The Uncomfortable Truth About Degrees

Here’s what most aspiring designers don’t realize until it’s too late:

You can get hired if you have a portfolio without a degree.
However, you definitely won’t get hired if you have a degree without a portfolio.

Read that again. Let it sink in.

I’m not saying degrees are worthless. They can provide valuable structure, access to mentorship, time dedicated to learning, and networking opportunities. For some people, they’re the right path.

But the degree itself is not a hiring credential in game design.

Why This Feels Counterintuitive

In many professions, the credential is the qualification:

• Can’t practice law without passing the bar
• Can’t practice medicine without a medical degree and residency
• Can’t become a licensed engineer without proper certification
• Can’t teach in public schools without education credentials

These fields use degrees and licenses as gatekeepers—proof that you’ve met minimum standards and are qualified to practice.

Game design doesn’t work this way.

There’s no bar exam. No licensing board. No mandated path. Studios hire based on demonstrated ability to do the work—and demonstrated ability comes from your portfolio, not your transcript.

The Real-World Evidence

Here’s what that experience has taught us:

Scenario A: Portfolio without degree

• Self-taught designer
• 3-4 polished portfolio pieces showing complete game loops
• Clear documentation of design process and iteration
• Playable builds demonstrating execution ability

Result: Gets interviews. Gets hired.

Scenario B: Degree without portfolio

• Four-year game design program graduate
• Strong academic record
• Coursework in systems design, level design, game theory
• Portfolio contains design documents and unfinished projects

Result: Applications ignored or quickly rejected.

Scenario C: Both degree and portfolio

• Game design program graduate
• Used school time strategically to build 4-5 complete portfolio pieces
• Game jam participation throughout education
• Documented process showing growth

Result: Strong candidate. Gets interviews. Often hired.

The degree didn’t determine success in any of these scenarios. The portfolio did.

Why Game Design Is a Maker’s Role

Let’s address this directly:

Game design is a maker’s role. Studios need to see you’ve made something. Even if it’s “ugly.”

What “Maker” Actually Means

Makers produce tangible work. Artifacts. Things that exist in the world that other people can experience, evaluate, and respond to.

For game designers, this means:

• Playable prototypes – Even rough ones
• Functional game systems – That can be tested and felt
• Completed experiences – Beginning, middle, and end
• Documented process – Showing how you got there

It does not mean:

• ❌ Design documents alone
• ❌ Theoretical frameworks
• ❌ Analytical essays about games
• ❌ Concepts without implementation

The “Even If It’s Ugly” Principle

This is crucial: Your portfolio pieces don’t need to be beautiful. They don’t need AAA polish. They don’t need professional art or sound.

They need to demonstrate that you can design and execute functional game experiences.

An ugly prototype with responsive controls, clear feedback loops, and documented iteration is infinitely more valuable than a beautiful concept that was never built.

Why? Because studios can teach you polish. They can pair you with artists and audio designers. They can refine your technical implementation.

What they can’t teach—at least not easily—is the fundamental ability to take an idea and turn it into something playable.

That’s what separates designers from people who just think about games.

What We Recommend to Students

If you’re reading this and recognizing that you have a degree (or are pursuing one) but lack portfolio work, here’s your action plan.

These are the exact recommendations I give to students and aspiring designers who need to build proof of their abilities:

1 – Join a Game Jam (Scope Small)

Game jams are the single most effective portfolio-building activity for aspiring designers.

Why jams work:

✔️ Forced completion – You have 24-72 hours. You must finish something. No endless iteration, no scope creep.
✔️ Built-in constraints – Themes and time limits force creative problem-solving and prioritization.
✔️ Instant community – You’re surrounded by others making things. Energy is contagious.
✔️ Portfolio material – Every jam produces something you can show.
✔️  Practice failing fast – You’ll make mistakes. You’ll learn quickly. Low stakes.

Where to find jams:

• Global Game Jam – Annual worldwide event, hundreds of locations
• Ludum Dare – Long-running online community jam
• GMTK Game Jam – Hugely popular annual jam
• Itch.io Jams – Dozens running constantly with various themes

The key: Scope aggressively small.
Your first jam should result in a game you can complete in 10-20 hours of work. A single mechanic, a few levels, clear start and end. Resist the urge to be ambitious.

