Should you, one day, apply to become a game designer at a video games company, you will most likely be asked to perform a game design test in order for the recruiter to assess your design abilities.

These tests can be daunting: they widely vary from one company to another, employers’ expectations aren’t clear, there are barely any examples or material on the matter on the internet, and worse: you will very rarely get any kind of feedback on the tests you perform, even if your test gets rejected and request some.

This realization, coupled with the fact that a lot of you are looking (or will look) for a job in the industry prompted a 2 months long endeavor to try and prepare you as best as I can for what will come your way.

Here is how it went:

• I created a mock game design test: this test has been created in the same way I usually create my tests during the official recruitment phases I conduct (length, topics, freedom, traps…).
• I gave you a month to fill said test with minimum guidance, the same way I would have sent you this test in a real recruitment scenario.
• I then judged these tests as if they were actual applications: no sugar-coating, no excuses, no interaction with applicants to explain their answers (something that would usually be done during an interview IF the test is being given a go).
• Finally, I held a 2.5-hour Live stream to go through the entire process: how to read a game design test, the breakdown of mine, all your answers, key takeaway, etc.

Should you have missed it, this article will give you everything you need to redo the experiment on your own (or get a refresher on the topic if you were part of it).

GDKeys Game Design Test

Let’s start with the beginning: the design test in itself.

As previously mentioned, this test has been done in one of the most common formats found in the industry, while removing on purpose any personal question made to frame the applicant, like “What was the last game you played? What aspects of it are worth noting? What could be improved?” or “How would you define Game Design? What is the role of a game designer in a production in your opinion?”.

Should you want to give it a shot, you will find the test below in .pdf format. For a test like this one, I would usually give applicants one week to send their answers: this does not mean that applicants should spend an entire week on it, but instead ensure that they will find the time in their schedule to make it happen.

WARNING: if you are planning to answer this test, I strongly advise you to stop here and read the rest of this article once your answers are ready! You will learn a lot more doing so, and facing this test unbiased will be excellent training!

9 Community Game Design Test Answers

During our experiment, 9 members of our community actually completed the assignment and sent me their answers (thanks folks, you rock!). This is priceless, as studying them will give you a glimpse on how wide the range and freedom are when answering such a creative test.

I packaged these 9 tests in the link below. Feel free to download and study them: in your opinion, what is great about each of them? Where do you see short-comings or mistakes? How about the formats chosen? The amount of text? What could you have applied to your own test to make it better? How much do these tests stand out from the rest? Etc.

Answering these questions for yourself first will help you shape your own approach and get priceless knowledge on the topic at hand.

Game design Test Live Presentation

Now, for the meaty part, you will find below the recording of the Live stream we held to discuss every detail of game design tests as well as getting my first-hand experience and observations on the tests submitted and how to answer one in general.

This is a long video, and 2.5 hours of terrible French accent can be quite a difficult experience… Luckily for you, I timestamped it so you can jump straight to the part that interests you!

Timestamps

0:00 Introduction
8:00 What is the point of a game design test?
14:35 How to analyze a game design test?
20:10 Analysis of our mock-test
43:48 How to answer a game design test? Let’s look at 9 answers provided by our community!
2:17:05 How to answer a game design test: key takeaway

Live Presentation Material

Finally, should you want to get the presentation I made for the live, here it is in a convenient .pdf format as well as copies of each slide:

Conclusion

A game design test is a difficult exercise… Always remember to answer it for yourself before trying to please recruiters: not only you will create more unique, interesting tests, but you will also ensure that you get hired by the company that truly fits you. Game design is a wide topic, and your personal approach and own vision is crucial. Finding a company that appreciates this in you, and recruits you because of that, will make you thrive and hopefully start an amazing and fruitful career!

I hope these will help you and hopefully make some of you realize your dream of working in the industry (if so, you better let me know!). Good luck with your future game design tests, and see you on Discord to discuss them or if you have other questions!

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