Continuing my 30 day LinkedIn Learning challenge with the second course in the series: Game Design Foundations 2. After taking the first one, I was pretty hopefully on this one. And the course lived up to my expectations. So today, we’ll talk a little about what all is in this course, who I think should take it, what some of my favorite points were, and what I think can be improved. Let’s get started.
Fun fact: the course is taught by Brenda Romero, spouse of John Romero (creator of Doom).
Disclaimer
Small disclaimer before we get started. LinkedIn Learning is, technically, a paid service. However, our local library offers it for free to all library card holders. Check with your local library system to see if this service is available to you.
There is also a free one month trial available.
What Content is Here
Game Design Foundations 2 picks up where part 1 left off. (Check out my review on Game Design Foundations 1.) They give a top-down approach to game design. The first course was the highest level overview. Game Foundations 2 takes the first step towards more specific elements. It talks about game systems and the role of chance versus strategy in games.
In the first section on game systems, the course starts by defining what game systems actually are and why we break them down into their own (mostly) isolated systems. Then, we move on to some of the most common game systems and some things that might be handled by those systems. Finally, we break down one particular system (a character system) and look at how it can promote player engagement.
The second section covers chance. A little randomness in games can be a good thing. This section discusses why, lists some of its benefits, and gives about half a dozen different examples of mechanics that utilize chance.
Finally, we move on to the last section: strategy. This is the longest part of the course. Similar to the chance section, it defines what strategy is, lists the benefits, and gives examples. But since decisions are at the heart of games of skill, it also talks dedicates a fair amount of time discussing decisions in depth. This includes things like different types of decisions, the tradeoff or dilemmas different choices can have, and a distinction between strategy and tactics..
Who Should Take It
Anyone wanting to get into game design (or has just recently started) should take Game Design Foundations 2. There are two important things to get out of this. First, itt helps you learn to compartmentalize different elements of gameplay as their own (mostly) isolated system. Second, how randomness and player skill should be balanced. I think both of these are extremely important for a good game designer.
For most experienced game designers, you could probably skip the first section (game systems). But I still recommend watching the part on chance and strategy. It helps better understand how, when, and why to use each one. The way they are connected together is really interesting.
But, I’m pretty sure anyone in game design or game development could find something to take away from this course.
My Favorite Things
As a gamer, I feel like I have a natural understanding of game systems, chance, and strategy. I would say most gamers have this understanding (even if they don’t recognize them specifically by those terms). The games themselves are designed that way, so players absorb that experience over time.
Personally, I love to learn as much as possible as I can about things. Game Design Foundations 2 helps give a more detailed understanding of chance and strategy in particular. Now, I feel like a have definitions I can associate with different elements I encounter within games. I can better identify what specifically is being utilized in games and (more importantly) why they are being used.
My absolute favorite part of the course is how chance and strategy are connected together. Games don’t just implement one or the other. This course does a great job talking about the relationship between both chance and strategy. To paraphrase:
Deeper decision-making results from balancing skill and chance. Deeper decision-making prolongs mastery, delays boredom, and keeps players playing longer.
Again, this is something I’ve kind of naturally understood over the years. But I never recognized it this way. Having it explained like this is really interesting to me. And I think it will make me a better game designer if I make it a point to keep it in mind.
What Needs Improvement
The one thing that sort of bothers me about Game Design Foundations 2 is the connection to the first section (game systems). Chance and strategy are explained to be interconnected (and done really well, in my opinion). But there’s no real reference back to game systems (which was the first part of the course).
In game systems, there’s talk of character systems, environment systems, and combat systems. I’d be interested to see how to integrate chance and strategy into these different types of systems.
You can extrapolate the information and apply it yourself, of course. It’ll depend on your own game, after all. But I feel like that first section specifically is just kind of its own part rather than being built top of.
Not a terrible problem. Just one that I think could be improved.
Conclusion
Game Design Foundations 2 is a good course. Much of the content will (likely) already make sense. But hearing it defined and explained was really interesting. It gives more tools to identify when and why specific elements are being used. Recommended for newer game designers.
Did you take the course? Have a course that really helped you as a game designer? I want to know! Drop us a line in the comments below.
