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Game Design and Development 4

3D Platformer

Brian Winn

If you love games and want to learn how to make them, then this course is your fourth step down that path. In this course you will learn the fundamentals of game design, including an understanding of game idea generation, design documentation, the business side of games, and social issues in games. You will continue developing video games using industry standard game development tools, including the Unity 2020 game engine. At the end of the course you will have completed a 3D Platformer game, and will be able to leverage an array of game development techniques to create your own basic games.

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What's inside

Syllabus

Your Fourth Step into Game Design and Development

Are you ready to take the next step in your journey into game design and development? In this module, we will introduce the course and kick off your third game project, a 3D Platformer. In the first part of the assignment, follow along with the tutorial videos introduced in this module. In the second part of the project, you will modify the game to make it your own.

Fleshing Out a Game Design

Game making is about 10% inspiration and 90% execution. There's a significant difference between having an idea and beginning to turn that idea into something tangible. People often confuse the phrases "flushing out" and "fleshing out". Idea generation is about "flushing out" an idea. Design Documentation is focused on "fleshing out" your game idea or adding flesh to the skeleton of an idea to bring it to life. Idea generation (or ideation) and design documentation are the focus of this module.

Business and Society

This module is all about the impact of games on business and society. If you want to make a living at making games, it is important for you to understand the business side. And I encourage you, as an aspiring game developers, to ask questions about the social impact and context of your game. As a designer, it is important to think about the impact that your creativity could possibly have on the world.

Expanding Your Knowledge, Soul Searching and Finishing Up

In this last module, you will explore some additional resources, as well as do some soul searching on what your next step is related to game design and development. In this module, you will also finish up the 3D Platformer project, submit it for peer review, and peer review your fellow learners games. Finish the course strong!

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Introduces the fundamentals of game design, giving learners a foundation in the field

Teaches tools that are current industry standards, providing learners with knowledge and skills that are directly applicable to professional game development

Provides opportunities to apply knowledge and skills through the creation of a 3D Platformer game, helping learners develop practical experience

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Reviews summary

Positive 3d platformer course

Learners say that this course is well-received by students interested in 3D game design. Key features such as extensive learning, theory backed by practical lessons, hands-on building, engaging assignments, play testing, and game design help prepare students for careers in the game development industry. However, there are some drawbacks including some inconvenient pre-made assets that limit real-world application and peer reviews occasionally lacking in quality.

Solid background info

"It provides a lot of very interesting and useful background information regarding different aspects of game development, in the theory lessons."

"The theory part is fantastic."

"Loads of interesting topics are discussed in theory that I never thought would form part of my interest."

Great hands-on lessons

"Great course. Lead to extensive learning and hands on building"

"It allows you to directly dive into level design and game mechanics, and having fun with play testing."

Peer review quality varies

"In my case, I passed the project but my grade wasn't the best, checking the stats in itch.io I noticed that people didn't even play the game or download it, and yet I got poorly graded and no feedback at all from the peers who graded me"

"I tried to be as objective as possible when grading peers, gave them good feedback and any extra suggestions when possible."

"So one of the weakest part of the courses I've seen in this program, is the quality of the peers. It seems a lot of people want to get certificates in Game Dev, but not many are trying to actually learn how to do stuff, I don't see many putting that much effort, and they put even less effort when grading peers (if any at all)."

Limited real-world application

"The downside is just the usual: People commenting random stuff in the automated discussions, or spamming with posts to get reviews for their projects, and lack of any more meaningful interactions."

"But, because the possibilities to reuse these assets and scripts in games of your own are very limited, that's useless knowledge if you want to build your own game."

"It must be said that the intern doing the practice lessons knows his way in the assets very well. This causes him to navigate lightning fast, which tends to require quite some pausing and replaying. This gets pretty annoying after a while if you try to play along with the videos."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Game Design and Development 4: 3D Platformer with these activities:

Review basic programming concepts

Show steps

This course assumes a basic understanding of programming concepts. This activity will help you refresh your knowledge of these concepts.

Browse courses on Programming

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Review your notes from a previous programming course.
Complete some online programming tutorials.

Follow a series of tutorials on Unity 3D

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Unity 3D is the engine you will use in this course. These tutorials will help you be more fluent in the engine.

Browse courses on Unity

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Find a series of tutorials on Unity 3D.
Complete the tutorials, practicing the exercises.

Follow tutorials on game design principles

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Understanding game design principles is essential for creating engaging and fun games. These tutorials will help you learn these principles.

Browse courses on Game Design

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Find a series of tutorials on game design principles.
Complete the tutorials, practicing the exercises.

Five other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all eight activities

Read 'Game Design Workshop' by Tracy Fullerton

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This book includes many practical exercises to enhance your game design capabilities.

View Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to... on Amazon

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Read the book in its entirety.
Complete all the exercises in the book.

Practice writing game design documents

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Writing game design documents is a critical skill for game designers. These exercises will help you practice and improve your writing skills.

