GAME DESIGN

Kick things off by meeting your instructors, getting to know your classmates, and mapping out the journey ahead. You’ll get the lowdown on the course structure, the final project, and what’s expected.

• Instructor & associate instructor intro
• Course structure & final project
• Housekeeping rules

Get clear on what game design is, where game designers fit in the development pipeline, and how their role shifts between indie teams and AAA studios. By the end, you’ll know who does what, why it matters, and where a game designer makes the biggest impact.

• Game design: Genres & platforms
• Case Study: Game design pipeline: AAA vs. indie studios
• Team & organisational hierarchy
• Game designer’s role & responsibilities

Get hands-on with player personas, learn what makes games fun, and start shaping it all into a Game Design Document. Turn loose ideas into a structured concept that speaks the language of game devs.

• Types of fun
• Workshop: Creating personas 
• GDD template overview: Format & structure
• Case Study: Overview of GDD of recognised games

Assignment #1: Game Vision
Think of a game project you want to create. Start developing your Game Design Document, including the Title, Designer, Vision Statement, Summary, Target Audience, and Target Platforms sections.

Explore how game mechanics, player dynamics, and aesthetics come together to shape player experience. Analyse hits like Counter-Strike and StarCraft to see how intentions turn into engaging gameplay.

• Mechanics
• Dynamics
• Aesthetics
• Case Study: MDA framework application (Counter Strike, Starcraft)
• Goals, intentions, execution

Assignment #2 (Optional): MDA Practice
Choose a game (Fortnite/Blue Prince/EA FC) and analyse it using the MDA framework.

Take your game idea from spark to pitch-ready concept. Brainstorm, refine, and craft a compelling elevator pitch, then get hands-on feedback to make sure your idea lands with impact. Confidently present a game concept that excites and engages.

• Ideas brainstorming
• Pitch creation
• Successful game pitch: Tips
• Workshop: Pitching your game concept 

Explore how game systems tick and interact, from combat mechanics to scalable designs. Learn how well-crafted systems spark unexpected player experiences, and get hands-on building a mock system in Miro.

• Game system components
• Translating a game concept into a system
• Combat systems
• Scalable game systems
• Player experiences & system design
• Demo: Conceptualising game systems in Miro for a mock case

Assignment #3: MDA & Systems
Continue working on your Game Design Document and complete the following sections for your game: Mechanics & Dynamics, Aesthetics.

Learn how to keep players hooked by balancing skill and challenge. Explore flow theory, skill ceilings and floors, and dynamic difficulty, then apply it in hands-on workshops to see how games like Super Mario and Candy Crush keep the fun rolling.

• Flow theory & parameters 
• Skill ceilings & skill floors
• Workshop: Balancing challenges (Super Mario, Candy Crush)
• Static & dynamic difficulty
• Player vs. environment (PVE) & Player vs. player (PVP)
• Developing puzzles

Dive into the fundamentals of level design and game tutorials. Practice crafting levels, balancing player learning curves, and integrating rewards and content, then collaborate to polish and present your own playable concepts.

• Level & spatial design principles
• Learning curve
• Onboarding & tutorials
• Developing level maps
• Workshop: Level design practice (pen/paper, Canva, Miro, Photoshop, Paint)
• Content design: Armour, weapons, rewards

Assignment #4: Level & Content Design
Continue working on your Game Design Document and complete the following sections for your game: Levels, Content.

Design game experiences that stick. Learn to create engaging loops and flows that tap into player psychology, keep players motivated, and use feedback loops to make every interaction count.

• Game loops
• Player flows
• Player psychology & genre
• Feedback loops: Positive & negative

Learn how to design a game economy that keeps players engaged for the right amount of time. You’ll explore tuning strategies, balance in-game values, and build practical models in Excel or Google Sheets to see your economy in action.

• Tuning & balancing strategies
• Game economy design
• Demo: Building basic models in Excel/Google Sheets 

Assignment #5: Game Loop & Economy Design
Balance at least one of the provided game models in Google Sheets & continue working on your Game Design Document, including the following sections for your game: Game Loop, Economy Design.

Craft game narratives that players will feel. Explore story structures, character arcs, dialogue, and cinematic techniques that bring gameplay to life with real-world examples and expert insights.

• Framework: Three-act structure, hero’s journey, etc. 
• Case Study: Types of narratives in games
• Story arcs
• Characters & dialogues
• Use of cinematics & cameras

Assignment #6: Narrative Design
Continue working on your Game Design Document and complete the Narrative section (Story, Characters, World).

Test, tweak, and level up your game. Prototype ideas, run playtests with real feedback, and learn how to collaborate with developers, artists, and designers to turn rough concepts into polished gameplay experiences.

• Paper & code prototyping
• Cross-team cooperation 
• Playtests: Goals, audience, feedback
• Iteration cycle in the game design process

Dive into Unity and bring your first game ideas to life. Explore the engine’s tools, set up your first scene, and start building custom mechanics with hands-on guidance from an industry pro.

• Introduction to Unity 
• Getting started with Unity
• Scene, controls, component-based architecture, custom mechanics

Get hands-on with colliders, jumping and shooting mechanics, level editing, and asset management, all while seeing how pros turn prototypes into playable experiences.

• Introduction to colliders
• Advanced mechanics: Jumping, shooting
• Pro builder: Level editor
• Asset store & management

Assignment #7 (Optional): Prototype & Playtest
Create a basic prototype in Unity for playtesting. Playtest your game with peers, friends, and family. Collect feedback, iterate, and submit a feedback report with a change list.

Turn data into decisions. Explore game analytics, uncover what keeps players engaged, and design features that boost retention, satisfaction, and in-game spending.

• Monetisation models
• Player engagement, retention, sentiment
• Key design-related metrics 
• Designing features to drive specific metrics

Level up your career-ready kit. Learn how to craft a standout resume, build a portfolio that grabs attention, and position yourself to land game design roles. We’ll cover networking, interview hacks, and extra skills that give you the edge.

• Writing a resume
• Building a portfolio: Tools & practices 
• Networking
• Landing job interviews
• Additional skills to gain a competitive advantage

Assignment #8: Final Project: Game Design Document (GDD)
Finalise all sections of your GDD and submit the complete final project. Plus, update your résumé and digital portfolio, or create them from scratch using the tips discussed in the lesson.