What Does a Video Game Designer Do (and Why It’s More Than Gameplay Mechanics)

When most people hear the term Video Game Designer, they typically envision someone creating levels, puzzle elements, and combat scenarios.

However, the position goes beyond just selecting what button makes the character jump; video game designers construct interactive experiences, bridging technology and creativity to bring forth abstract interplay concepts that become playable art with emotional value.

In our latest article entitled “Video Game Art in the Next Era of Human Creativity,” we described why video games deserve to be seen as an art. However, this raises a larger question: who translates art? This is done through a Video Game Designer.

The question of “fun” (or boredom): Experience Architects

A Video Game Designer does not only inquire whether it is “fun.” They asked themselves:

• What is the player to feel at this moment?
• How does this mechanic tell the story?
• What audio/visual cues will enable a deeper level of immersion?

Take The Last of Us, for example; the tenuous scarcity of bullets is not an accident, but rather perpetuated by design.

As bullets are limited, designers have created tension, evoking the idea of survival, and reawakened the humanity that Joel and Ellie have lost. The mechanics and notion of meaning complement each other perfectly.

This is design, and much more than craft – it is art with purpose.

• Primary Responsibilities of a Video Game Designer

Depending on the studio’s size and role (narrative designer, systems designer, level designer, etc.), the responsibilities differ, but here are the core responsibilities of the position:

• Concept Development and World Building

The designer begins with questions: What is this game about? What is its emotional center? Then they construct the world, ambiance, and gameplay pillars that inform everything else.

Scenario: A designer of a VR fantasy game is considering whether players should point and click around the world or walk around more naturally.

That decision will determine how the player moves, how immersed they feel, the pacing, and their emotional connection to the world as a whole.

• Systems and Mechanics

Every single rule in a game, jump height, stamina consumption, and ultimately AI aggressiveness, are all intentional.

There is a delicate tug of war between players who want challenges and rewards for the challenges presented, and the opportunities to make players feel good without frustration.

Scenario: The sadistic death-and-retry system in Dark Souls is not a simple coincidence; it was a deliberate design choice. Game designers utilize it to keep tension alive, as well as introduce challenges to master, which stand to triumph when players eventually master a level.

• Narrative and Story

Games are not movies, but stories are important. Designers collaborate with writers to ensure that narrative and mechanics are in harmony with each other. A visual narrative cut scene can be dull when the player must engage in clumsy, ridiculous combat immediately afterward.

Scenario: In the game Journey, the lack of dialogue and limited user interface elements were intentional design decisions to minimize distractions and focus solely on the emotional narrative through visual aesthetic and movement from place to place.

• Working with Artists and Developers

Designers hardly ever work alone. They are the helpful bind that holds programmers, artists, animators, and sound designers together to ensure that anything can be a particular player’s experience.

Scenario: The designer could provide the 3D artist with direction on modeling “old, worn down buildings with cracks and weeds growing”, not just for visual quality, but to subtly convey the ill-fated player experience of urban decay.

• Iteration is Playtesting

The first draft is always a first draft. Designers test, teach, and edit repeatedly, refining their design and how its mechanics work towards their intended purpose.

Playtesting is not only mentioning there is a bug in gameplay, but allows the playtester to reveal “Did this level make you feel how they wanted (hoped) it to feel?

Why Video Game Designers Are Artists

Many dismiss game designers as engineers of fun. However, they are also engaged in cultural stories. When designers decide a character lives or dies, a puzzle reveals a door versus a memory, they are making artistic decisions about meaning.

This is why the argument we presented in Video Game Art in the Next Era of Human Creativity is relevant: art is about intention and expression.

Video game designers bring both. The designs of video games aren’t just about a set of mechanics; they are about the player experience and how millions of players experience joy, fear, loss, and discovery.

Skills Every Video Game Designer Needs

Becoming a designer requires a balance of creative and technical skills:

• Systems Thinking: As a designer, you will need to consider how the mechanics interact with each other and can anticipate player behavior.
• Storytelling: Designers will need to think in terms of arcs and emotional beats that enhance the gameplay.
• Collaboration: You will need to communicate across disciplines.
• Player Empathy: Designers will need to anticipate what players will feel, wrestle with, or enjoy.
• Adaptability: Keeping up to date on emerging platforms in VR, AR, AI-based games, and cloud ecosystems.

At places like MAGES Institute, aspiring designers not only learn tools like Unity or Unreal. They learn how to integrate those tools into impactful experiences.

The Future of Game Design: Leveling Up Artistic Expression

The next era of design will engage even more artistry. Consider this potential future scenario:

• AI-Powered Worlds: Designers will not develop scripted pathways; instead, they will create rules that enable the world to evolve dynamically, creating unique experiences for each player.
• Immersive VR & AR: Designers will determine how players will interact within fully embodied environments, allowing them to touch, move, and engage with the virtual world.
• Ethical Design: Since games can reflect social issues ranging from climate change to mental health, designers must consider how players can make responsible decisions and engage with these issues.

One potential scenario is the 2035 game, where your individual actions regarding land use will shape the land around you.

Forests will either grow back or die, depending on your decisions. As a designer, your goal was not just to entertain, but to create a moment of reflection about sustainability, empathy, and consequence.

Closing Thought

So, what does a Video Game Designer do? More than you might think. They’re not just mechanics, architects—they’re storytellers, world-builders, collaborators, and artists.

They hold the blueprint for experiences that resonate far beyond “fun,” experiences that can move players as profoundly as a film or symphony.

For aspiring designers, the message is clear: your craft isn’t just building games. It’s shaping the future of art itself.