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What are some good tips for video game design?
I'm a junior at San Francisco, and I want to make my own video games. I have some pretty good ideas, and I want to bring them to life. Any advice?
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Dr’s Answer
Hey Danny, awesome to hear you're ready to dive into video game design! That is really cool and treendign too 😅.. Uhum anyways! My bro’s been on that journey too—he started by learning the basics and then jumped into game jams. Those jams are fantastic because they push you to finish your projects, even if they're not perfect at first. It's all part of the learning process, and if you end up winning one, well, that’s like unlocking a secret achievement in life, right?
Soooo, here are a few tips to get you started:
• Learn the Basics: Whether it's coding or using a game engine like Unity or Unreal, start small and build your skills gradually.
• Join Game Jams: They’re a great way to challenge yourself, complete projects, and get feedback. Plus, you don’t have to worry about perfection—you’re learning and improving with every project.
• Experiment and Iterate: Don’t be afraid to try out different ideas. Every game you create is a step toward refining your style and skills.
• Get Feedback: Share your work with friends (like your gaming bro) and online communities. Honest feedback can help you level up faster.
• Keep it Fun: Remember, game design is all about creativity and passion. Enjoy the process and let your ideas run wild!
Good luck, and most importantly, have a blast creating your games. You've got this!
Pick Your Weapon (Game Engine) Unity (C#) – Great for beginners, powerful for pros. Used for 2D and 3D games. Unreal Engine (Blueprints & C++) – High-quality graphics, used in AAA games. Godot (GDScript) – Free, lightweight, and awesome for indie games.
If you don’t code yet, start with Scratch, Python, or simple C# tutorials. Platforms like Codecademy, Udemy, and YouTube have great beginner courses. Follow tutorials, then tweak things to make them your own.
Keep your first project stupidly simple—think Flappy Bird, Pong, or a basic platformer. Finish it. No “I’ll add this later”—just get it playable.
Join a Game Jam (Best Decision Ever) Ludum Dare, GMTK Game Jam, Global Game Jam—these force you to make a game FAST. You’ll learn more in 48 hours than in months of overthinking.
Steal Like a Game Designer (Legally, of Course) Play games and analyze: Why is this fun? What makes this level design work? Study how your favorite games handle mechanics, UI, and pacing. And then, Get Feedback (Prepare for Brutal Honesty) Post your game on Itch.io or in game dev forums. Ask people to play it and tell you what’s trash (and what’s great).
Soooo, here are a few tips to get you started:
• Learn the Basics: Whether it's coding or using a game engine like Unity or Unreal, start small and build your skills gradually.
• Join Game Jams: They’re a great way to challenge yourself, complete projects, and get feedback. Plus, you don’t have to worry about perfection—you’re learning and improving with every project.
• Experiment and Iterate: Don’t be afraid to try out different ideas. Every game you create is a step toward refining your style and skills.
• Get Feedback: Share your work with friends (like your gaming bro) and online communities. Honest feedback can help you level up faster.
• Keep it Fun: Remember, game design is all about creativity and passion. Enjoy the process and let your ideas run wild!
Good luck, and most importantly, have a blast creating your games. You've got this!
Dr recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Mark’s Answer
Focus on iterating your game and making it more fun - learn how to break down the core gameplay decisions very discretely with timings. At any moment in the game - how many things are you deciding? What do you need to know to make a decision? How can you make the current decision more fun? How much challenge is right for players of different skills - how can you satisfy the casual and core players? One of the most fundamental questions I can ask as a game designer is "Where's the fun in that?" - what makes it fun to do, and what would make it more fun. Navigating from your most basic prototype to something really compelling is a series of steps where you identify what you want to learn, what you are using to measure success, and then making changes so you can test that theory.
Most novice game designers over-scope trying to copy commercial games that they love - instead start with the minimal experience of a single interaction that you build into a single simple engagement that you build into a simple scene that is slightly more complex that you make more immersive each time refining the minimal experience until you can't put it down. That is at the heart of every great game - the magic doesn't suddenly appear when you add 4K textures, the magic is in the interaction and decisionmaking and is enhanced by the other details.
Start much smaller than you think - get your most basic repeating interaction or decision to be fun through however many interactions it takes
Use some scientific method - What is your theory of what is lacking in the game? How will you test it / prototype that theory? What is your objective measurement? Playtest it like crazy. Measure and evaluate, repeat.
Learn to watch people play without engaging or helping - let them struggle so you can learn how to help them be successful.
Most novice game designers over-scope trying to copy commercial games that they love - instead start with the minimal experience of a single interaction that you build into a single simple engagement that you build into a simple scene that is slightly more complex that you make more immersive each time refining the minimal experience until you can't put it down. That is at the heart of every great game - the magic doesn't suddenly appear when you add 4K textures, the magic is in the interaction and decisionmaking and is enhanced by the other details.
Mark recommends the following next steps: