A Day in the Life of a Game Designer
My name is Sara Jensen Schubert and I’m the design lead of Pirate101. That means that I manage all of our talented world, systems, and UI designers. I allocate tasks and bug fixes, and keep the team informed. I’m also the primary contact for people from other departments when they have questions. I make many small decisions every day!
My typical day at KingsIsle goes something like this:
9:30 AM
- Arrive at the office.
- Check my email to see if any problems have arisen, or any other issues that deserve a reply.
- Check our bug tracking program to see if any design bugs have cropped up. If they have, I make sure they’re valid design issues and route them to the appropriate designers.
10:00 AM
- I drop by the designers to see how they’re doing.
- A producer comes by to ask about the design team’s tasks for the week.
10:30
- Throughout the rest of the day, there’s more email and more bugs. It’s the same procedure as before – keep an eye out for emails that need a response, and review incoming bugs to be sure they’re valid before assigning them out to the right people.
- I read the forums to look for interesting conversations and bug reports.
11:30
- One of our UI designers calls me over to review a feature he’s prototyping. It looks good! We discuss options for improvement and he gets back to work. We take a screenshot to send to the management team to make sure we’re on the right track.
12:00
- Lunch time!
12:30
- Return to yet more email and bugs.
- One particular email is from a designer who’s having trouble redesigning a boss fight in game. I play the fight and offer suggestions. We exchange a few ideas and settle on a solution.
- Another email is from a designer with a game design document. I read it and offer my feedback.
2:30
- A designer comes to me with a great idea for the next update, but it requires new art. We discuss it with the art lead, and it turns out we have time to do it! It’s officially on the schedule now. A good idea goes from a thought in somebody’s head to a real task in the space of an hour. I love it when stuff like that happens – it demonstrates how much we value individual creativity here on the P101 team.
3:00
- A design document is ready to go to art and tech for implementation, and I revise it to ensure it includes all the information it needs.
- A programmer drops by my office to ask a question about a feature he’s implementing. It turns out it’s a bigger problem than we thought, so we rope in a few other people and turn it into a mini-meeting. After getting everyone’s input, the problem gets solved.
4:00
- A designer drops by with a question about a bug fix.
4:30
- A few bugs arrive that I can fix! I update my game editor and get to work.
5:30
- Email, bugs, and office visits start to slow down, so I get a chance to play the game!
6:00
- Time to go home.
My days are busy, but satisfying. It’s fun to keep the team running well and to manage so much information. And it’s great to be a part of the effort towards making a fun game better!
Sara Jensen Schubert
Design Lead (Game Systems)
KingsIsle Blog 
when i am older i want to be a game designer
Sounds like a busy day, but when you’re doing what you love how bad can it be? For those of us older players, we appreciate all that has and still does go on at KingsIsle!! Thank You!
its a great time of your day playing I don’t want to get off
Cool! I used to think a designer only made textures and stuff, but it turns out it’s a lot more! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve got some ideas for revamping animations for spells in Wizard101, Krokotillian and Krokomummy.
Read your blog, seems like a lot of work for a Game Designer! I would like to be a Game Designer also if I have good ideas. 🙂 Best of luck with your other ideas–Emma PearlFlower from Wizard101. PS: I have played pirate101 before.
I assume you are the people who designed the new Class Houses? Fantastic job! I love them all. Much nicer than anything that wiz has now. I have a request for smaller rooms though. I know, everyone else wants more space. but I like to decorate them as real rooms in real houses. Super job! Thanks!
Wow!, one day i’d love to be a Game Designer like you!
Wow, I didn’t know you guys worked so hard on Wizard101! Thanks for working so hard for my favorite game! 😀
wow your life is awesome i wanna be like you someday!
wow your job is cool when i read it in the news i thought you were the person to draw some stuff like dorms and mounts in wizard101 but your job is cool i love to draw i thought i was horrible but i drew a realistic drawing if it was 3d it would be so scary. plz reply
scary is awesome and I bet u r awesome at drawing soo don’t stop 🙂 one day u would be the best of the best 🙂
this game is awesome and I love the designs
when i am older I wanna be a game designer for games to come!! 🙂
me too but i dont think ill be that great at designing my brother teached be stuff but thats it for me to computers
i want to be a game designer
Cool designing most of it is about bug fixes and stuff. If you like designing that goes to everyone you should play ROBLOX, at ROBLOX.com. It’s a fun game where you get to design your own games and visit other people’s games and creations. I might be a designer when I get older.
wow! being a game designer is so cool! i think i might be one when i grow up.
I am young but someday can I be a game designer just like you? 😀 It sounds fun and amazing 🙂 maybe e mail me?
i love how in wizard101, and also pirate101, everything is so detailed. i fell like exploring everything there is because there are so many interesting things. your days must be really hard because you have to discuss so many things and check e-mails every so often.
wow, I love all that you do for kingslsle!! I love wizard101 my fav. game! and your job is pretty busy and also very cool. thank you!
wow! thank you guys so much! This is my #1 favorite game! 🙂
wow! Thank you guys for creating this awesome game! this is totally my #1 favorite game! 🙂
i apreesiate your work and how hard you work to make kids happy i want to become a game designer when i grow up
Thank you for all your hard work and the wonderful game design. As an IT/Ops member of a top-drawer satellite provider, I can truly appreciate the effort!
wow so much work but it’s worth it i wish i can grow up to be like you sara
tht is my dream job: to design videogames
I want to ask, do you actually get to play at home?
Yes, I play at home sometimes! Especially if I have a long encounter to play through and I don’t have enough uninterrupted time at work.
ay lvl 90 ice ay a member
Wow, your day seems very busy! I would love to be a game designer like you one day. I really appreciate all the hard work Kingsisle puts into these games.
Nice Job on the details and graphics or just the game in general! Best of luck to designing both games!
Hello, I just wanted to say that I love playing Wizard101. The graphics are wonderful and creative and most people are a pleasure to battle with (or against haha). I had an idea for a mount that i thought you might like. How about a polymorphic cloud that can turn into other mounts for a short time but keep its cloud like appearance. It would give the players a chance to try variouse mounts and may improve sales in that area. It would also be fun if you could make the mount storm or rain when you wanted. You can charge gold or crowns for the change, like for the transformations in the shop. I think it would also make a good pet. If you like this idea please let me know.
Thank You
Wow, it’s seem like a lot of work to be a game designer! I wanted to be one when I grew up and I still do. I also had some ideas for Wizard101. A sky place. I’m not talking about floating land, cause that’s what all of these places are. I was thinking a cloud place. Perhaps a villain is making a cloud land above wizard city. Perhaps the storm teacher gives you the quest.
hello my name is Brandon and I really like your games I like wizard101 the most and would like to ask you what do I have to study/ do in life to be able to be where you are some day in the future
Sup i’m Dakota and i LOVE making games they rock i will hopefully make a game as good as yours some day.=)
I do a little bit of programming myself. Nothing like what kingsilse must do! Thanks for all your efforts. I want to become a computer programmer one day.
its fun
I didn’t know how much work it is being a designer for games but i reallllllyyyyy love the game wizard101 it’s the best game ever i hop you make a new world to!
I want to be a computer programmer, and I know most of the basics for programming, like C++, JAVA, and Easy C. I don’t know what kind of university or college to go to and some colleges I feel like only want your money. Any help?
I looked at this site while doing a school project for career choices, i’ve always loved video games and really want to become a game designer.