Before this class, I felt like being a game designer or working in games was more of a pipe dream than anything else. Even with taking 247G, I felt like I was enamored with game design, but I didn’t feel capable of it. I always had ideas for games, but no plan for execution, especially with digital games. The greatest thing I got out of this class, along with the techniques and theories behind game design, was the confidence that I can make a game. Even if it may not be the best game, or even well-designed, I know I can make it, and how to work on it to make it better.
While P1 was fun, P2 was when this lesson sunk in for me. Making a whole interactive fiction on our own was daunting and exciting all at the same time. I know mine was very long, but it was exhilarating to make. Seeing people play the game and really engage with it was incredibly rewarding, and seeing the final version come together was something else. I’ve never felt as accomplished – even knowing the game was flawed and needs a lot of revamping, I made it. And that reignited a desire to pursue game design more seriously. It started feeling less like an impossible fantasy and more like something I could actually do.
What I love about this class is how you gave us the tools to create and let us go crazy. The freedom of expression in the games we made helped us get extremely passionate about it, but it was the guidance that you and Amy provided that helped us take that unbridled energy and turn it into something playable. Learning concepts from designing rules and tutorials to understanding players and loops were vital to making our games better. I loved how we were able to put everything we learned into practice, and how much the learnings inside and outside of class actually mattered in the “real” context of making these games.
Throughout this class, I really took the idea of “you get out what you put in to the class” to heart. Being passionate about the content, I wanted to throw myself all in to learning everything and being as present and involved as possible, and it really paid off. Putting as much effort as possible into making the projects, engaging in class discussions, and playtesting are what helped make the accomplishments we achieved in this class feel so impactful to me. I think the key to this class is really throwing yourself in it, because what you get out is truly incredible.
Throughout the class, we learned all kinds of concepts of game design, from systems to how to make games educational to designing boxes, and each of these lectures taught me something completely new about designing a game. There is so much that goes into making even a simple game, and that is what makes games so fun and exciting. But beyond just how to make games, I think I learned so much about how to be a game designer, if that makes sense. Practicing the skill of playtesting over and over again was incredibly helpful, and so was analyzing all the different games we played in class. Getting to be in that game designer mindset so frequently helped me start to shape the intuition of what makes sense. I still have a long way to go, but I understand better how to keep building that intuition through practice. I also learned about how to connect and collaborate with other designers. Whether it was building a game itself, or just discussing game concepts or playtesting, the value of working with other designers was indescribable.
I felt this especially with fiximupim. The best part of making that game was all the incredible ideas people would be throwing around for the game. Hearing people’s stories of terrible guys that inspired our dialogue, or when people pitched game concepts like adding new options or new mechanics, were instrumental to creating the game. Even suggestions we didn’t take (like using ace attorney gifs for the boys) are stuck in my head because of how fun they are and how much I wish I could implement everything.
I learned so, so much throughout this class. I feel like a completely different designer, both for games and otherwise, after everything in this course. I know I said TAPS 103 is everyone’s favorite class, but this one is definitely mine. I will always remember how much this class stuck with me, and how it has very strongly changed the direction of my future career. Before this class, I never thought I could actually make games. Even the idea of indie development was intimidating – now, with everything I’ve learned, it’s exciting. Making games is worth the challenge, whatever it is, and this class is what gave me the confidence to pursue it fully.
