16.09.2025
Game development
Game design
Types of game designers
Game designers create immersive virtual worlds and design user experiences. Their main task is to make the game interesting and memorable. Such that gamers want to return to it again and again, and are ready to spend dozens of hours of their personal time in front of the screen. To do this, game universes are carefully designed, filled with characters , graphics and mechanics in accordance with the main plot.
Game designers simultaneously perform creative, technical, and managerial tasks, and participate in game development from the initial stages to release.
The profession of game designer itself is a fairly broad concept that encompasses several different specializations. In this article, we will talk about what types of video game designers exist and what tasks each of them performs.
Level designers
As the name suggests, a level designer is responsible for designing levels. They act as the director of a video game and integrate the work of other specialists - character models, textures, lighting, sound, and mechanics - into a cohesive project that players will interact with.
The level designer is also responsible for the difficulty of the levels, the location of enemies, secrets, additional challenges in the location, as well as their logical connection and the consistency of the storyline.
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System designer
A game system designer is a more technical specialty. He is engaged in the selection of technologies for the production of a game that can ensure its optimal performance, and also calculates the metrics necessary to ensure the gameplay.
An example would be the horror game Dying Light 2 with parkour elements, where the task of the system designers was to calculate the length of the main character's jump and the distance between objects he could grab onto.
Another example is the implementation of stealth mode in the Assassin's Creed series of games, which allows the player to move around enemies and remain unnoticed under certain conditions.
In fact, the system designer makes the calculations on which all other game mechanics and objects will be developed, and then combines these systems into a holistic mechanism.
Interface designers
The game interface is what connects the player to the game universe. It includes many elements: menus, graphics, health and mana bars, maps, loot design, and even visual effects. That is, everything that the user directly interacts with during the game. Depending on the specifics of the project, various specialists may be involved in the development of the interface .
2D Game Artist
Interface Artist for 2D games . In addition to creating graphics, he also optimizes animations and designs typography according to the overall style of the game. During his work, he interacts with the rest of the development team and, in particular, with other game designers, to determine the logic of use of each interface and improve its user experience.
3D Game Artist
A 3D graphics specialist, whose duties largely overlap with those of a 2D game artist, only performs them in three-dimensional space. To do this, he converts the concept into a 3D mesh, observing the correct geometry and proportions of each object.
Motion designer
An animation specialist who animates already designed static interface elements. For example, a motion designer visualizes the reduction of a character's health bar, displays damage dealt to an enemy, adds interactivity to skill upgrade menus, etc.
Narrative designers
A narrative designer works to create a logically correct and balanced virtual universe in which game mechanics complement the storyline, rather than contradict it.
To do this, it can use different types of content, including text, sounds, visuals, etc.
There are two main types of narrative:
- Visible – provided to the player in an open form: character stories, dialogues, and notes containing certain information.
- Hidden – formed by the player himself based on personal experience and emotions.
Combining them correctly allows narrative designers to create deep and memorable virtual universes that are fun to explore.
Balance designers
Game balancing is not only about balancing the systems that a system game developer is working on, but also about controlling difficulty and leveling up.
Balance designers work with numbers and mathematical calculations, and they determine how much experience a character gets for performing actions and how many points it takes to level up, how much damage a weapon does, how effective armor is, and so on.
Additionally, balance designers are constantly analyzing player actions and making adjustments to achieve a "golden mean" between overly difficult and easy levels.
Multiplayer games require special attention to balance. For example, in League of Legends, champion stats and gear are updated almost weekly, allowing you to monitor gameplay dynamics and player preferences at peak times. This keeps the game constantly changing and interesting for years to come.
Content designers
This specialist is responsible for developing content that will populate the locations. This includes creating scenery , writing dialogue, puzzles, quest scripts, and other elements that the gamer can interact with in the locations.
Diverse content fills the virtual world with meaning and makes the game more exciting, which increases the project's chances of commercial success in the market.
Game design at Arionis Games
To develop an exciting and balanced game, the actions of all game designers must be clearly coordinated. Arionis Games has already formed teams of specialists.
They have experience working together on projects, which significantly increases their productivity and the quality of the result. To learn more about game design development in our company, contact us by filling out the feedback form .
