Before this class, I was a little afraid to approach game design because I play casual and cozy games, and I thought that game design would be focused mainly on hardcore and challenging games that I find difficult to play. However, this class acknowledged my experience as a casual gamer and taught me that any form of play is important. Therefore, every game needs to be designed for. I was also going through a gaming dry spell before this class. Gaming used to occupy a big part of my life, but this past year I stopped playing as much because I became more preoccupied with other life things and felt guilty for playing games. Thus, I really appreciate this class for forcing me to play games again, and for validating the excited and hopeful emotions that emerge when I play.
I think that one of the biggest things I learned is that I like consuming games more than I like creating them, at least for right now. I knew that making games was hard, but taking this class solidified that knowledge and showed me exactly what was hard about it. I learned that good team dynamics are essential for creating a cohesive and fun to play game, and that it takes effort to maintain a team. I also realized that technical expertise is important. My team had fun narrative and puzzle ideas, but they couldn’t be realized unless we had the technical skills to actually implement them.
As for class concepts that stuck with me, I enjoyed learning about MDA because they allowed me to unpack the layers of games and understand what makes them so compelling to play. I also liked learning about the different types of fun, because I could categorize games and have the knowledge to be able to reach for the right game when I am in the mood for a certain type of fun. While I applied these concepts in class by thinking about what type of fun my game should evoke and how, I found that the types of fun I enjoy the most were harder for me to implement. For example, I really like fun in the form of abnegation and narration, but I struggled a lot in creating compelling narratives and art that is necessary to pull players into an immersive environment. Again, I realize that I enjoy playing games and writing about them, more than I enjoy creating them.
I still want to keep trying to make games, but I would want to do so for fun and not necessarily for class or for work. I imagine that the process would also be much nicer if there was no timeline. The next time I make a game, I would like to incorporate class concepts more intentionally. I also want to be more involved in the technical part of creating a game, and being more comfortable using a game engine.
