Some people think experienced designers differ from beginners because of secret knowledge they carefully protect to preserve their status. As I see it, what sets an experienced designer apart is the absence of such nonsense in their head. It is like carving a sculpture from a rough block: the necessary details are not added, but emerge as the excess is removed.
The worst thing is when misconceptions prevent growth, leaving a designer at the same level for years. So I decided to collect the most common mistakes, hoping this helps someone take a critical look at their behavior.
1. Judging the difficulty of making games from finished products. A good design solution is a simple solution. But finding a simple solution that also works, is reliable and is fun is incredibly difficult. Understanding this comes with development experience.
2. Criticizing advice for being obvious. First, by criticizing a specialist, a beginner puts themselves on the same level, which looks naive and foolish. Second, a simple solution is not necessarily obvious. It may seem obvious after someone has voiced it. But if a specialist gives this advice, they have reason to believe that reaching the solution independently is difficult. This is especially noticeable when a specialist compresses years of experience into a short talk and a beginner immediately diagnoses it as “fluff.” With experience, it is interesting to revisit old lectures and discover how much went in one ear and out the other the first time.
3. Arguing for argument's sake. Speaking in counterarguments and always having the last word. A real pain for specialists, who find it easier to fire a beginner than to win an argument with them. An experienced designer can easily present their case and dismantle the beginner's reasoning, but since it produces no result, it is better to stop wasting time and leave the conversation at the first signs.
4. Discussing games as a player rather than as a designer. A player perceives a game as a whole, whereas a designer can isolate the elements that interest them. A player wants to transfer an experience from another game; a designer wants the mechanics that create it. For example, “let us make controls as cool as game N” rather than “game N has quick movement-animation transitions, creating a feeling of more responsive controls.”
5. Failing to distinguish responsible communication from irresponsible communication. For example, failing to see the difference between “Minecraft is successful because it has an open world” and “To make a game successful, make it open-world; Minecraft proves it.” This is about the form of the claims, not their content. The first is merely hot air, picking over a successful project; the second is advice supported by an example. Giving advice means being prepared to answer for it and take responsibility. Loud pronouncements stir up noise while letting the speaker remain seemingly uninvolved and unaccountable. A responsible designer will not listen to irresponsible chatter.
6. Focusing on your ego. The most dangerous ailment: a designer builds their worldview around themselves alone. Since they are the only designer in that world, they are automatically the best. Consequently, there is no need to improve, and all other designers are not real designers and deserve criticism in advance. A characteristic symptom is always condemning other people's work while praising their own without showing it.
7. Believing everyone should make your dream game—a clone of your favorite game. Hiring such a designer is dangerous. Instead of developing the existing design, they will do harm by remaking the game to suit their personal tastes. Such sabotage will not earn the authority needed to become a lead designer.
This is not a complete list. If you have examples of beginning designers damaging their own careers, share them in the comments.
The worst thing is when misconceptions prevent growth, leaving a designer at the same level for years. So I decided to collect the most common mistakes, hoping this helps someone take a critical look at their behavior.
1. Judging the difficulty of making games from finished products. A good design solution is a simple solution. But finding a simple solution that also works, is reliable and is fun is incredibly difficult. Understanding this comes with development experience.
2. Criticizing advice for being obvious. First, by criticizing a specialist, a beginner puts themselves on the same level, which looks naive and foolish. Second, a simple solution is not necessarily obvious. It may seem obvious after someone has voiced it. But if a specialist gives this advice, they have reason to believe that reaching the solution independently is difficult. This is especially noticeable when a specialist compresses years of experience into a short talk and a beginner immediately diagnoses it as “fluff.” With experience, it is interesting to revisit old lectures and discover how much went in one ear and out the other the first time.
3. Arguing for argument's sake. Speaking in counterarguments and always having the last word. A real pain for specialists, who find it easier to fire a beginner than to win an argument with them. An experienced designer can easily present their case and dismantle the beginner's reasoning, but since it produces no result, it is better to stop wasting time and leave the conversation at the first signs.
4. Discussing games as a player rather than as a designer. A player perceives a game as a whole, whereas a designer can isolate the elements that interest them. A player wants to transfer an experience from another game; a designer wants the mechanics that create it. For example, “let us make controls as cool as game N” rather than “game N has quick movement-animation transitions, creating a feeling of more responsive controls.”
5. Failing to distinguish responsible communication from irresponsible communication. For example, failing to see the difference between “Minecraft is successful because it has an open world” and “To make a game successful, make it open-world; Minecraft proves it.” This is about the form of the claims, not their content. The first is merely hot air, picking over a successful project; the second is advice supported by an example. Giving advice means being prepared to answer for it and take responsibility. Loud pronouncements stir up noise while letting the speaker remain seemingly uninvolved and unaccountable. A responsible designer will not listen to irresponsible chatter.
6. Focusing on your ego. The most dangerous ailment: a designer builds their worldview around themselves alone. Since they are the only designer in that world, they are automatically the best. Consequently, there is no need to improve, and all other designers are not real designers and deserve criticism in advance. A characteristic symptom is always condemning other people's work while praising their own without showing it.
7. Believing everyone should make your dream game—a clone of your favorite game. Hiring such a designer is dangerous. Instead of developing the existing design, they will do harm by remaking the game to suit their personal tastes. Such sabotage will not earn the authority needed to become a lead designer.
This is not a complete list. If you have examples of beginning designers damaging their own careers, share them in the comments.