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Video Game Designer

Creative

Design core features of video games. Specify innovative game and role-play mechanics, story lines, and character biographies. Create and maintain design documentation. Guide and collaborate with production staff to produce games as designed.

Creative Arts & MediaComputer Science

Picture the job

Where you'd usually workA desk of screens, or a server room

  • Mostly indoors
  • Sitting for most of the day
  • Rarely dealing with the public

An illustration of a typical workplace, not a photo. The work-style notes come from US O*NET data, so read them as a guide.

In Malaysia

Malaysia's game industry grew from art-outsourcing studios, so most jobs are in game art rather than design. MDEC's 2024 Southeast Asian game talent report found game designers are the lowest-paid of the three main specialisations (behind artists and programmers), with Malaysia's industry-wide average at about USD1,275 a month. Well-known local employers include Lemon Sky, Passion Republic and international studios with KL offices.

How people get into it here
SPM → Diploma/Degree in game design/development, computer science or multimedia (e.g. APU, MMU, UTAR, Sunway, Limkokwing) → QA tester, junior designer or level designer at a studio → game designer → lead designer. A playable portfolio (game jams, shipped titles) matters most.
Demand
MASCO 2166 (Graphic and multimedia designers, which covers creating animation and visuals for computer games) is flagged as a critical occupation in eMASCO. eMASCO (KESUMA) – MASCO 2166 flagged 'Kritikal'

Sources:platform.mdec.com.my

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Cybersecurity Analyst

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. Typical entry

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationBachelor's degree

Quick answers

How do you become a Video Game Designer in Malaysia?

SPM → Diploma/Degree in game design/development, computer science or multimedia (e.g. APU, MMU, UTAR, Sunway, Limkokwing) → QA tester, junior designer or level designer at a studio → game designer → lead designer. A playable portfolio (game jams, shipped titles) matters most.

What should I study to become a Video Game Designer?

Related fields of study: Creative Arts & Media and Computer Science. SPM subjects that help most: Visual Art (PSV), Technical Comm. Graphics, Engineering Drawing and Computer Science / ICT.

How much does a Video Game Designer earn in Malaysia?

We don't yet have a Malaysian source we can cite for Video Game Designer pay, so we show no figure.

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Balance and adjust gameplay experiences to ensure the critical and commercial success of the product.
  2. 2Devise missions, challenges, or puzzles to be encountered in game play.
  3. 3Create core game features, including storylines, role-play mechanics, and character biographies for a new video game or game franchise.
  4. 4Solicit, obtain, and integrate feedback from design and technical staff into original game design.
  5. 5Conduct regular design reviews throughout the game development process.
  6. 6Develop and maintain design level documentation, including mechanics, guidelines, and mission outlines.
  7. 7Document all aspects of formal game design, using mock-up screenshots, sample menu layouts, gameplay flowcharts, and other graphical devices.
  8. 8Provide feedback to designers and other colleagues regarding game design features.
  9. 9Create and manage documentation, production schedules, prototyping goals, and communication plans in collaboration with production staff.
  10. 10Provide feedback to production staff regarding technical game qualities or adherence to original design.
  11. 11Guide design discussions between development teams.
  12. 12Create gameplay prototypes for presentation to creative and technical staff and management.
  13. 13Present new game design concepts to management and technical colleagues, including artists, animators, and programmers.
  14. 14Oversee gameplay testing to ensure intended gaming experience and game adherence to original vision.
  15. 15Prepare two-dimensional concept layouts or three-dimensional mock-ups.
  16. 16Keep abreast of game design technology and techniques, industry trends, or audience interests, reactions, and needs by reviewing current literature, talking with colleagues, participating in educational programs, attending meetings or workshops, or participating in professional organizations or conferences.
  17. 17Review or evaluate competitive products, film, music, television, and other art forms to generate new game design ideas.
  18. 18Write or supervise the writing of game text and dialogue.
  19. 19Consult with multiple stakeholders to define requirements and implement online features.
  20. 20Collaborate with artists to achieve appropriate visual style.
  21. 21Prepare and revise initial game sketches using two- and three-dimensional graphical design software.
  22. 22Determine supplementary virtual features, such as currency, item catalog, menu design, and audio direction.
  23. 23Create gameplay test plans for internal and external test groups.
  24. 24Provide test specifications to quality assurance staff.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Designer
  • 3D Artist
  • Gamemaster
  • Game Master
  • Game Tester
  • Game Designer
  • Game Engineer
  • Concept Artist
  • Game Developer
  • Level Designer

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Visual Art (PSV)Draws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Technical Comm. GraphicsDraws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Engineering DrawingDraws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Computer Science / ICTDraws directly on Computers and Electronics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Electrical & Electronic Eng. StudiesDraws directly on Computers and Electronics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Design85%

    Visual Art (PSV)Technical Comm. GraphicsEngineering Drawing

  • Computers and Electronics83%

    Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies

  • Communications and Media69%

    EnglishBahasa Melayu

  • Psychology66%
  • Mathematics66%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • English Language65%

    English

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicNot at all
  • Leading or coordinating othersHigh
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never
  • Time spent sittingAlmost all the time

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points, not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

17%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023, already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.29%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job, and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

On Malaysia's official shortage list

TalentCorp and ILMIA's Critical Occupations List, evidence of a real hiring shortage in Malaysia right now.

Digital Games and E-Sport Professionals · Shortage indicators met: INSUFFICIENT DATA

What beginner adverts asked for

We read 93 internship and fresh-graduate adverts in related fields (August 2026). A small sample from one job site, not every vacancy.

66 of 93 were internships

Allowance or pay, when stated

RM800 – RM2,800

50 of 93 adverts printed an amount: usually between RM800 and RM2,800 a month. Many print none.

Minimum CGPA asked

2.00 to 3.50

Stated in 8 adverts. Others did not state one.

Languages named

Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin

An empty line means the adverts did not say, not that employers have no requirement. Check each employer's own advert before you plan around it.

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Video Game Designers

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org