Before this class, I did not know that much about game design. I’ve played a lot of video games, but never really thought too deeply about how they were designed or their creation process. I thought that games were designed well if they were fun, not thinking about why and how the fun is created. Through this class, I learned to think about game design in a more structured way, for example, via the mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics (MDA) framework, or thinking about interaction loops and arcs. I learned about different ways that games are deliberately designed to improve the player experience, such as through good onboarding, having good balance, or appealing music and fonts. I am now able to think more like a game designer when I play games.
Through the projects, I also understood how hard game development truly is. For example, for P2, my team made a simple action platforming type game featuring a samurai exploring an ancient tomb. The game is fairly short and simple, mostly using existing assets, yet took a lot of effort and coding to create. Even after all that, there is still a long way to go before the game is fully polished. It made me appreciate all the tremendous effort and heart that game developers put into the games they make. Now when I boot up a game on my PC or Switch, I come to appreciate how much of a monumental feat it is that I am experiencing.
I have also discovered many new games through this class from critical plays and reading blog posts by classmates. While I’ve mostly played popular AAA games, through this class I got to discover a much more diverse array of games, such as social deduction games, puzzle games, or walking simulators. These are games that I would not have played or even heard of otherwise. I am amazed at the diversity of games out there and have come to appreciate much more deeply the medium of gaming as a form of art. Games are able to tell many different stories, create so many varied experiences, and bring people together like no other mediums could. I’ve loved games before, but taking this class has made me love games even more.
