Q: Do you have any advice that you would give to any players out there who are also interested in getting involved with Quality Assurance or Game Support like you?
A: Being a Game Designer is actually a bit of a nebulous thing. There is no way to just become one, unless you have been something else first in most cases. My story isn’t that unfamiliar to a lot of other designers, in which programmers move into design, or artists, or QA, etc. Generally it seems you have to have been a part of the process from a different perspective to be an effective designer because ultimately you decide the things the rest of the studio is working on, and have to communicate it to them effectively without wasting too much time. Design spends a lot of time talking to artists, production, programming, and other designers to create a plan of action, in addition to implementing the fun stuff like boss fights and quests. Artists and animators need to know what the boss looks like and what the moves should look like, programmers need to know how the crafting system is going to work, and production needs to know how long you think it will take to complete for example. On top of these aspects, experience across the board that can help in creating experiences for other people is paramount. Travelling, shopping, reading, movies, driving, eating different places. Anything and everything can be an inspiration of an experience you want to create for other people. Being familiar with mythology, religion, and other philosophical aspects of life, as well as the things that you’re passionate about and want others to feel passionate about as well.

Ultimately I think that if you want to pursue the path of a designer, you need to have another core development skill that you can start from. A lot of the time we’re idea people, true, but its more the implementation and approach using all of the relevant disciplines that make up the bulk of our work. In order to do that effectively you need to understand technical limitations as well as have the cool ideas. I, for example, was a programmer, so I understand a lot more about the performance impact of certain ideas or implementations that perhaps an artist would not know. Also, I would get used to criticism, both positive and negative and being able to take it in stride. A lot of ideas get shot down, other ideas get cut or scoped out of a project for time, and one of those times it will be something you’re very passionate about adding to a game… and you have to let it go.

Extra Credits did a youtube video about being a designer, and I highly recommend you view if you are interested in becoming one!
Inspiring.