting the creative vision of mobile games, from high concept to complete GDD.
" Delivering unique, innovative and engaging designs while dealing with technical and other possible limitations.
" Communicating with artists, programmers and other members of the design team.
" Galvanize team members around the design's core features and build excitement about the game throughout production.
" Develop and implement positive changes to the game based on feedback from QA, consumer insights, senior staff members, and others.
" Responsible for the organization of design, programming and production documents.
" Remaining current on industry trends, game design techniques.
" Creating mock-ups of gameplay mechanics, menus and user interface.
" Balancing and adjusting game-play experiences, features and mechanics.
" Delivering unique, innovative and engaging designs while dealing with technical limitations.
" Giving and accepting critique in a constructive manner.
" Collaborate on game balancing and overall game experience.
" Responsible for developing the highest quality, most imaginative and fun casual titles!
Qualifications:
" Minimum of 3 years of professional experience as a mobile game designer.
" Credited as a Designer on 2 or more titles.
" Disciplined , Self-managed and self-motivated with a strong work ethic
" Strong organizational skills, superior communication skills and excellent writing skills are a must.
" Ability to multitask and be flexible about changing role requirements.
" Ability to think creatively and analytically.
" Creative problem solving ability.
" The ability to document ideas, concepts, and technical design in a format that is easy for all team members to understand.
" A thorough understanding of major elements of game design including story, dialog, interface, character interaction, mission /environment design, look and feel, AI, combat, strategy, game-flow, balance and difficulty.
" The ability to productively discuss ideas, decisions, and communicate ideas in a wide variety of aesthetic areas.
" An in-depth understanding of how gameplay works and how to create fun, meaningful experiences for the player.
" Able to both conceptualize and implement game ideas using various tools and technology.
" Able to craft a fun game experience based on an established game mechanic.
" Willing and able to design within technical and other constraints.
" Passion for interactive computer/video/mobile games.
Bonus
" BA/BS degree in related field or equivalent training preferred.
" Programming or Scripting language experience.
" Familiarity with C++ and JAVA a plus.
" Knowledge of wireless devices.
" Testing/QA experience a plus.
" Prototyping skills a plus.
Professional Attributes
" Enthusiastic, outgoing, excited about working at Xyz and possesses a positive attitude about the potential of this company.
" Must be responsible, accountable, and proactive.
" Must be a flexible and strong team player who enjoys managing multiple projects.
" Possesses a friendly and professional manner.
" Able to listen to and implement constructive criticism.
" Supportive, not only with primary responsibilities described above, but also cross-functionally supportive with a "roll-up-your-sleeves" attitude towards getting things done. Does not "pass the buck," even if it is not within your job description.
Thinks "out of the box" with ability to come up with creative solutions
(2) PC Game Engineer
PC Game Engineers are responsible for developing game content for personal computers. We are looking for junior-level to advanced-level candidates. The ideal candidate should have at least 2 years experience in the game industry working as a PC Programmer.
Responsibilities:
" Developing PC games for a variety of platforms (such as Windows).
" Optimizing the performance of games to support a wide range of hardware.
" Implementing and testing DRM tools for the company's products.
" Creating and maintaining utilities for use in development.
" Creating and maintaining technical documentation.
" Working closely with the development, design, and QA teams to meet completion deadlines for each project.
" Integrating change requests and playtesting feedback.
Specialized Knowledge/Expertise Requirements
" Must have at least 2 year experience in the PC game industry as a programmer.
" Proficient in C/C++.
" Passionate gamer and creative problem solver.
" Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
" Excellent debugging and optimization skills.
Bonus Skills:
" Knowledge of DirectX 7 and later versions.
" Experience designing and implementing user interfaces.
" Casual games development experience.
" Experience with BREW API.
" Flash, 3D graphics
" Network programming
Professional Attributes
" Must be responsible and accountable; enjoys collaborating and follows through on multiple complex projects.
" Good communicator who possesses strong written and oral communication skills.
" Enthusiastic and outgoing, excited about working at Xyz and possesses a positive attitude about the potential of this company.
" Supportive, not just within the division but also cross-functionally supportive, with a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude towards getting things done.
" Able to listen to and implement constructive criticism.
" Well-organized and detail-oriented.
" Demonstrates excellent analytical skills.
" Thinks "out of the box" with ability to come up with creative solutions.
" Strong team player.
(3) J2ME/BREW Engineer
Mobile Engineers are responsible for programming and porting mobile game content using J2ME and BREW. We are looking for junior-level to advanced-level candidates. The ideal candidates should have at least 1 year experience in the mobile content industry as programmers.
Responsibilities:
" Porting existing games to new handsets, platforms and carriers.
" Working with a team to develop and program new games for mobile platforms.
" Creating and maintaining tools for use in development.
" Creating and maintaining technical documentation.
" Working closely with the development, design, and QA teams to meet completion deadlines for each project.
" Integrating change requests and playtesting feedback.
Specialized Knowledge/Expertise Requirements:
" Must have at least 1 year experience in the mobile content industry as programmer.
" Passionate gamer and creative problem solver.
" Proficient in C/C++ and/or Java.
" BREW and/or J2ME programming experience.
" Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
" Excellent debugging and optimization skills.
" 3D graphics and/or network programming knowledge a plus.
Professional Attributes:
" Must be responsible and accountable; enjoys collaborating and follows through on multiple complex projects.
" Good communicator who possesses strong written and oral communication skills.
" Enthusiastic and outgoing, excited about working at Xyz and possesses a positive attitude about the potential of this company.
" Supportive, not just within the division but also cross-functionally supportive, with a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude towards getting things done. Does not "pass the buck" even if it is not within your job description.
" Able to listen to and implement constructive criticism.
" Well-organized and detail-oriented.
" Demonstrates excellent analytical skills.
" Thinks "out of the box" with ability to come up with creative solutions.
" Strong team player.
Judi Chung
Staffing Specialist
ATR International, Inc.
39899 Balentine Drive, Ste. 218
Newark, CA 94560
judic@atr1.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/judijudijudi888
510-657-5555 x105 phone
510-657-5354 fax
www.atrinternational.com
"STAFFING SIMPLIFIED."
Posted by: Judi Chung | February 23, 2009 12:43 PM
this article was a butt hurt bawwwwwwfest through and through
Posted by: a game designer | April 7, 2009 11:38 AM
Since I want to go into game design, this is the kind of article that really helps out. I would agree 100% with the opinion that college teaches you nothing. I am currently going through a game design minor which covers the same stuff i was doing 3-4 years ago when learning modding. It is really encouraging to note that i have most of the characteristics you said you are looking for. Hopefully there are people like you doing the recruiting for internships next summer.
My only question is when it comes to math. How much of games require higher level calculus? I'm not a very good mathematician, but from what i have seen in the mod utilities of games like Battlefield and Crysis its mostly stuff you would learn in calc 1 or 2. Are these triple integrals and differential equations really used? Or would a good understanding of Euler's Method and vector calculations be sufficient? I have talked to some designers who have told me higher level math is not really necessary while other people tell me that game design is math. I get the opinion that people not in game design equate many calculations with higher math, but I would like to get an opinion from someone who is hiring on how important math is.
Posted by: zephoid | April 14, 2009 10:33 PM