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

4.7
stars
2,818 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 - 825 of 831 Reviews for Introduction to Game Design

By Cristóbal H S

Jan 16, 2016

I know that the title says "introduction", but I felt it was to basic...I liked the approach of the homeworks, but I missed more reading material or more sources to explore...also, being an introduction to game design, I think many issues froom game design were not touched.

By Rodrigo A P S

Nov 30, 2020

The course itself isn't bad, but the grade system could be better, I found myself being evaluated without receiving feedback or reviewing games where other students wouldn't answer the questions that where asked along with the submiting of the game.

By Derya D

Apr 12, 2024

The course is truly great! The content and the teacher are very engaging and useful. However, there are not enough people in the course, so it doesn't seem to be possible to get the peer reviews required to actually finish the course.

By Marley G

Jun 13, 2022

Wasn't bad but a lot of the things seemed pretty straight forward. Good if you're still doing your 7 day free trial of this site but definitely not worth $49.

By Ramon M L

Feb 18, 2016

It felt few content, i think there could be more content in this course. Though i have to say i learn new stuff, but i which it had more content to learn more.

By Deborah M M

Nov 19, 2015

A whimsical introduction to game design and the springboard for a Specialization Certificate, therefore important to take.

By wiglaff

Jun 3, 2023

students who do not evaluate the work and do not leave comments really spoil the impression of the course

By Dimitris K

Aug 13, 2016

A quite simple beginning, might end up being a little bit too simple. The future looks promising, though!

By Galadien

Jan 9, 2017

It was ok for what it was. It is a very brief introduction. Fun teacher, but very limited information.

By Jeffrey B

Dec 9, 2016

Good introduction course. Perhaps a bit light on material... reviews from others are very helpful!

By Sergey F

Jul 19, 2017

very simple, only some basics and a lot of "water" material. I don't see reasons to pay for this

By Daniel

Feb 24, 2016

Very little content. Most of the value comes from working on games for the assignments.

By Ilgar A

Oct 30, 2023

I did not get the knowledge I expected from a game design course.

By Marc-Olivier M

Jul 28, 2021

Very little content. About 15-20 minutes of lectures per week.

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.