Select your current position
Pick a role and level — we'll show the growth path, skills and gap analysis.
Development path
Junior
0-2 years
Responsibility: Completing tasks under the guidance of senior colleagues. Learning the codebase, standards, and team processes. Writing code to spec, fixing simple bugs, writing tests.
Key skills:
Middle
2-5 years
Responsibility: Independently developing features from decomposition to deployment. Participating in code review. Optimizing performance. Mentoring junior developers. Taking part in architecture discussions.
Key skills:
Senior
5-8 years
Responsibility: Designing the architecture of components and services. Solving complex technical problems. Managing technical debt. Code review as a quality gatekeeper. Mentoring middle developers. Choosing technologies for new tasks.
Key skills:
Lead / Staff
7-12 years
Responsibility: Technical leadership of a team or area. Designing system architecture. Coordinating with other teams. Establishing standards and best practices. Participating in hiring. Planning the technical roadmap.
Key skills:
Principal
10+ years
Responsibility: Technical strategy at the company or domain level. Cross-organizational influence. Solving systemic business problems through technology. Mentoring lead engineers. Publicly representing the company.
Key skills:
Gap analysis: skills to develop
To reach the next level you'll need to develop:
Designs AI systems based on behavior trees: tactical behavior, team coordination, adaptation to player actions. Configures NavMesh for complex levels with dynamic obstacles. Balances AI difficulty for different difficulty levels through parametric tuning.
Designs analytics event system for full game system coverage. Analyzes funnel metrics, level heatmaps, player resource distribution. Conducts A/B tests of balance changes and interprets results. Uses cohort analysis to evaluate changes.
Develops in-game economy systems: resource balance, sink/source models, progression curves. Models economy in spreadsheets with player behavior simulation. Conducts A/B tests of monetization mechanics. Balances reward schedules for optimal engagement.
Designs complex game systems: combat system, crafting, skill trees, quest systems. Balances mechanics through spreadsheet modeling and playtesting. Creates secondary loops and meta-game. Understands player psychology and applies motivational frameworks (SDT, Bartle taxonomy).
Designs monetization: IAP catalog, rewarded ads integration, battle pass, subscription model. Creates dynamic offers based on player behavior. Balances monetization for optimal LTV without harming retention. Conducts A/B tests of pricing and offer design.
Designs narrative systems: branching dialogues, player choice consequences, narrative pacing. Creates compelling characters with character arcs. Uses narrative tools (Ink, Twine, Yarn Spinner) for implementing branching stories. Integrates narrative with gameplay mechanics.
Designs physics systems for gameplay: ragdoll, destruction, vehicle physics, cloth simulation. Configures physics layers and collision matrix for optimization. Creates custom physics for game feel: tweaked gravity curves, coyote time, input buffering for responsive controls.
Designs and conducts structured playtests: usability testing, balance testing, difficulty curve evaluation. Creates test plans for game systems. Analyzes playtest data (video recordings, metrics, questionnaires) and formulates actionable improvements. Automates basic balance testing.
Designs comprehensive UX systems: onboarding flow, control schemes for different platforms, accessibility features. Creates UI/UX documentation with wireframes and interaction specifications. Conducts usability testing and analyzes interaction heatmaps. Ensures consistent UX language.
Designs complex levels: multi-path layouts, vertical gameplay, risk/reward zones. Creates encounter design: enemy placement, cover systems, difficulty pacing. Works with navigation meshes for AI. Balances levels through playtesting: timing, challenge, reward distribution.
Designs live-ops pipeline: event calendar, content cadence, event templates. Creates diverse events: competitive leaderboards, collection events, co-op challenges. Analyzes event metrics and optimizes engagement. Works with remote config for server-side changes.
Designs mobile-first game systems: session design for 3-5 minute gameplay, energy systems, push notifications, social features. Optimizes UX for mobile: onboarding flow, store placement, FTUE. Creates monetization design for mobile: IAP, ads, battle pass.
Designs PC/console-specific game systems: deep progression, complex inventory, controller + keyboard/mouse support. Creates content for long sessions: 20+ hour campaigns. Optimizes UX for living room experience: couch co-op, split screen, big picture mode.
Confidently works in Unity for game design tasks: ScriptableObjects for data-driven design, Prefab workflow, Animation Controller. Creates gameplay prototypes with UI, animations, basic AI. Uses Unity Tools: Tilemap, Cinemachine, Timeline for game content creation.
Confidently works with Unreal for game design: Blueprint for complex mechanics, Sequencer for cutscenes, World Partition for open world. Creates gameplay systems via Blueprint: AI behavior trees, UI widgets, interaction systems. Uses Data Tables for data-driven design.