Game Design Courses and Certifications

Hackaday

Sandbox Systems - Hardware for Emergent Games

Discover how to design immersive hardware systems for large-scale cyberpunk LARP games, blending technology with emergent gameplay for hundreds of players in desert environments.

• YouTube
• 31 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Diseño de videojuegos

333 ratings at Coursera

Aprende a diseñar videojuegos desde el concepto inicial hasta el game concept document, definiendo mecánicas, jugabilidad, niveles y experiencia del jugador.

• Coursera
• 4 weeks, 3 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

Unity

What Makes Great Games Great? Game Design

Explore a practical recipe for great games using player goals, feedback, balanced difficulty, flow, and simplicity.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

Game Design Patterns for Building Friendships

Explores game design patterns for multiplayer games that foster friendship and keep players from being treated as interchangeable, disposable, or abusable.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 3 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

What Cats Can Teach You About Empathic Game Design

A cat-focused game prototype reveals how empathic design and player testing can inform games for humans.

• YouTube
• 26 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

How to Teach 5 Semesters of Game Design in 1 Class

A Tufts University instructor explains how one game design class compresses five semesters of traditional curriculum into a single term.

• YouTube
• 33 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

Beyond Game Design

An exploration of how game designers can step up to meet challenges beyond the craft of game design.

• YouTube
• 24 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

An Introduction to Situational Game Design

A brief introduction to situational game design, with guidance for instructors considering how to use its fundamentals in the classroom.

• YouTube
• 26 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

Bridging the Gap Between UX Principles and Game Design

Explore how UX principles and game design can work together to improve the overall gameplay experience.

• YouTube
• 29 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

To Err is to Play - Human Error and Game Design

Explore how understanding human error can help game designers prevent or encourage mistakes to shape the intended player experience.

• YouTube
• 53 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

Integrating Narrative into Game Design - A Portal Post-Mortem

A Portal post-mortem on integrating narrative into game design.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 19 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

The Freedom Fallacy - Understanding Player Autonomy in Game Design

A GDC session on player autonomy, helping game developers satisfy players while avoiding design choices that undermine meaningful freedom.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 2 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

GDC

King Me - A Defense of King-Making in Board Game Design

A defense of king-making as a deliberate competitive multiplayer design choice, exploring disruption, storytelling, consent, victory conditions, and winning.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 1 minute
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Derek Banas

Design and Make a Video Game - From Concept to Code

Designs an original video game from concept and visual art through a complete JavaScript implementation.

• YouTube
• 56 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Diseño de Videojuegos: Una introducción

149 ratings at Coursera

Aprende a diseñar las reglas y mecánicas de juegos de acción y plataformas 2D, y conviértelas en un prototipo funcional en Unity.

• Coursera
• 4 weeks, 3 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course