Finished and simple beats ambitious and abandoned.

2 – Try the Build a Game Challenge

Various communities run “Build a Game” challenges—structured programs that guide you through creating a complete (if small) game over weeks or months.

Examples:

• One Game a Month – Community challenge to ship 12 tiny games in a year
• 7-Day FPS – Build a first-person shooter in one week
• One Mechanic Game Jam – Design around a single core mechanic

Why challenges work:

• Clear goals and deadlines
• Community support and accountability
• Smaller scope than “make your dream game”
• Regular shipping practice

Action step: Search for active challenges in your target genre or engine community. Commit to one publicly. Ship something.

3 – Use Tools Like Blueprints or Playmaker

One of the biggest barriers for aspiring designers is implementation. You have design ideas, but you can’t code them yourself.

Solutions:

• Unreal Engine Blueprints – Visual scripting system that lets you build complex game logic without traditional programming. Industry-standard tool.
• Unity Playmaker – Visual scripting for Unity. Drag-and-drop state machines and logic.
• GameMaker Studio – Built for 2D games with accessible scripting language
• Godot – Free, open-source engine with visual scripting and gentle learning curve
• Construct 3 – Browser-based, no-code game engine
• The point: Don’t let “I can’t code” stop you from making games. Modern tools have dramatically lowered the technical barrier.

Your portfolio doesn’t care if you wrote C++ or used visual scripting. It cares that you made something that works and feels good.

4 – Mod Existing Games

Modding is an underrated portfolio-building path—and for some studios, it’s actually preferred experience.

Why modding works:

✔️ You’re working with real game systems – Not building from scratch, but designing within constraints

✔️ Lower technical barrier – The engine and core systems already exist

✔️ Built-in audience – Mod communities will play your work and give feedback

✔️ Shows practical thinking – You understand how to work within existing frameworks

Moddable games with strong communities:

• Skyrim/Fallout – Creation Kit, massive mod community
• Minecraft – Endless possibilities, huge audience
• Civilization VI – Extensive modding tools
• Counter-Strike – Map creation and game modes
• Warcraft III – Custom maps and campaigns (many successful games started here)

Portfolio value: A well-documented mod with clear design goals, iteration history, and player feedback is excellent portfolio material.

5- Play With AI to Fill Gaps in Art or Code

This is a newer recommendation, but increasingly relevant:

You don’t need to be an artist or programmer to make portfolio-worthy games anymore. AI tools can fill gaps.

AI tools for designers:

For art:

• • Midjourney/DALL-E – Generate placeholder art, UI elements, concepts
  • Stable Diffusion – Free, open-source image generation

For code:

• • Claude (or ChatGPT) – Explain what you want, get functional code snippets
  • GitHub Copilot – AI pair programmer

For audio:

• • Soundraw/AIVA/Suno/Landr – AI-generated music
  • ElevenLabs – AI voice generation for dialogue

Important caveat: Be transparent. If you used AI for art or code, say so in your documentation. Studios care that you can design experiences—not that you personally created every asset.

What this enables: You can focus on design—on making systems feel good, on pacing, on player experience—while AI handles implementation gaps.

6 – Prototype Non-Digital Games

This is often overlooked, but incredibly valuable:

You can design games without touching a computer at all.

Physical game design:

• Card games – Print-and-play prototypes
• Board games – Cardboard, dice, tokens
• Tabletop RPG content – Adventures, mechanics, systems

Why this works:

✔️ Zero technical barrier – Anyone can make a paper prototype

✔️ Rapid iteration – Change rules instantly, test immediately

✔️ Forces design thinking – You can’t hide behind polish; the mechanics must work

✔️ Demonstrates fundamentals – Game design principles apply regardless of medium

Portfolio presentation: Document your process with photos, rules documents, and playtesting notes. Show how you iterated based on feedback.

Some of the most impressive portfolio pieces we’ve seen included well-documented tabletop prototypes that demonstrated deep systems thinking.

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Building the Complete Package

Making games is necessary—but not sufficient. You need to present your work effectively.

Here’s the full checklist:

Showcase It Well

Your portfolio is your argument for why someone should hire you.

