Game design roles

Game designers come in all shapes and sizes. We've got generalists that work on everything as well as highly specialized craftsman put in charge of a single system. Creative leads often work on a high level, maintaining a cohesive vision for the game and shaping it through feedback, with typically little to no hands-on involvement.

There's no universal distinction, with roles and responsibilities varying between companies, but game designers can be roughly divided into:

• Generalists: Junior and senior game designers, as well as lead designers and creative directors. A generalist will often take care of (or feedback on) all areas of game design not already covered by someone else on the team.
• Economy designers/monetization specialists: A role very likely to be encountered in the mobile games industry as nearly all products require someone with expertise in designing and implementing a fitting monetization strategy, as well as balancing the game economy.
• Level designers: Often a crossover between a designer and a 3D artist. Some level designers only take care of the gameplay side of the level, while others are capable of delivering a finished stage.
• Mission/content designers: Rather than working on new features and game mechanics, these designers specialize in adding and balancing in-game content, from buildings, vehicles, NPCs, and weapons to quests, puzzles, achievements, and more!
• Narrative designers: Tasked with writing, designing, and implementing narrative elements in games. Often work hand-in-hand with level and mission designers to help craft a playable experience.
• Systems designers: A catch-all term for all designers focusing on the more high-level design of game mechanics, loops, and systems rather than content creation and balancing. Big game projects will often have a specialist taking care of multiplayer game modes, player progression, or combat.
• Technical designers: A term usually reserved for highly qualified mixtures of a gameplay programmer and a game designer, or used for a game designer empowered by tools and scripting languages. They design and implement new game features and mechanics, be it independently or by bridging the gap between design and programming teams.