About Game Design

Can a good designer design any type of game?

The question posed is a very open one and thus has many different ways of approach. Are we talking about one good designer in charge of the design aspect of a new genre he hasn’t worked on before? What criteria is the finished product being judged by, is a “good” designer making a “good game” enough, or are we talking blockbuster titles? Is the question focused on the swiftness of a designer to master a new genre, or are we talking about a designer’s ability to quickly jump between genres?

I would like to answer Yes to this question, but ultimately my instincts tell me No. The reason for this is that a good designer can probably make a good game, but I am not sure that is enough in today’s competitive market.

While I do believe the general skill set involved in making different types of games are transferable. I do not believe that the skills of making a successful FPS game can be directly transferred to making a successful realistic racing game. There are too many barriers to cross.

But then again, a good designer probably has enough experiences to quickly understand what is core in different titles; he is also a very quick learner and a good researcher. This gives him the tools needed to change genres if he wishes. But there is still a learning curve to each genre that everybody must go through, even the best designers.