Game design — News in Games-Based Learning — University XP

Posts tagged Game design

Visualizing stories in games requires depth and variety

Visualizing stories in games requires depth and variety

Deniz Gulay argues that the visual novel genre has untapped potential beyond its traditional Japanese roots, which often rely on linear storytelling and limited player choice. Western games like Suzerain and Disco Elysium demonstrate how immersive, choice-driven narratives can elevate the genre, offering more meaningful player experiences. Gulay calls for more experimentation in game design that blends deep storytelling with interactive mechanics, moving away from profit-driven, repetitive formulas.

Game designDave EngOctober 19, 2025Visual novels, Interactive storytelling, Game designComment

Designing games for global audiences and different cultures

Designing games for global audiences and different cultures

Svitlana Rumiantseva, head of mobile game development at Innovecs Games, emphasizes the importance of adapting game design for global audiences, considering cultural differences in narrative, art, technology, and community strategies.

Game designDave EngJuly 30, 2025Game design, Cultural differences, LocalisationComment

What is The Best Term: Educational, Serious, Learning or Transformational Games?

What is The Best Term: Educational, Serious, Learning or Transformational Games?

Educational, serious, learning, and transformational games each serve unique purposes in game design. Educational games focus on imparting knowledge, typically used in formal settings to reinforce curriculum content. Serious games address real-world issues, often for training or policy simulation.

Game designDave EngJuly 7, 2025Game design, Educational games, Serious gamesComment

Sky’s the Limit: New Game Design Minor Teaches Accessibility

Sky’s the Limit: New Game Design Minor Teaches Accessibility

Dr. Sky LaRell Anderson, a faculty member at the University of St. Thomas, emphasized the importance of accessibility in video games during the Jon Henner Memorial Accessibility in Games Speaker Series. Using a Twitch livestream, Anderson highlighted how games should be designed to be inclusive of individuals with disabilities, advocating for features like subtitles, input remapping, and adjustable difficulty.

Accessibility in video gaDave EngJuly 1, 2025Accessibility in video games, Game design, Inclusive designComment

Faculty Spotlight: Roy Papp

Faculty Spotlight: Roy Papp

Roy, a seasoned game industry professional, emphasizes that learning game design requires hands-on experience and creative problem-solving. His background includes roles as a Production Artist, Art Director, and Development Manager on projects like Superman Returns and Madden NFL at EA.

Game designDave EngMay 26, 2025Game design, Hands-on experience, Creative problem-solvingComment

Columbia game design students produce mental health video game

Columbia game design students produce mental health video game

"The Other Side" is a video game developed by Columbia University game design students, focusing on themes of depression and anxiety, drawn from their personal experiences.

DepressionDave EngNovember 9, 2024Depression, Anxiety, Game designComment

Level up: exploring the artistic side of video game design

Level up: exploring the artistic side of video game design

The article "Level up: exploring the artistic side of video game design" by Angelica Frey delves into the emergence of video games embracing illustration and painterly art to create captivating visual experiences.

Video gamesDave EngSeptember 23, 2024Video games, Artistic side, Game designComment

Why, and Why Not to use Simulations in Learning

Why, and Why Not to use Simulations in Learning

The earliest simulations with a focus on learning and improvement were wargames, and it could be argued that modern learning simulations, or even games-based learning as a field, has grown out the need for combatants to understand past strategies, and to develop and test new ones.

simulationsDave EngApril 3, 2023Game design, simulations, strategy, wargaming, learning, students, newsComment

How God of War Made Accessibility a Core Part of Its Game Design

How God of War Made Accessibility a Core Part of Its Game Design

The recent release of The Last of Us Part 1 Remake included every accessibility feature from Part II, as well as a brand-new option for AAA titles-audio descriptive cutscenes. This November, God of War Ragnarök, from Santa Monica Studio, will be the newest addition in a beloved franchise that demonstrates its own commitment to accessibility.

accessibilityDave EngFebruary 15, 2023Game design, accessibility, God of War, PC, play tests, community, development, newsComment

This former WilmU game design educator now makes gaming accessible for hospitalized children

This former WilmU game design educator now makes gaming accessible for hospitalized children

For 13 years, Scott Shaw led Wilmington University's Game Design and Development program - the first four-year degree program of its kind in Delaware.

game designDave EngFebruary 5, 2023Game design, gaming accessible, hospitalized, children, students, newsComment

How to develop a game design document

How to develop a game design document

The best of these solutions is a fully integrated, well-formulated Game Design Document. A successful GDD is one that is made collaboratively with other members of the development team from the outset, giving the game development process a clear structure as more elements are added.

Game Design DocumentDave EngAugust 16, 2022Game design, development team, game mechanics, game element, game idea, newsComment

4 Ways Co-design will Make or Break your Game

4 Ways Co-design will Make or Break your Game

Should you work with another game designer to co-design your game or create your game completely by yourself? That all depends. While you can design a game with a team of three or more, this is fairly rare, so I will focus this article on working with one other co-designer.

game designDave EngJune 8, 2022Game design, graphic design, team, learning, engagement, newsComment

A Deep Dive Into The Ins And Outs Of Narrative Game Design

A Deep Dive Into The Ins And Outs Of Narrative Game Design

Now, narrative design does feature some writing as a narrative content designer. A narrative systems designer, by and large, does not touch the writing. These designers wrangle dialogue systems, design and test early days tools, and make code to cue scripted scenes.

gamesDave EngMay 26, 2022Game design, narrative design, writing, dialogue systems, newsComment

How Difficulty Impacts Motivation in Game Design

How Difficulty Impacts Motivation in Game Design

For today's post, I want to expand more on this and talk about what difficulty and the experience mean from the consumer's POV. Reasons for Playing If you've studied game design at all, the Bartle player type chart has probably been discussed.

gamesDave EngDecember 19, 2021Game design, player motivation, psychology, newsComment

Game Analytics From A Game Designer’s Perspective

Game Analytics From A Game Designer’s Perspective

The quarterbacking problem or "Alpha gamer problem"1 is a well-known phenomenon It is different! Game analytics offer an exciting array of new possibilities for everyone in game studios! Game analytics can change the face of game development.

gamesDave EngDecember 9, 2021Game design, game analytics, psychology, newsComment

Verb Directions in Game Design

Verb Directions in Game Design

So far we've been talking about combat damage being dealt in a standard means, but deck damage, also known as "Milling" is usually done in other ways. If you try and deal damage to an object which is important to me, I may use these same abilities to prevent that damage as well, I don't necessarily have to be the target myself.

gamesDave EngDecember 4, 2021Game design, expression, game-based learning, newsComment

Playing difficult games is like eating spicy food, says Spelunky creator

Playing difficult games is like eating spicy food, says Spelunky creator

How difficult games should be, and how accessible they should be, is a perennial topic, and whenever it flares up it's a sign to log off Twitter for a few days.

gamesDave EngNovember 27, 2021Game design, food, Spelunky, newsComment

Debating Difficulty in Game Design

Debating Difficulty in Game Design

Studies have shown that games can increase student motivation through engagement and light-hearted competition. One way to add gamification and game-based learning to the classroom is through integrating educational video games into the curriculum.

game designDave EngNovember 20, 2021Game design, video games, difficulty, high performance, newsComment

A guide to reining in data-driven video game design

A guide to reining in data-driven video game design

Recently, this rating system has evolved into a three-tier system that includes some information about data privacy, random elements like loot boxes, and in-game purchases, but these efforts have not required the video game industry to reckon with the implications of its current design methods.

game designDave EngNovember 9, 2021Game design, data, entertainmentComment