Before this class, I didn’t really play a lot of games and didn’t realize how layered and intentional game design could be. During the rare chance when I played games, it was usually digital. The only analog games I liked were card games, but digital/mobile games just felt more accessible and familiar to me. I was always interested in how games were designed, but never thought about the process in itself. I’ve always been curious about how games are made, but I never really thought about the process itself. I assumed it was mostly about cool visuals or coming up with fun ideas, not something rooted in systems thinking or player psychology. So, this class really opened my eyes to how deep and complex game design actually is. Games aren’t just about having fun, they can also carry meaning, tell stories, and spark reflection. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface, and now I look at games and game design through a fresh perspective.
In this class, I’ve played more games than I ever have before, and through that, I’ve learned so much about what actually makes a great game. The concept that stuck with me most was Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics (MDA). It gave me a new lens to break down how games work beneath the surface and I felt that they were foundational knowledge that could be applied to future game design concepts/elements. I especially loved learning about the different “types of fun.” Before this class, I never realized that “fun” wasn’t just one thing, it’s actually made up of all these smaller components, like discovery, challenge, fellowship, or fantasy. It helped me break down what kind of experience I wanted players to have, and it gave me the language to design more intentionally around that feeling. I implemented these ideas into my own work by thinking carefully about which mechanics and aesthetics would make my games more engaging while still staying true to the overall theme. I didn’t just want the game to be fun: I wanted every element to feel intentional and connected to the game we were building.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was creating a game that felt cohesive. It was easy to come up with individual ideas, like designing puzzles for an escape room or how bluffing could work in a card-based game. But making all those elements fit together smoothly in actual gameplay was much harder. It took a lot of iteration, playtesting, and adjusting to figure out what pieces really worked and which ones didn’t. Through that process, I became more familiar with core gameplay fundamentals and grew not just as a designer, but also as a player. I feel much more confident in my design skills now, and I’ve realized how much design thinking applies to other areas too. Next time, I want to test my game with a wider range of people, including different ages, backgrounds, and play styles, to see if it can appeal to more players. I also want to test it in real-world settings to see if any ethical implications come up that I hadn’t considered before.
I made so many new friends and had so much fun playing games in this class, I will definitely miss it!
