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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Game Design by California Institute of the Arts

4.7
stars
2,755 ratings

About the Course

Welcome! This course is an introduction to the primary concepts of gaming, and an exploration of how these basic concepts affect the way gamers interact with our games. In this course you will understand what defines a “game” and the mechanics and rules behind different types of games. Through four linked assignments you'll learn ways to create and describe a game concept, and specifically what makes a compelling game. This course focuses on the conceptual underpinnings of games, and all assignments can be completed with a pencil and paper – no previous programming knowledge is required....

Top reviews

TN

Apr 12, 2020

I really loved doing this course. Learnt how to make a simple game and make it really interesting! I loved how the easily the instructor was able to teach us and make us curious throughout the course.

DG

Feb 12, 2020

The lecture videos from Professor Fran and his old friend were surprisingly entertaining. Kudos to the team because they were able to make it fun, informative, and engaging throughout the four weeks.

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801 - 815 of 815 Reviews for Introduction to Game Design

By Natalia S

May 31, 2023

I liked lector. but overall information was quite generic

By Dr. M N

Jul 15, 2020

I was not able to unenroll it

By Paul B

Oct 28, 2015

Fun course, not much depth.

By Utku B Ç

Feb 21, 2023

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By Maeve B

Feb 16, 2016

This course, though fun, was not intensive at all. The main issue I have is probably with the Coursera structure itself. Many of your homework assignments are based off of if people can understand the instructions of the game- which, if you have mostly non-English speakers, sort of takes the homework from being "be creative and challenge yourself" to "make sure everything you write down is 3 words max or else the people GRADING you won't understand it". This is also true when looking at these students' games- when half of your grade depends on your clarity, these kids are ultimately at a disadvantage. I'm sure there were amazing games made by some of the non-English speaking students, but I wasn't able to understand and play many of them. It is fantastic that Coursera is open to everyone, but when your grades are based off of clarity of language, it gets tricky.

By John C

Sep 20, 2021

I'm sure this course will work for some people, but beware that there are people who speak different languages in the course, leading to unfair assessments. I've been given 0s in response to my language as if it's my fault and I can't understand their suggestions since it's in a different language. Would be better if there were language settings or something to prevent language barriers affecting scores, but as it stands I don't recommend this course unless you're willing to put up with it.

By Leonardo Z

Mar 4, 2024

The material and the classes are very good, but the assignments reviews (peer-review based) are very flawed. The system allows peers to submit non standard files and to write whatever they want. We are required to review at least 3 assignments, but we only receive 2 reviews and 80% of those 2 are nonsense feedback or just say 'good'. It is very disappointing to commit to the assignments, and give serious and constructive reviews, but then receive gibberish feedback from your work.

By Daniel S

Feb 3, 2022

The course material is great, but the review system slows the course to a crawl. Waiting for other students to review your work - or worse, waiting for other students to submit work that you must review before moving on - is just miserable.

By Varsha A V

Jan 31, 2016

The lectures tend to be a bit boring. However the hands on assignments give great insight into understanding the basic concepts of game design and narration.

By Rebekah c

Oct 5, 2015

idk its not what i expected. i really want to start with actually making a computer game not a paper game

By Richard H

Oct 20, 2015

The instructor is good but the amount of content is severely lacking compared to alternatives.

By Shahrzad S

Apr 4, 2023

The course content is too small and too generic

By Alexander P

Oct 19, 2017

Not enough content for a paid course

By Keone M

Feb 9, 2016

Enjoyable but limited content

By Anton B

Mar 21, 2016

Primitive and useless