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To Be a "Game Designer"

Nightingale·4/7/2014, 6:54:16 AM·2 votes·943 views

Awhile back I made a discussion on what it takes to be a programmer for Riot Games, and got some actual feedback from people who worked for Riot, and first off I just wanted to thank them for that because it was really uplifting to be able to get feedback from the people who already have a job at the place I was looking into. It helps more than I can put into words to get feedback from those who are already "there", so to speak. There being the job position that I would hope to somehow reach.

Now, this discussion is intended to be similar, but different. The last discussion was about programming, which is a passion of mine, but this discussion is on Game Design itself, which is yet another passion of mine. As a matter of fact, the passion for game design fueled what eventually became my passion for programming.

Looking on the Riot Games job page, as well as the internship page, there are positions for "Game Designers". When you look at what this entails, the vague idea seems to be that these people design, tinker with and modify systems and mechanics to make the game, well, fun! That sounds like something I'd definitely like to know more about, and that is what I'm asking about in this thread.

So what does it entail to be a game designer? What kind of person does it take to do it? If somebody wanted to apply for Riot as a Game Designer, what sort of things would be really cool to see on a portfolio? Would ideas or concepts for games that don't necessarily apply to League of Legends still be considered, even though they're not necessarily relevant, or would it be best to focus your portfolio on balance and champion mechanics?

This is getting incredibly long-winded, so I'll tie it up. I'm definitely curious to hear what anyone has to say though, whether you're a game designer for Riot, another company, or just somebody who has looked into it before, I'm really just looking to hear what people look for in a "game designer".

Thanks!

9 Comments

RiotMorello4/7/2014, 6:46:49 PM4 votes

Game Design is one of the harder fields to quantify well, as there's some combination of creativity and engineering that blends to create gameplay. Additionally, different companies not only want different approaches, but value different skills, though in my opinion, some of these skills are much better to have as they are highly applicable to more problems. Level design is hard to apply to mechanics and systems design, but strong fundamentals can apply to all fields pretty easily.

At Riot, we really value mechanics designers that use an Engineered-style approach. What this means is that understanding the nuts-and-bolts of mechanics, using them purposefully (towards some goal) and designing abstract gameplay patterns are the results we want from designers. We've learned a lot of how to articulate and teach this more as we've grown, and we're by no means perfect, but there's definitely a brand of design we care about particularly.

Some things that get us there:

  1. Understanding how to craft a decision-tree. This is something you see really clearly in great Euro board games (Agricola is likely one of the most transparent and rich examples) and deep competitive games. "That would be cool" isn't a good way to create a mechanic, but seeing how you expect players to make decisions, and what constitutes an interesting decision is.

  2. High abstraction; the ability to connect seemingly unconnected pieces of information, evaluate it, and apply it. This is generally a good problem-solving skill (which is what Game Design is, as a discipline) to have, and finding ways to evaluate and judge your own abstractions is key - it's the difference between someone who can use it as a tool, and someone like a conspiracy theorist :)

  3. Mental sgility. Raw intellect and horsepower is important to good mechanics design (whether it's required entirely, I'm not sure), but I think the ability to learn quickly and apply that learning quickly will allow you to get better mechanics. NO mechanic is right on the first shot, and will take testing, feedback, iteration and refinement to get right. Mental agility is the skill that allows you to do this effectively - it's also pretty correlated with good teamwork and collaboration skills. This is a skill no person in the world (us included) has "enough of." It's one of the most powerful mental tools you can develop.

  4. Widely- and deeply-played. I think most people confuse this aspect the most - especially when I talk to design-hopefuls at GDC or other events. While this is important (a lot of it because of the above abstractions you can draw from!), it's certainly not a thing that can cover up the others. "Passionate" goes in here too -important, but not in-and-of-itself a qualification.

  5. Intrigued by MAKING games, not just playing them. There's a certain amount of "crazy scientist" that comes into play here. Vennemoth has said it best; most game designers are doing it long before they're getting paid for it. This is part of why we take a special look at candidates with mapping or modding experience - the craftsmanship desire to do something players will value is there. Making something "for you" is a bit antithetical to this, though of course your own experiences will shape your creations.

Is this helpful to you at all?

Linna Excel4/7/2014, 8:23:12 PM1 votes

What is a decision tree and how do you make a good one?

Is that like a flowchart for options the players have?