Architects of Play: What does a video game UX designer actually do?

People think Game UX and UI design is about making "pretty menus." No. A Great Game UX is why you didn't put the controller down until 1:00 AM.

"Don't Make Me Think, Make Me Feel." 🧠❤️

In productivity apps, UX is about efficiency (getting the task done fast). In games, UX is about immersion. Sometimes, adding a "slow" animation to a heavy treasure chest is "bad" efficiency but "great" UX because it communicates weight and reward.

TLDR 🎮

  • They are the bridge: They make sure the player's brain and the game's code understand each other.

  • They fix "Ouch" moments: They find parts of the game that are confusing or annoying and make them smooth.

  • They design the "map": Not just the world map, but the buttons, menus, and how you level up.

  • They listen to players: They watch people play to see where they get stuck or bored.

  • They make it feel good: They work on "juice" (like a screen shake when you hit something) so the game feels alive.

🛠️ What do they do Daily?

  1. Wireframing: Drawing "blueprints" of menus before they look pretty.

  2. Information Architecture: Deciding where the "Inventory" button goes so you don't have to hunt for it.

  3. Interaction Design: Figuring out if a button should be tapped, held, or flicked.

  4. Accessibility: Making sure colorblind players can still tell "Health" from "Mana."

  5. Prototyping: Building a "fake" version of a feature to see if it's fun before spending millions of dollars on it.


Working with Game Designer

Most people think Game Designers focus on the "fun" and UX Designers design the "screens. In reality, these two roles work together daily to ensure they are solving the same problem from two different angles. Game Designer can create the most complex, deep combat system in history. But if the player can’t understand them then that mechanic doesn't exist.

Example

  • Designer: "I want a weapon that gets stronger as you stay in combat."

  • UX: "How do we signal that power-up without cluttering the screen?"

  • Designer: "Maybe a sound cue?"

  • UX: "Let’s try a HUD glow and a haptic pulse first." We don't wait for a weekly meeting to figure this out. We solve it in 15 minutes at a desk so we don't waste 15 days of engineering time on the wrong solution.

Games, UX is about understanding how to balance Flow, challenge and player psychology. We manage the "Cognitive Load" so the player can stay in the zone.

  • The Goal: Decrease the "Effort & Sacrifice" it takes to learn a mechanic.

  • The Result: Make the player feel like a hero.

Games vs. Apps: The $100M Difference

You can't design a game like you design a banking app. Here’s why:

  1. Extended Engagement: People don't use Uber for 6 hours straight. They play Elden Ring for 6 hours. If our HUD is 5% too bright or 2% too cluttered, we cause physical fatigue.

  2. Input Complexity: We aren't just dealing with "taps." We’re dealing with haptics, triggers, and 3D spatial awareness.

  3. The "Metroid" Balance: Some times we have to make the interface disappear so the game can shine. If the player is looking at the UI, they aren't looking at the world.

  • The Upside: You’re at the bleeding edge of tech (AR/VR/AI). You’re building worlds that millions of people will "live" in.

  • The Downside: "UX Maturity" in the games industry is still catching up. You’ll spend half your day fighting for a seat at the table and the other half designing for five different platforms with zero standardized "Material Design" guidelines.

How to Win as a Game UXer

Don't just show a portfolio of screens. Show a portfolio of Solutions.

  • Psychology over Pixels: Prove you understand Variable Rewards and Dopamine Loops.

  • The Living Experiment: Show how you tested a HUD, watched players fail, and redesigned it to cut "Time-to-Value" by 30%.


Some basic Differences in UX Design for Video Games

Video games are unique in that they require a different type of UX design than apps and websites. Here are key differences:

  1. Video games are often played for extended periods of time, so the UX must be comfortable and intuitive to use over an extended period of time.

  2. Each game has its own visual style and language but the user interface (UI) must be visually appealing and engaging to match the visuals and tone of the gameplay.

