If you want to stand out as a game designer, and land the job of your dreams, having a portfolio of your work can certainly go a long way. Games are highly visual and a portfolio is a better way to display your experience. Here are some reasons why every game designer should create a portfolio of their work and how to make your portfolio stand out from all the rest.

1. Game Designer Portfolio
Why Every Game Designer Should Have A Portfolio
And How To Make Yours Stand Out

2. Presentation Based On Student Resources Posts:
https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/five-reasons-every-game-designer-portfolio/
https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/game-design/
Brought to you by the School of Game Design at the New
York Film Academy
Locations
New York: https://www.nyfa.edu/game-design-school/
Los Angeles: https://www.nyfa.edu/los-angeles/game-design-school/

3. Five Reasons Too Have A
Game Design Portfolio

4. 1. Shows Your Skills
• Same idea as for concept or visual artist
• Shows off your skills rather than showing plain text
• Display your actual work…

5. 2. Shows Your Experience
and Previous Work
• Great way to show off previous work and games you have already
made and/or designed
• Actually showing images is more powerful than simply listing a
name of a project you have worked on
• Having an actual playable version is even more powerful

6. 3. Shows Your Personality
• Game developers work in a social, team environment
• Personality and culture fit are important
• A portfolio gives a better glimpse into your personality than a
simple CV

7. 4. Appeals to Visual Learners
• 6 out of 10 learn visually
• A portfolio is a way to communicate more clearly with the
majority of people
• Images and videos are more interesting to look at than text

8. 5. Makes you more accessible
• Having your own website makes you more approachable and
professional
• Demonstrate your game design work and provide contact
information
• A game design portfolio is also more “shareable” with others than
a CV

9. How To Make Your Game
Design Portfolio Stand Out

10. Show You’re Already Making Games
• There is no easier way to convince someone that you are a game
designer than by displaying that you are already designing games
• The games you design don’t have to be complex
• They don’t even have to be digital
• Showing you have already worked on games tells the hirer you
have a passion for the work

11. Let Us Play Those Games!
• What’s better than showing the games you’ve designed? Allowing
people to actually play them
• This only works for digital games
• Provide a link to downloadable or in-browser version of the game

12. Talk About Your Experiences
• Articulate your experiences with games you have designed
• Describe your preferences for platforms and styles
• Talk about challenges you have encountered and your solutions
• Provide proof that you have an eye for game design and what
makes games successful

13. Don’t Rely On Design Docs
• Knowing how to write a good game design doc is important, but…
• It will not land you a job on its own
• Games are interactive
• Great design docs don’t always translate into great games
• It is more impressive to show that you have prototyped and
learned from the experience
• Don’t toss it, but it isn’t enough

14. Conclusion
• Portfolios allow you to show that you can look at games from a
design perspective
• Make and design games
• Display what you have designed
• Make it readily available during the hiring process

15. Learn to make video games…
Visit the New York Film Academy School of Game Design for more
information about how you can start designing and creating your
own video games:
New York: https://www.nyfa.edu/game-design-school/
Los Angeles: https://www.nyfa.edu/los-angeles/game-design-
school/