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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

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

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

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.

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

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

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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