Game Design Resume: Sample & Writing Guide [20+ Tips]
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You're nothing short of a wizard with the power to transport mere mortals into worlds filled with wonders and heroic deeds. But before you get to do your magic, you have to defeat a particularly powerful boss: the HR manager.
To complete this quest, you need to craft a magic spell that hypnotizes the boss and makes them forget about the other 2456 game designers applying for the same job.
This spell is called a game design resume, and we’ll show you exactly how to cast it.
This guide will show you:
- A game design resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
- How to write a game design resume that will land you more interviews.
- Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a game design resume.
- How to describe your experience on a resume for a game designer to get any job you want.
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.
Looking for other jobs in creative and cultural fields? Check out our guides:
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- Sample Resumes for 500+ Jobs
Game Design Resume Sample
Donald Robertson
donald.robertson@gmail.com
609-440-9978
Objective
Talented and communicative game designer with 6+ years of experience in a creative yet deadline-driven environment. Eager to join The Rock Studios to help manage the design of gameplay systems and online mechanics. In previous roles designed and co-wrote 5 AAA titles and created more than 200 levels within the action-RPG game area.
Work Experience
Game Designer
NextGen Games, Los Angeles, CA
2016–2018
- Designed and drove the vision and implementation of features and game systems.
- Developed ideas for gameplay throughout the player life-cycle.
- Worked within existing systems and expanded them, including integrating feedback from UX testing.
- Partnered with other teams to consider the game design and player engagement targets.
- Created and tuned content to create accessible but deep experiences for players.
Key achievements:
- Designed and co-wrote 5 AAA released game titles.
- Improved player success rate by 150% as a result of close collaboration with the UX team and developing a set of measurable tests and questionnaires.
Gameplay Designer
Q2 BFG, Los Angeles, CA
2013–2016
- Built gameplay scenarios in various styles and for different purposes.
- Created gameplay moments, including narrative events, combat encounters, and points of interest within the game world.
- Collaborated with partner teams to ensure a cohesive and coherent scenario experience.
- Worked with engineers on developing and maintaining scenario building functionality that redefined design boundaries.
- Authored and reviewed design documentation.
Key achievement:
- Developed a data-gathering method for game balancing and tuning.
- Created over 200 levels for various Sci-Fi and Fantasy Action-RPG games.
Education
MS, Computer Science/Game Design
University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts
2013
Key Skills
- Analytical skills
- Documentation writing
- Game platforms
- Game systems
- Maya
- Online play models
- Organizational skills
- Python
- Unreal Engine
- Verbal communication skills
Languages
- Spanish—Advaned
- Japanese—Communicative
Interests
- Drawing
- Playing the drums
Here’s how to write a game designer resume that will get you straight to the World Video Game Hall of Fame:
1. Choose the Best Format for Your Game Design Resume
If you want your game design resume to score a perfect 10—
Make sure to follow these rules:
- Begin with the best header for your resume. Remember: you don’t have to write an address on a resume, it’s enough to include your email and phone number.
- See to it that sections on your resume are easy to identify and clearly labeled.
- Look at various types of resumes. Most of the time, chronological resume format does the job best as it puts your latest experience and achievements in the limelight.
- The best fonts for your resume should be easy to read and not too flashy.
- Don’t squeeze in too much stuff on your resume. Focus on your relevant experience and use white space to your advantage.
- Send a PDF resume if the format of the file hasn’t been specified in the job ad.
Formatting your resume is important, but contents matter more, see how—
2. Write a Game Design Resume Objective or Summary
Your professional profile on a resume should encourage the recruiter to dive right into the full version of your game designer resume.
The profile is a kind of demo of what’s great about you. It’s an elevator speech of a kind.
It can take either of the two forms:
A summary for a resume works great on game design resumes with at last 2 years of experience. A summary is centered on your experience and accomplishments.
An objective for a resume is a good option for entry-level game design resumes. An objective focuses on your skills and explains how they’ll help you do the job better than the other candidates.
It’s a good idea for your resume profile to present some numbers that quantify your assets.
Pro Tip: Write your resume profile once your entire game design resume is ready. It will be so much easier for you to pick out your career highlights.
3. Create the Perfect Game Design Job Description for a Resume
Your experience isn’t the only thing that matters.
It’s just as crucial to know how to describe work experience on a resume so it lands you an interview.
The first step is to realize you need to—
Tailor your resume to a job posting. Here’s how:
- Put your latest position first on your game designer resume.
- Don’t just make a job titles list. Put the company name, location, and dates worked as well.
- Describe your duties and achievements on a bullet point list. 5-6 bullets are enough for each job.
- Use resume words when describing your experience, such as built, created, authored, developed, etc.
- Focus on your relevant experience. Leave out all the things unrelated to the position.
Pro Tip: If you’re unsure whether or not you got everything in order in your video game design resume, check out our guide on resume dos and don’ts.
4. Make Your Game Design Resume Education Section Great
Your resume education section is important.
You can deal with it pretty quickly. Here’s how:
- 5+ years of experience? Add your degree, graduation year, school name, and location.
- Less experience? As above, plus consider adding info on relevant coursework, honors and academic achievements, GPA (if it’s higher than 3.5 and you’re a fresh grad), or extracurricular activities.
Pro Tip: Put your professional certifications on a resume in a dedicated section, so they’re better visible.
5. Highlight Your Game Design Skills
Your skills matter.
Use the list below to identify the strongest skills for your game designer resume.
Game Design Resume—Examples of Skills
- 3D art packages (Maya, 3DS Max)
- Content creation
- Creativity
- Documentation writing
- Game engines (Unreal, Unity)
- Game platforms
- Game systems
- Level building tools
- Management
- Online play models
- Organizational skills
- Progressive thinking
- Scripting experience
- Scripting languages (Blueprints, Python, Lua, C/C++)
- Verbal communication skills
- Analytical skills
- Teamwork skills
- Critical thinking
- Decision making
- Leadership
- Problem solving
- Time management
Here’s how to pick out the best skills for your game design resume:
- Start with putting together a master list of all your skills to put on a resume. Don’t miss your hard skills and soft skills, and obviously include your technical skills.
- Reread the job offer to identify the skills the employer is looking for specifically.
- Got them? Great! Now go back to your own list and pick out the ones you’ve found in the job ad. These are the skills you’ll want your resume to highlight.
- Choose up to 10 of your strongest skills and put them in your resume’s key skills section.
- Sprinkle your entire resume with game designer skills. Put some into your resume profile and job description too.
Pro Tip: It’s crucial that you focus on your top skills. Leave out the things you’re not too good at not to dilute your resume’s power.
Making a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide, use ready-made content tailored to your job and have a resume ready in minutes.
When you’re done, our online resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.
6. Add Other Sections to Your Game Design Resume
Show the recruiter there’s so much more you have to offer.
Think about adding the following sections to your game design resume:
7. Attach a Game Design Resume Cover Letter
Important enough for 50% of the recruiters to expect it from you.
Here’s how to write your job-winning resume cover letter in no time:
- First, find the right format for an application letter.
- Learn how to start a cover letter in a riveting fashion.
- Show them what you have to offer. Not what you want.
- Find out how to end an application letter so they call you.
And make sure you know what the ideal cover letter length is.
Pro Tip: It’s a good idea to send a job application status email to show you’re really interested.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
This is it!
This is how you make a job-winning resume for video game designer positions.
Are you writing a game design resume for the first time? Or perhaps you’re a seasoned pro eager to help the rookies out? We’d love to hear from you, leave your comment below!
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