11 Essential Game Design Skills

The video game industry is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the entertainment & media industry. In 2024, video games accounted for $224 billion in global revenue — more than the film and music industries combined. By 2029, the video games market is expected to grow to $300 billion.

For students aspiring to break into the exciting world of video game design and development, there are few prerequisite skills you’ll want to build before applying for that dream internship. That’s the purpose of this article: we’ll highlight 11 core skills for students who are passionate about game design to master.

Why Game Design Skills Matter

Game design requires a unique blend of creativity, technical ability, and collaboration skills. In large AAA video game development companies, designers can become highly specialized, often working on only one or two aspects of the overall design for years. However, in smaller, independent studios, game designers tend to be generalists, using their hands-on creative and technical skills to construct various components of the game. In both cases, game designers rely on their versatile soft skills to encourage effective communication and maintain overall design coherence and structure throughout the game. Even outside of the video game industry, having past experience in game design is valuable for demonstrating programming skills, soft skills, and artistic creativity.

Now, let’s dive straight into our list of 11 essential game design skills for students.

11 Key Game Design Skills

1. Storytelling and Narrative Design

First of all, not all games need to have stories. In fact, many games operate without using clear narrative storytelling elements, relying instead on other aspects of game design to keep players interested and invested. These include classic arcade games like Tetris and Pac-Man, sandbox games like Minecraft, puzzle games such as Xavier Burrow’s Sine or Jonathan Whiting’s Nest, some sports and racing games, as well as experimental art video games (such as my own game, Welcome to the Channel ˙✧˖°📺⋆｡˚). While some of these games have abstract or implicit storylines, they aren’t explicitly presented in a traditional narrative form.

Nevertheless, narrative storytelling can be a powerful tool in game development. For games with stories, the most important factors to consider are:

• Story arc. To construct a compelling plotline, first-time game designers should keep things simple with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

• Plot pacing and integration. Designers must prevent the plot from moving too quickly or too slowly and also balance and integrate the story with the gameplay.

• Worldbuilding. The game’s environment should be cohesive and immersive. How large is your game’s world? How old is it? Before you start prototyping, it can be useful to draw a map by hand or to use a digital tool to organize your ideas.

• Character creation. Characters are crucial for stories. That’s why the ability to create amazing characters is a valuable and sought-after skill in video game narrative design. It’s tough to define what exactly makes a compelling video game character. However, many of the most memorable characters undergo some form of evolution, or arc: their motivations and reactions change over the course of the game.

2. Coding and Technical Knowledge

In 2025, the most advanced game engines are currently Unity, Unreal Engine, and Godot. Unity uses a combination of C# and C++, and Unreal Engine runs on C++ only. In Godot, developers can choose to script in GDScript (their own language), C++, or C#. Alternatively, JavaScript libraries like PixiJS and Three.js allow developers to build browser-based games that run on the web with the WebGL API. While there is limited support for visual scripting in some engines, at least some degree of familiarity with a technical coding language is usually a necessary skill for video game development. 

Software and Technical Foundations

Game designers don’t need to master every tool, but familiarity with key programs and engines is essential. Beyond Unity, Unreal Engine, and Godot, designers often use:

• Art and design tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, Blender, or Maya for creating assets and visual effects.

• Prototyping and planning tools: Figma, Miro, or Notion to organize design documents and workflows.

• Version control and collaboration: GitHub or Perforce, which allow teams to work together on the same project without overwriting each other’s work.

• Analytics tools: Engines often have built-in dashboards or integrations that help measure player engagement and identify balancing issues.

Learning to use these tools doesn’t just make you more technically capable — it also prepares you to communicate effectively with programmers, artists, and producers on a development team.

3. Visual Design and Animation

Popular video games these days tend to be visually stunning. Proficiency with visual design and graphics is an enormously valuable skill for game developers, requiring a highly tuned combination of creativity and technical experience.

Blender is a powerful tool that is widely used by independent creators and professionals in the video game industry for both 2D and 3D modeling and animation. It’s also free and open-source. The software has a fairly steep learning curve, so it can take some time to learn. However, it is worth the investment of time and effort to be able to model, sculpt, rig, animate, texture, and render custom assets for your games.

4. UX and Player Experience

Games should be accessible and fun to experience. In fact, game designer Oleksandr Shpak describes his job as designing an experience, and then “reverse-engineering” the game to help players have that experience.

Cristina Lutcan, a UX designer, notes that with gaming, the “player experience” works differently from a typical “user interface.” For instance, if you were designing an app for online shopping, you would want the user to immediately understand how to place an item in their shopping cart, enter a shipping address and payment details, and place an order. Everything should be clear from the start for a non-gaming app.

Games, on the other hand, can’t be too easy. Gamers want to be challenged. It’s okay if the player fails at a task the first time. If a game were intuitive enough for the player to win on the first try, it probably would not be very interesting or motivating to continue playing. While the game’s objectives and motivations should be clearly communicated, players generally find it rewarding to spend time learning the controls and mastering subtle game mechanics.

5. Game Systems Design

Creativity and logic come together when designing the rules of any game, especially a video game. Game systems are the behind-the-scenes gears that connect mechanics to other mechanics and to the player’s interface. Systems designers must carefully construct the logic of how gameplay mechanics interact with one another, and how players interact with the game. For example, a systems designer working on a car racing video game might ask and address some of the following questions:

• Where is the player allowed to drive, and where are they not allowed to drive?

• Are there speed boosts available? If so, how many, and how much is the boost?

• Can the player improve their car’s performance in-between races? If so, how? Is there an in-game currency that players can spend on upgrades?

