Game Development Foundations
- Description
- Curriculum
- FAQ
If you’re interested or feel called to engage the field of Gaming and Game Development, this course may be for you!
Please note, that this Course is intended to be completed through our Game Development Foundations Seminar. We highly recommend participating in the Seminar itself, as you’ll get so much more out of the course.
In the Seminar, each of the 5 weeks we will tackle a different topic. Some weeks will be more theoretical, as we talk through some of the biblical basis for creativity, fun, and things like AI. Other weeks will be a bit more practical, exploring the tools and design options available to us.
Each week there will also be a few chapters to read from a book, a video-game to play and analyze, and an end-of-week recap to debrief, process, and have a Q&A time with an invited guest.
Purchasing this Course outside the seminar will give you access to the lessons only, is not accredited with the University of the Nations, and feedback and weekly sessions are not available.Â
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1
IntroductionWelcome to the Game Development Foundations seminar!
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Welcome!Course Overview
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Introduce yourself!
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Does Fun have Value?
Is life all about productivity, or is there more?
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Biblical connections between Pleasure/Enjoyment and Beauty -
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How does this apply to Missions?
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What do people find Fun?
Let's discuss Bartle's Taxonomy, and what attracts different players.
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What type of player are you?
Does Bartle's Taxonomy fit you?
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How Fun Works
Let's explore the concept of "Flow", and "Pleasure".
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Where do you experience Flow
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The Theology of Fun
How do the concepts of Pleasure and Flow fit with the Bible?
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What Fun Makes: The Gift Economy
What happens when we give?
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Abrahamic Covenant
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Why Fun Matters
If all you manage to make is fun, is it worth it?
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The Theology of FunJust making sure you're paying attention ;) -
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Read: Of Games and God Ch. 1-2
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MYST Breakdown
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A "Good" Game
What does it mean for a game to be "good"?
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Can a game be "Good"?
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A Strong Core
Every game needs a strong core mechanic.
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Core Mechanic or Narrative first?
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Balanced Options
The player needs to have interesting choices to make.
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Examples of good game choices
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Cohesion
All the pieces should be consistent and support each other.
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Game "Feel"
What "juice" is, and how to add it.
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Game Feel Examples
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Designing for an Audience
Who are you making your game for?
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Game Design BasicsJust making sure you're paying attention ;)
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Read: Of Games and God Ch. 3-4
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Legion TD2 Breakdown
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What is Love?
Why does love matter in game development?
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Loving the Player
How can you love the players of your games?
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Effects of video-games
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Redemptive Storytelling
How can stories be redemptive?
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The Unreached
What is an Unreached People Group?
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Symbol Adaptation Exercise
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Loving your Team
How can you love the rest of your team?
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Your communication style
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Ecosystem vs. Egosystem
What are you basing your project around?
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Love as the Foundation
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41
Read: Of Games and God Ch. 5-6
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FNAF Breakdown
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How AI Works
What's even going on under the hood?
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Ethica AI Considerations
How can we ethically engage with AI?
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What are humans good for?
If AI is so powerful, does human creativity still have a place?
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The Tools Themselves
Let's learn about some of the AI tools available.
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Game Dev applications
How can you use AI in the context of Game Dev?
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Future of AI
As AI keeps developing, how can we keep a Biblical perspective?
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Read: Of Games and God Ch. 7-8
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Halo Breakdown
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Common Tools Overview
Let's talk about some of the main tools commonly used in Game Dev.
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Managing a Project
Tips, tricks, and advice for actually managing a game project.
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Launching
Where/how can you launch your game?
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Marketing and Growing your Game
How can you get your game to the right audience?
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Read: Of Games and God Ch. 9-10
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Hollow Knight Breakdown
Additionally, purchasing the individual Course outside of the Seminar will give you access to the lessons only. If future Courses are developed for the Seminar, only Seminar students will gain access to these.
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