  3. The UI must be easily navigable and responsive to gamepad controllers and other inputs.

  4. The UX design for video games must take into account the game's mechanics and settings, such as controls and graphics. To create a successful UX design for video games, it is important to understand the game's target audience and the mechanics of the game. Additionally, the UI must be responsive to player input and visually appealing.

  5. Consider the game's target audience and genre when designing the UX. The UX must be designed in a way that is consistent with the game's target audience and genre. For example, a casual game may have a different UI than an action game.

 

UX designers will often work with UI artists closely. Here is an informative video from Riot games about UI design for video games.

 

It’s important to have a strong understanding of both game design and user experience design. You will need to have a portfolio of previous work to show potential employers. If you don’t have any previous experience designing video games, there are many ways to get started, such as taking online courses or participating in game jams.

Pros and cons of being a video game UX designer

With any career choice, there are both pros and cons associated with the job.

The Pros:

  1. You get to create and play video games for a living!

  2. You get to help shape the deep and complex gaming experiences.

  3. You get to create something that people will enjoy and spend a lot of time with.

  4. Games often are where new technologies emerge such as VR and AR.

  5. Many different types of video games that can work with a lot of variety.

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The Cons:

  1. Low UX maturity in some studios.

  2. The job can be a lot more complex to design for when compared to other digital products.

  3. You may have to deal with some passionate people with strong ideas

  4. Multiple platforms with different standards

  5. The development process can take a long time.

  6. Not many dedicated design tools such as Figma or Adobe CD

  7. No standardized design guidelines such as Material Design

 

How to become a video game UX designer

1. Master the "Why" question for Players Stop looking at buttons and start looking at psychology. Your job is to:

  • Increase the Dream Outcome: How fast can you make the player feel like a pro?

  • Decrease the Effort & Sacrifice: How many clicks and why?

  • Decrease the Time Delay: How fast is your "Time-to-Fun"?

2. Build a "Problem-Solving" Portfolio Nobody wants to see a "clean menu" you made in Figma. They want to see a Case Study of Failure.

  • Take a game with a "leaky bucket" (high early churn).

  • Identify exactly where players get confused.

  • Redesign the HUD or onboarding to fix it.

  • The Hook: "I redesigned the first 5 minutes of [Game Name] to reduce cognitive load by 30%." That gets you the interview.

3. Learn the "Technical Language" of Play You don't need to be a Lead Developer, but you need to speak their language.

  • Learn Unity or Unreal Engine basics.

  • Understand Spatial UX (how UI works in a 3D world).

  • Understand Haptics and Audio cues. If you can't tell a developer how to implement your design, your design is just a drawing.

4. The "Free Work" Strategy If you have zero experience, find an Indie team or a Game Jam. Offer to do their UX for free. Why? Because you aren't working for money; you’re working for Proof. One "shipped" game on your resume is worth more than a four-year degree.

The skills that a video game UX designer needs

A video game UX designer needs to strong design skills and a good understanding of user psychology, player motivations, rewards, incentives and reinforcement as well as, user goals and pain points. A good understanding of game mechanics and how players interact with objects in a 3D or VR space. And finally, they need to be able to communicate their vision for the game’s UX to the development team and ensure that it is executed properly.

If you’re interested here are some essential skills you need:

  1. Understanding player needs and motivations. The most important skill for any UX designer can have is an understanding of human behaviour. This includes understanding what motivates people and what causes them frustration. When it comes to video games, this means understanding why people play games and what they hope to get out of the experience.

  2. Strong visualization skills. Since video game UX designers are responsible for creating the game’s interface, they need to have strong visualization skills. This includes being able to create wireframes and prototypes that communicate their vision for the game’s

 

Conclusion

A video game UX designer is responsible for creating the overall user experience for a video game. We work with the development team to create a game that is not only fun to play, but also easy to use and navigate. A UX designer should have a strong understanding of human behaviour and how people interact with technology. If you are interested in becoming a video game UX designer, then you should start by studying psychology and human-computer interaction and play a lot of games. Good luck and thanks for reading.

Abdi Jama