Two types of game designers
There are many different ways to categorize game designers, but I want to focus on one that I find very interesting. It has to do with the way they approach the game design process and puts them in one of two types: A game designer is either a Painter or a Sculptor.
Painter is the game designer who starts with a blank page (canvas) and slowly adds new things (strokes) to a game. It’s the designer who starts small and gradually builds on what he has. He finds something that is working and then adds to it. After he makes sure that the new thing is working, he adds the next thing. And so on, and so on until he reaches a point he is happy with what he has in front of him. Such a designer is usually more methodical and takes more time with each step to ensure he is on the right track.
Sculptor is the game designer who starts by throwing everything he has thought of on the game (block of granite) and then one by one, he removes (chisels) the things that are not working. He keeps doing that until he reaches a point where everything that is left in the game is working in a satisfactory way and there is nothing else to remove. Usually, such a designer is more creative and more enthusiastic, having lots and lots of ideas, being eager to test them.
I like this characterization because it’s very simple but very much to the point. Personally, I’m a painter. When I design a game, I usually start by writing down ideas and then, once I have something in my mind that I think could work, I start with a simple prototype to test the main concept. If that works, then I start refining it, adding more and more things with each playtest/prototype version. However, I’ve had first hands experience with designers who are sculptors. Who like to brainstorm for days and theorize and then put everything they came up with in the first prototype they make. Initially, I thought that was crazy. But as time went by and the games were taking form, I realized it was just a different approach than mine. Difficult for me to follow, and something I would have a hard time doing, but effective nonetheless (at least for those designers).
If you’ve never thought of it in the past, look at your own designs and think of the way you worked. Being aware of the category in which you belong, may be of help to you in a future project, especially if you work on the design with someone else. From my experience, I found that it’s best if your co-designer is of the same type as you. Putting a painter and a sculptor together will probably end up requiring a bigger effort from both parties.
Note: Initially, when I wrote the article, I couldn’t remember where I had first heard about this characterization. It later came to my attention that it was from a Ludology episode. I’m not 100% sure on which episode exactly it was but I encourage you to check out the podcast since it contains tons of useful information for Game Designers.
Image Copyright © Artipia Games
