Game design courses can help you learn level design, character development, storytelling techniques, and game mechanics. You can build skills in prototyping, user testing, and balancing gameplay to enhance player experience. Many courses introduce tools like Unity and Unreal Engine, that support creating interactive environments and implementing game logic. Additionally, you might explore programming languages such as C or C++ to bring your ideas to life, along with graphic design software for creating compelling visuals.

Skills you'll gain: Unreal Engine, Unity Engine, Virtual Environment, 3D Assets, Software Installation, Game Design, Animation and Game Design, Development Environment, User Interface (UI)
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

California Institute of the Arts
Skills you'll gain: Game Design, Prototyping, Software Design Documents, Visualization (Computer Graphics), Ideation, Conceptual Design, Usability Testing, Graphic and Visual Design, Peer Review, Creativity
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

Michigan State University
Skills you'll gain: Game Design, Unity Engine, Prototyping, Video Game Development, 3D Modeling, Computer Graphics, Multimedia, Animations, Scripting
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

Michigan State University
Skills you'll gain: Unity Engine, Game Design, Video Game Development, C# (Programming Language), 3D Assets, Animation and Game Design, Software Design, Conceptual Design, Social Impact, Programming Principles, Computer Programming, Ideation, User Interface (UI), Scripting, Debugging, Creativity, Peer Review
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

University of Colorado System
Skills you'll gain: Video Game Development, Game Design, Unity Engine, Debugging, Unreal Engine, Animations, Programming Principles, Scripting Languages, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), User Interface (UI), Software Installation, Event-Driven Programming, Computational Logic, Data Structures, Computer Programming, Development Environment, Scripting
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Software Architecture, C# (Programming Language), Scripting, Animations, Artificial Intelligence
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

Michigan State University
Skills you'll gain: Game Design, Software Design Documents, Prototyping, Video Game Development, Software Documentation, Animation and Game Design, Conceptual Design, Ideation, Usability Testing, Peer Review, Creativity
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

Skills you'll gain: Computer Graphics, Game Design, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), 3D Assets, Video Game Development, Animation and Game Design, C# (Programming Language), Animations, Cross Platform Development, Development Environment, Software Installation, Debugging, User Interface (UI), Program Development, Prototyping, Computational Logic, Content Management
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: User Interface (UI), Object Oriented Design, Prototyping, Animations
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
University of California San Diego
Skills you'll gain: Design Research, Interaction Design, User Experience Design, Statistical Analysis, Usability, Ideation, User Research, Graphic and Visual Design, User Interface (UI) Design, Experimentation, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Human Centered Design, Human Computer Interaction, A/B Testing, Human Factors, Collaborative Software, Telecommuting, R Programming, Storyboarding
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Unity Engine, UI Components, Scripting, User Interface (UI), Torque (Physics), Responsive Web Design, User Interface (UI) Design, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), C# (Programming Language), Game Design, Animation and Game Design, Animations, Interactive Design, Usability, Video Game Development, Mechanics, Simulations, Mathematical Modeling, Physics, Debugging
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

Skills you'll gain: Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Video Game Development, Debugging, Game Design, Program Development, Python Programming, Application Development, Event-Driven Programming, Computer Graphics, Animations, Development Environment
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months