Before this class, I truly did not think very deeply about games. I’ve always enjoyed games, mostly fps games, but also card games, board games, and others. However, I never thought about why they were fun, what went into making these games, or the like.
This class really helped me understand more about the game design process specifically. I never knew all the time and energy that needed to go into game design, from ideation, to prototyping (many, many times…), testing (again…. many, many times), and receiving feedback.
Especially going into the 2nd project, I thought coding would be the most complicated part by far. However, to my surprise, game engines are very advanced and make the job easier for the developers (coding games is definitely very hard though but it is easier than I thought). The hardest part of the 2nd project was definitely continually strategizing, ideating, iterating on our plan, coordinating with the team to ensure seamlessness, and overall testing and acting on feedback. If anything, coding was satisfying, although definitely difficult at times with bugs and the like.
Concepts in this class that I will take away from are the different types of fun created by games. Like I said, I never really thought about why I liked the games I liked or why I have fun playing the games I play, but when we learned about the different types of fun games created, and the different aesthetics created, I was very intrigued. It got me thinking about what was common between all the games I’ve played and why I’ve enjoyed them.
Also, random, something I found very interesting was how small of a percentage of gamers play fps games. To me, fps games were by far the most popular game genre, however I couldn’t’ve been more wrong.
I experienced challenges throughout the class, but most importantly I grew as a teammate and leader. I found myself expressing my views loudly and clearly, acting on feedback, and improving between projects. My first team experience wasn’t the best, and I struggled with communication sometimes (and also didn’t enjoy some ways the team handled things, but that’s fine).
However, my second team experience was great. I became a better communicator, everyone vibed well, I felt comfortable expressing my opinions and views honestly and constructively, and very importantly I listened.
Great class, thanks!
