Level designer
Create and design levels for video games, making sure they’re engaging and challenging for players
About the job
What it's like
Turn a passion for gaming into a career imagining and designing levels and environments for a host of different games.
Whether it's a battlefield for a first-person shooter, or a fantastical, immersive map for a platform game, you can turn your artistic vision into gaming reality.
As a level designer, it’s your role to keep the player focused on moving through the game and achieving their goal or mission.
You’ll understand what makes good gameplay. You’ll design a portion of the game, normally referred to as a ‘level’. Taking a specification defined by the gameplay designer, you’ll get into the detail – the actions, events, objects and environment. You’ll also design the characters and the ways they behave.
Your tasks might include:
creating maps for new games
contributing to the overarching storyline of a game
generating visual concepts of different levels
collaborating with game designers and artists
iterating on level designs based on feedback from playtesting
researching and staying up to date on industry trends and best practices
Hours
You’ll typically work full-time hours, Monday to Friday. However, you might need to work occasional overtime and weekends to meet deadlines.
Environment
You’ll work in a collaborative and creative environment, either in an office or studio setting with other game developers and designers.
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Creative
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Top specialised skills
These are the top specialised skills that have been found in job vacancies across Scotland. From March 2024 to March 2025.
- unreal engine
- scripting
- video game development
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- working with technology
- problem solving
- innovative
- implementing ideas
- creative
- cooperating
- attention to detail
- analysing
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Art and Design
Graphic Communication
Computing Science
Maths (Mathematics)
Foundation Apprenticeship: Software Development
Foundation Apprenticeship: Creative and Digital Media
You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.
You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.
Discover what's on offer at your school on Apprenticeships.scot.
There are a variety of options to becoming a level designer.
Level designers have a mixture of computer and animation skills. Studying for a degree, you might consider one of the following courses:
computer programming
graphic communication
computer science
creative digital media production
As a level designer is a specialist field, you may decide to apply for an internship with a studio to gain more experience.
You might want to consider an apprenticeship to help develop your skills while you learn:
Experience with level design software such as Unity or Unreal Engine would be beneficial.
Having a portfolio of your work and examples that you can show off to employers.
You can build skills and get experience working with technology through volunteering. Check out opportunities on Volunteer.scot.
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