Portfolio essentials:

• • Clear navigation – Visitors should find your best work in 10 seconds
  • Project pages with structure – Overview, your role, design goals, process, results
  • Playable builds or videos – Let people experience your work
  • Visual documentation – Screenshots, diagrams, GIFs showing key moments
  • Process transparency – Show iteration, problems solved, lessons learned

Design a portfolio that shows your process.
Studios don’t just want to see what you made. They want to see how you think.

Write a Cover Letter That Reflects Culture Fit

Generic cover letters go unread. Personalized ones that demonstrate research and alignment get attention.

What works:

• • Reference specific games the studio makes
  • Explain why their design philosophy resonates with you
  • Connect your experience to their needs
  • Show you understand their player base
  • Demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for this job, not just a job

Write a cover letter that reflects culture fit.
Studios hire for culture and collaboration as much as for skill. Show you’d fit.

Build a Resume That Tells a Story

Your resume shouldn’t be a chronological list of everything you’ve done.

What it should be:

• • Targeted – Emphasizing experience relevant to the role
  • Achievement-focused – Not just responsibilities, but results
  • Story-driven – Showing progression and growth
  • Concise – One page if you’re early-career

Build a resume that tells a story.
The story is: “I’ve been preparing for this specific role, and here’s the evidence.”

Practice Talking Through Your Thinking

You’ll be asked to discuss your portfolio projects in interviews.

Preparation:

• • Practice explaining each project in 2 minutes or less
  • Prepare answers about challenges faced, how you solved them, what you learned
  • Be ready to discuss what you’d do differently now
  • Practice talking through your design process out loud

Practice talking through your thinking.
The ability to articulate your reasoning is as important as the reasoning itself.

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The Reality Check

Let’s be honest about the challenge you’re facing:

Your skills won’t matter if no one sees them.

You might be talented. You might have learned a lot in your program. You might have excellent design instincts.

But if your portfolio doesn’t demonstrate that—if it’s empty or weak or theoretical—nobody will ever know.

Studios can’t take a chance on potential alone. They need evidence. Your portfolio is that evidence.

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The Formula That Actually Works

Here’s the complete picture:

Game design skills + Get hired skills = Job offers

You need both halves of this equation.

Game design skills:

• Understanding player psychology
• Systems thinking
• Iteration and playtesting
• Balancing complexity and accessibility
• Creating engaging core loops

Get hired skills:

• Building a compelling portfolio
• Presenting your work effectively
• Writing targeted applications
• Interviewing with structured thinking
• Networking within the industry

Most aspiring designers focus entirely on the first half. They study design theory, play games critically, understand frameworks and principles.

Then they wonder why they can’t land jobs.

The second half: the “get hired” skills, are just as important. Maybe more important, because they’re what actually gets you in the door where you can apply your design skills professionally.

Your Action Plan Starting Today

If you recognize yourself in the “degree without portfolio” trap, here’s what to do:

This Week:

1. Register for an upcoming game jam – Find one happening in the next 30 days. Commit publicly.
2. Choose one portfolio-building path – Modding, visual scripting, tabletop design—pick one and start.
3. Audit your current portfolio – What can be salvaged? What needs to be added? What should be removed?

This Month:

1. Complete one small project – Jam game, mod, prototype—something finished and playable.
2. Document it thoroughly – Process, decisions, iteration, learnings.
3. Get feedback – Share in Discord communities, with peers, with mentors.

This Quarter:

1. Build 2-3 more portfolio pieces – Focus on quality and documentation.
2. Redesign your portfolio site – Clear, professional, process-focused.
3. Start applying strategically – Targeted applications to studios whose values align with your work.

The Bottom Line

The degree debate is a distraction.

What matters is this: Can you demonstrate that you can design games?

Not theoretically. Not on paper. Actually design—prototype, test, iterate, and ship experiences that work.

If you can demonstrate that, doors open. With or without a degree.

If you can’t demonstrate that, doors stay closed. Even with the fanciest degree from the most prestigious program.

The portfolio is the proof. Build the proof.

Everything else is secondary.

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Ready to understand where you stand and what roles might fit your skills? Take the Game Careerz Assessment to get personalized insights into your path forward.

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