Game Design
The video game industry is huge and has many areas of specialization, from programming and 2D or 3D art, to sound design and music. The software, print, and video resources on this page will help you explore these dynamic fields.
Video Game Design Overview
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The days when a single computer programmer could create a successful game without also learning creative arts are over. Today's games still need programmers but also need artists, musical directors, sound editors, and writers.
Video game design software to try
- Blender
Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite. While it can be used for creating 3D models, it also does a lot more, and is often used in video editing and game creation. Blender has a reputation for having a steep learning curve, so be prepared to invest some time to learn how to use it. - Unity Game Engine
Many popular video games use the Unity Game Engine, and it's free to download and learn! - Scratch
Scratch is a programming environment for kids and beginners. Use simple building blocks to build programs, games, or animations. - Stencyl
Stencyl allows you to create and "publish iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux & Flash games without code." Free to publish to web, not free to publish to app stores.
Online resources for help with video game design
- Courses in game design on LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning had many great courses and tips on Game Design. If you aren't already logged in at LinkedIn Learning you will need to select "Sign in" then "Sign in with your library card" then enter "www.linkedin.com/learning-login/go/winnipegpubliclibrary" as the library ID and finally use your WPL card number and PIN to sign in. - exX - Introduction to Game Design
This course explores these questions and others through six content units over seven weeks. Participants will be introduced to game design and game design concepts, emphasizing the basic tools of game design: paper and digital prototyping, design iteration, and user testing. The audience for this course includes current and aspiring game designers and those interested in delving deeply into the game creation process.
For the course project, participants will create either a digital game or a board game. This course leverages Gameblox, a game editor that uses a block based programming language to allow anyone to create games. - CS50's Introduction to Game Development
Learn about the development of 2D and 3D interactive games in this hands-on course, as you explore the design of games such as Super Mario Bros., Pokémon, Angry Birds, and more.
