What does a lead games designer do?
Lead games designers are responsible for how a game looks and what it’s like to play. They work with a small team figuring out the characters and props and what’s going to happen. Then they share those ideas with the rest of the team.
Once a game is being made, they make sure deadlines and budgets are met. They are the ones that decide if changes need to be made.
In smaller studios, they might do a wide variety of jobs too – the art, programming and marketing. But in large studios they would have writers, lead animators, creative directors and gameplay designers to help.
What’s a lead games designer good at?
- Knowledge of gameplay: imagine the best gameplay or game mechanics for the experience
- Knowledge of game engines: understand games engines and their abilities and limitations, have some programming skills and knowledge of UX and UI
- Communication: share the vision of the game with artists, programmers, producers and marketing staff, be persuasive with publishers
- Knowledge of the games market: aware of industry trends, able to explain the game within that context
- Project management: plan the creative production of the game