• Do players have unlimited fuel, tires, etc.?

• Do players need to memorize the race course, or is there a minimap or another mechanic to show the track? What happens if they go the wrong way?

• How can players tell where other racers are? What happens if two cars collide? Are players encouraged to use their cars to physically block other racers?

6. Testing and Iteration

Any game developer can attest to the importance of playtesting. Many games go through dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of iterations before release. Developers should play their own games constantly, and they should also gather frequent feedback from other gamers.

Fixing bugs and glitches is a very challenging part of video game development. Independent developers and even game devs at larger companies are generally responsible for testing and debugging their own work. Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) are valuable practices in development workflows that allow teams to reduce error. However, catching and fixing all possible bugs and glitches in a large and complex video game is incredibly difficult. For that reason, players often look for bugs and glitches and devise ways to exploit  them to their advantage during gameplay.

7. Music & Sound Design

Excellent music and sound design are essential to creating immersive and compelling video games. Game soundtracks provide emotional tension and energy, often tying in closely with the narrative design and player experience (both discussed above). 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, 2025) is a perfect example of how video games can use music and sound to advance story and gameplay. In a review for Game Informer, Kyle Hilliard wrote that the soundtrack’s “somber piano music and haunting vocals also help to set a very specific, sad tone that just feels right considering what the characters and the player are going through. But then multiple combat themes bring the energy back up at precisely the right moment.” The game’s music, composed by Lorien Testard, is so artistic that it even reached success on the Billboard charts as a classical music album.

8. Problem Solving 

This is a very important soft skill for game designers. It’s vital to be able to solve problems quickly and dynamically, remaining resolutely focused yet adaptable enough to change strategies if something isn’t working. Here are some best practices to keep in mind:

• Start by identifying the right problem. Often, in game design, a large portion of problem solving comes down to problem identification. If a part of the game isn’t working or is just boring, try breaking the issue into precise design questions before making any changes. For example: is the problem the camera angle? The geometry? The sound? The controls? Carefully interrogating the problem in the experience helps to locate the problem in the design.

• Be persistent. Game designers can’t let discouragement get in the way of their problem solving. Think like a great player: don’t give up!

• Ask for feedback. Once again, feedback is key in game design, and it will help you solve (and reveal) many stubborn issues.

9. Progressive Learning

Like characters in video games, game designers should constantly be learning new skills and improving existing ones. Here are a few tips for game designers to continuously level up:

• Start with the basics. Focus on the most foundational skills — i.e. the ones that are most important to your project — first. Once you can successfully and reliably execute those skills, then it’s time to move on to other techniques.

• Project-based development. The process of building a small game will force you to learn new skills and strengthen old ones, whether you’re working on your own or with a group.

• Small steps. By setting achievable goals, you will gradually level up your skills throughout game design processes. 

• Layer your skills. Find ways to overlap your competencies to build on previous accomplishments while expanding your range.

10. Collaboration

Great games are almost always made by groups working together. The more you refine your game design skills, the more likely it is that you’ll start collaborating with others on a team. At some point, you will almost certainly be required to work directly with teammates whose expertise and skillsets (and communication styles) differ from your own. Integrating your skillset with someone else’s is not always easy, but it’s crucial to growing your game and advancing as a designer.

11. Project Management

Considering the diverse and multidisciplinary set of skills required for game design, project management is an important addition to this list. Whether working independently or collaborating with teams, developers must divide up and prioritize tasks to complete, set and meet deadlines, and manage their time carefully in order to take a game all the way from storyboard to final release.

Building a Game Design Portfolio

For students serious about entering the gaming industry, a strong portfolio is often more valuable than a résumé. Employers and universities want to see evidence of creativity, problem-solving, and technical ability.

A good starting point is to create a few small, self-contained projects that demonstrate core design principles. These can include:

• A short, original game made in Unity or Godot.

• A reimagined level from an existing game that demonstrates your understanding of balance and flow.

• A design document outlining a new mechanic or system.

• A prototype created for a game jam or classroom project.

You don’t need a polished commercial product. Instead, focus on documenting your design process, showing how you took an idea from concept to completion, what you learned, and how you iterated along the way.

Educational Pathways and Industry Opportunities

For students who want to turn their passion for games into a career, there are many educational routes to explore. Some pursue bachelor’s degrees in game design, computer science, or interactive media. Others learn through online courses, bootcamps, or mentorship programs.

Polygence offers a unique pathway through 1:1 mentorship, allowing students to design personalized projects while receiving expert feedback. These experiences often serve as a launchpad for college applications, internships, or even independent game development.

Whichever route you choose, the key is to keep learning, building, and refining your ideas. Every small project you complete adds to your creative toolkit and moves you one step closer to becoming a professional game designer.

How to Build and Practice Game Design Skills

Working with an experienced mentor on small video game design projects or prototypes is the most effective way to build your game design skills as a student. Additionally, designers can join online communities based around game design and development. Finally, students can attend university degree programs that specialize in game design.

At Polygence, we connect ambitious young game designers with experienced mentors through our 1-on-1 mentorship program. Students get to design their project and receive 10 sessions of individual guidance. Alternatively, we offer Polygence Pods as beginner-friendly courses for students looking for a structured introduction to a cutting-edge subject they are excited to explore. All mentoring sessions and courses take place virtually, so you can attend from any quiet workspace with a stable internet connection.

Finally, participants in our new Work Lab program are placed in real-world startup companies (including indie game development studios) to complete hands-on projects with tangible learning outcomes!

Learn more about how Polygence can help you design your dream career in the video game industry!