Want to design games for a living? Game Design Skills is a leading place to start your journey and master the fundamental principles of game design(with or without previous experience)
We designed the “First Principles of Game Design” as an accelerator to acquire the skills needed to become and excel as a game designer without coding.
Overwhelmed & anxious about your interview or portfolio? We are here to help. You will get clear & abundant support on your resumes, interviews, and portfolios to help you land your dream job.
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Alexander is a skilled Design Director, Combat Mechanics and Systems Designer and Creative Director with over 20+ years of AAA and Indie studio experience.
He has worked with Microsoft, Blizzard, Riot Games, Moon Studios and his own studio Atomech.
Alex has shipped titles like World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Hearthstone, Overwatch, League of Legends, Ori and the Will of the Wisps and many more. Loved by millions of players for his “players are the lifeblood of your game” approach to design.
Xelnath has been actively sharing his knowledge and experience with aspiring game designers for over a decade now through his podcast, blog and “First Principles of Game Design” Program.
You’ll have the flexibility to learn at your own pace: 24/7 program access and 100% online
Learn our proven design methodology distilled & refined from over 20+ years of experience – no fluff
We offer 2 Money-Back-Guarantees – 7 days & 365 days. Check out the FAQ section for details.
FPGD consists of hands-on drills, design principles, Q&A calls and prototype challenges.
We designed the program to be 100% focused on acquiring the skills game studios require.
Modules build on top of each other, which is designed to work together holistically as a system, not just individually.
Alex & other support instructors will provide you with insightful & actionable feedback regarding your:
We will help polish your personal and teamwork skills.
You can ask our instructors anything you want or need help with from the course or anything else related to game design & development.
You can share your screen, clarify on the spot and get it reviewed in addition to anything else that is hard to communicate through chat.
We’ll guide you step by step to build a virtual tabletop prototype, starting from scratch to finally a playable prototype.
Then we’ll host 3 live playtest sessions where you and other students can playtest each other’s prototypes to gather feedback and make informed iterative improvements.
We will provide you with career and technical coaching to get you a job, faster.
Instructors will give you personalized expert feedback on your resume, portfolio, and game prototypes
You will learn to present yourself in the most effective way & ACE your interviews, and design tests with our help.
Imposter Syndrome, we all have been there, and on some days, we still are. We will guide you in resetting your mindset, overcoming insecurity, and building your confidence.
You will receive guidance & tips on how to rock the important first months on the job and better collaborate with team members and lead designers.
In comparison to other courses on Udemy, Coursera, Skillshare etc. this program specifically focuses on the design part of game development, where we cover the fundamentals of how to systematically balance a game and solve design problems.
The methodology is based on what the instructor Alex Brazie used and refined throughout 20+ years of experience working on games such as World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Ori and The Will of The Wisps, and other AAA and Indie games.
In addition, everything is broken down into digestible step-by-step details with specific examples and actionable exercises to help you internalize the design skills based on Alex’s methodology to consistently create fun player experiences and level-up to a more skillful and effective design professional.
This program is best fit for you if you fit into any of the following:
The knowledge and skills gained from the program have been instrumental in the job interviews & design tests for many of our game design graduates and aspiring designers.
Many of our alumni have been able to move to their preferred studios, create their own games, and secure promotions to senior roles as a result of the program and Alex’s mentorship.
This program has helped many studios successfully launch their games and ace reviews from players and critics.
Dozens of our students who transitioned to game development found their transition and project collaboration was made easier by the program.
“First Principles of Game Design” is applicable to all genres of games and game designers. The core principles are a reflection of the innate human psychological factors that exist in all of us. That said, the examples given are best for real-time and turn-based game experiences. Simulation and interactive entertainment products will need to use their creativity to apply some of the concepts, as these tend to have less agency and a greater focus on artistic expression.
You’ll get immediate access to the program. You can go at your own pace, but the content is released module by module with bonuses unlocking along the way.
This is a bit of a trick question. Each module is about 40-60 minutes long. I get straight to the point. So consuming all of the videos will take you about 16 hours.
But I recommend setting aside 2 hours for each module to give you plenty of time to digest what you learn and begin applying it. Then comes getting feedback and re-evaluation of your decisions and etc.
The amount of time you can spend applying these lessons to your own work or personal projects, which is the most effective path, is uncapped.
This program is singularly focused on the game design aspect of game development. It is designed to specialize in the challenges and issues of crafting fun players’ experiences consistently.
Inquire to us at email support@gamedesignskill.com, and we will recommend you a few pre-vetted game programming-specific resources.
Coding & knowing how to use game engines such as Unity, Unreal, etc, are complementary skills for game designers. Therefore, they are not prerequisite skills for joining the program.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn how to use game engines as a game designer. It will definitely help improve your chances of getting into a studio.
While coding is a powerful, useful skill, you can practice designing games without coding in various mediums and contexts as we will show you in the program.
We understand accountability, encouragement, guidance, and validation are all part of the “secret sauce” that helps you follow through on the course.
Yes, this is a no-fluff program. You’ll get “the how,” together with real specifics that explain everything in step-by-step detail.
What’s more, there are real action plans, so you know exactly what to do. Nothing has been left to chance.
I guarantee you that if you don’t do the work you won’t get results. There’s a reason that most people that purchase programs like this never see results… and it’s not because the program sucks. It’s because the student doesn’t do the work. But that won’t be you, right?
We have plenty of designers and developers who got into the industry and level up their career after implementing what they’ve learned in our program. I’m 100% confident in the value of this program.
Layer 1: 7-day trial
You have 7 days upon enrollment to try it out and make sure this is for you.
And if for whatever reason you don’t feel like this is for you, we’ll gladly refund all of your money, no questions asked. Just contact us at support@gamedesignskill.com
Layer 2: Results accountability
After the 7 days, you have an 365 days to show us that you’ve implemented what you’ve learned in the program. And if you can prove that you did and still didn’t get results, we’ll refund you. Implementation includes the following:
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