Browse courses on Game Design

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Find a game design document template or create your own.
Write a game design document for a simple game.
Get feedback on your game design document from a peer or instructor.

Design a game document for a platformer game

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Create a more detailed design document for the game you are developing in this course.

Browse courses on Game Design

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Brainstorm ideas for a platformer game.
Write a game design document outlining the core gameplay mechanics, characters, and setting.

Join a study group for the course

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Discuss the course material with other students, share ideas, and help each other learn.

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Find a study group or create your own.
Meet regularly to discuss the course material and work on projects together.

Create a playable prototype of your platformer game

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Building a prototype is a great way to test your game design ideas and get feedback from others.

Browse courses on Game Development

Show steps

Design the core gameplay mechanics of your game.
Create a simple level for your game.
Implement the core gameplay mechanics in your game engine.
Test your game and get feedback from others.

Career center

Learners who complete Game Design and Development 4: 3D Platformer will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Game Designer

Game Designers are responsible for creating the overall vision and concept for games, including gameplay mechanics, story, characters, and levels. They work closely with other team members, such as programmers and artists, to bring their ideas to life. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in applying these principles to a specific game genre.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Designer

Independent Game Developer

Independent Game Developers are responsible for creating and developing video games without the backing of a major publisher. They work independently or in small teams to bring their ideas to life. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in developing and releasing a game independently.

See salaries and explore the career path for Independent Game Developer

Game Producer

Game Producers are responsible for overseeing the development and production of games. They work closely with game designers, programmers, artists, and other team members to ensure that games are completed on time, within budget, and to the desired quality standards. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in managing a game development project.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Producer

Level Designer

Level Designers are responsible for creating the physical spaces and environments that players interact with in games. They work closely with game designers and artists to bring the game world to life. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in applying these principles to a specific game genre.

See salaries and explore the career path for Level Designer

Technical Game Designer

Technical Game Designers are responsible for bridging the gap between game design and programming. They work closely with both designers and programmers to ensure that game designs are technically feasible and that game code meets design specifications. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in applying these principles to a specific game genre.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Game Designer

Game Education Developer

Game Education Developers are responsible for creating and developing educational games and simulations. They work closely with educators and game designers to ensure that games are effective in teaching and learning. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in designing and developing educational games.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Education Developer

Game Tester

Game Testers are responsible for playing and testing games to identify bugs and ensure that they meet quality standards. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in testing and evaluating a game.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Tester

Game Publisher

Game Publishers are responsible for marketing and distributing games. They work closely with game developers to ensure that games reach their target audience and are successful in the marketplace. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in preparing a game for release.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Publisher

Game Researcher

Game Researchers are responsible for studying the effects of video games on players. They work closely with psychologists, sociologists, and other researchers to conduct studies and publish findings. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in evaluating and critiquing games.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Researcher

Game Developer

Game Developers transform the storytelling and creative ideas of Game Designers into fully functioning interactive experiences for players. They are responsible for coding, debugging, and implementing game systems and assets to bring these ideas to life. This course can help build a foundation in essential game development concepts, such as game design, documentation, industry tools, and techniques. This course may also be helpful for those wishing to specialize in 3D platformer development.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Developer

Game Journalist

Game Journalists are responsible for writing and reporting on video games. They review games, interview game developers, and provide commentary on the latest trends in the industry. This course can help build a foundation in essential game design principles, such as idea generation, documentation, and social impact. By completing a 3D platformer game project, learners will also gain hands-on experience in evaluating and critiquing games.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Journalist

Game Modder

Game Modders are responsible for creating and releasing modifications to existing video games. They work independently or in small teams to create new content, fix bugs, or improve the gameplay experience. This course may be helpful for those wishing to specialize in game modding, as it provides an overview of the field and covers topics such as reverse engineering, asset creation, and community management.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Modder

Game Artist

Game Artists are responsible for creating the visual assets for games, including characters, environments, and objects. They work closely with game designers and programmers to bring the game world to life. This course may be helpful for those wishing to specialize in 3D game art, as it provides hands-on experience in creating 3D models and textures for a platformer game.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Artist

Game Animator

Game Animators are responsible for creating the animations for characters, objects, and environments in games. They work closely with game designers and artists to bring the game world to life. This course may be helpful for those wishing to specialize in 3D game animation, as it provides hands-on experience in creating 3D animations for a platformer game.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Animator

Game Librarian

Game Librarians are responsible for managing and organizing video game collections in libraries. They work closely with patrons to help them find and use games. This course may be helpful for those wishing to specialize in game librarianship, as it provides an overview of the field and covers topics such as game selection, classification, and preservation.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Librarian

Reading list

We've selected ten books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Game Design and Development 4: 3D Platformer.

Game Design Workshop

Save

Practical guide to game design, covering everything from concept development to production. It is written by leading game designers and educators.

Game Design and Development 4

3D Platformer

Three deals to help you save

What's inside

Syllabus

Good to know

Save this course

Reviews summary

Positive 3d platformer course

Activities

Career center

Reading list

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