Hiring guide
How to Hire a Game Designer
Hiring a game designer: specialisms to define, where to source, a design-doc and rebalance work sample, red flags and how to judge playable portfolios.
The short answer
Hiring a Game Designer comes down to verifying systems and mechanics design, clear design documentation and prototyping in unity, unreal or a scripting tool before you commit interview time. The process below runs 5 stages, screens on evidence rather than résumé claims, and scores every candidate against the same criteria.
- Watch for: Portfolio contains only concept documents with nothing playable or prototyped
- Watch for: Cannot explain why a specific design decision was made or what it was trying to achieve
- Score on: Clarity of written design intent and documentation
- Score on: Quality of reasoning behind mechanics and balance choices
Paste your Game Designer job description; Cohesyve finds, contacts and tests candidates on the real work and ranks them. Ten candidates free, no card.
Applying for a role like this? Practise the assessment free →To hire a game designer, define the specialism first, then judge candidates on playable work and written design thinking. Systems, level, narrative, combat and economy designers do very different jobs, and a portfolio strong in one tells you little about another. This guide covers where to source, what to test, a practical work sample and the red flags.
Why this role matters
A game designer decides how a game plays: the rules, systems, levels, progression and the moment-to-moment feel. Their decisions shape what engineers build and artists make, so a weak design costs the whole team time. A strong designer communicates intent clearly, tests ideas cheaply and changes course when playtests show something is not working.
Where to find candidates
- Games-specific job boards such as Hitmarker and Work With Indies
- IGDA (International Game Developers Association) chapters and special interest groups
- Game Developers Conference (GDC) and regional games events, including career pavilions and talks
- itch.io and Global Game Jam entries, where you can play candidates' small games directly
- Women in Games and other community networks that widen your shortlist
- University games design programmes and their graduate showcases
Skills to look for
Red flags
- Portfolio contains only concept documents with nothing playable or prototyped
- Cannot explain why a specific design decision was made or what it was trying to achieve
- Dismisses playtest feedback or analytics that contradicted their idea
- Claims sole credit for features on large team projects without saying what they personally owned
- Talks only about games they would like to make, not the genre and audience you are hiring for
The interview process
- 1
Define the specialism
Decide whether you need a systems, level, narrative, combat, economy or generalist designer, and which engine and genre matter. Write this into the job advert so portfolios arrive already filtered.
- 2
Portfolio and playable review
Play at least one thing each shortlisted candidate made, whether a shipped title, a jam game or a level in an existing editor. Read one design document to see how they communicate intent to a team.
- 3
Design conversation
Ask the candidate to walk through a feature they designed: the goal, the constraints, what failed in playtests and what changed. Probe the trade-offs they made with engineering and art.
- 4
Design work sample
Give a realistic task from your game, such as a one-page design for a new enemy type, or a spreadsheet of unit stats with a balance problem to diagnose and fix. Ask for a short rationale and how they would playtest it. A job simulation of the real work is one option if you want every candidate assessed on the same problem.
- 5
Team interview
Have a programmer, an artist and a producer each ask how the candidate hands off work, receives feedback and handles scope cuts. Score against the same criteria for every candidate.
Cohesyve
Start the Game Designer interviews from a ranked shortlist
Cohesyve takes your Game Designer job description, finds and contacts candidates and tests each one on an AI job simulation of the job, so the stages above start with people who have already done the work. Ten candidates free, no card.
How to evaluate
- Clarity of written design intent and documentation
- Quality of reasoning behind mechanics and balance choices
- Evidence of iterating from playtests and data
- Feasibility of designs within engine, team and schedule limits
- Relevance of experience to your genre and platform
- How well they collaborate across disciplines
Onboarding
- 1Have them play the current build extensively before they change anything
- 2Share the design pillars, existing design documents and recent playtest findings
- 3Give engine and tool access on day one, including any internal scripting or data tools
- 4Start with a small, owned feature or level so they ship something early
- 5Pair them with a senior designer or lead for regular design reviews in the first months
Common questions
Does a game designer need to code?
Not always, but most teams expect comfort with scripting, visual scripting such as Unreal Blueprints, or data tools so designers can prototype and tune without waiting on engineers. Systems and technical designers usually need more of this than narrative designers.
What is the difference between a game designer and a game developer?
A game designer decides how the game plays: rules, systems and levels. Game developer is a broader term often used for programmers, or for everyone who works on a game.
Are game jam projects a fair portfolio for a junior designer?
Yes. Jam games show that someone can scope, build and finish a playable idea quickly. Ask what they personally designed and what they would change with more time.
What should a game designer work sample look like?
Keep it close to your real work: a short design for a feature in your genre, or a balancing problem using real-looking data. Judge the reasoning and how they would test it.
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