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The differences between game designers and creative directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a game designer, becoming a creative director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a creative director has an average salary of $137,779, which is higher than the $87,645 average annual salary of a game designer.
The top three skills for a game designer include unity, UI and game development. The most important skills for a creative director are graphic design, creative concepts, and creative direction.
| Game Designer | Creative Director | |
| Yearly salary | $87,645 | $137,779 |
| Hourly rate | $42.14 | $66.24 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 45,227 | 11,610 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A video game designer is responsible for making a concept of a video game and creating the storylines, scenarios, maps, character development, user interfaces, and in-game objectives. Typical responsibilities include adding computer scripting using computer software, which will then generate events, objects, commands, and characters that end-users can choose from to interact with during the game. Additionally, you will write code using different computer programming languages and designing characters, animation, and levels. To become a successful video game designer, you must be creative, innovative, and ambitious.
A creative director is an individual who creates and maintains a vision for a company's products and branding through digital, print, and film installations. Creative directors supervise and innovative staff team such as graphic designers and artists to discuss and plan the vision's layout and visuals. They also meet with clients or marketing and advertising departments to create designs and make the necessary changes to the systems. Most creative directors must have a bachelor's degree in fine arts and should build work portfolios while starting their careers as graphic designers or photographers.
Game designers and creative directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Game Designer | Creative Director | |
| Average salary | $87,645 | $137,779 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $127,000 | Between $82,000 And $228,000 |
| Highest paying City | Reno, NV | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a game designer and a creative director in terms of educational background:
| Game Designer | Creative Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between game designers' and creative directors' demographics:
| Game Designer | Creative Director | |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% | Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |