I took a break from learning today. Now, before you get confused as to why I’m still writing this blog post, just know I still learned something, it simply wasn’t Unity specific. I went to LinkedIn to update some information and found a Game Design series LinkedIn has for people to learn about what it means to Design a Game, and how to do it. You can watch this video series too, by going here! Though I didn’t learn how to program, or how to build a game, I did learn an important skill, and that is how to make a game. Near the beginning she claimed that the viewer would, by the end of the video, design their own game. I chuckled and kept watching. She claimed all you needed was a pen, paper, two coins, and a die. I said, “You know what, I have all of those easily, why not?” She told the viewer to draw a squiggly line down a paper, and as soon as I drew it, I knew. She just had me create the layout of a board game, and the coins are the two players.

She went on from there to discuss theory and best practice when designing games. For starters, a game requires a core. The basis of what the entire game is designed to be, designed to do. A core can range from RPG, or Puzzle, to Sailing Simulator, or First Person Shooter. Once you have that decision made, then comes the next, Features. Say it’s a Sailing Simulator, five features could include these: Unique Boats, Steering, Land Masses to avoid, Waves to challenge you, and Wind to teach you how to use it in your favor. From there you might say, “Fishing would be an amazing feature to add!” However, fishing is not required in a Sailing Simulator. With that added, any additional feature that is not required, should be added when there is extra time, not before. I learned more about the different types of Designers: Lead Game Designer, Level Designer, Content Designer, System Designer, Economic Designer, and Creative Director. Though, I’ll let her explain them all for you, all you have to do is watch her video series on it!