Video Game Design and Development

Encouragement, advice, and support for aspiring game designers.

  • Schools
    • Online Schools
    • Game Design School Rankings
    • Game Design Majors
    • Graphic Design Schools
    • Canada Game Design Schools
    • Art Schools in The USA
  • Development
    • Game Programming Languages
    • Game Development Software
    • Texture Packager
    • Roblox Coding 101
    • Gaming in C ++
    • Video Game Engines Guide
    • How to Build a Game Engine
    • Unreal Game Engine
    • Unity vs Unreal
    • Unity vs Godot
    • Java
    • Cross Platform Games
  • Careers
    • Become a Game Designer
    • Education Requirements
    • Geme Design Document
    • Video Game Ideas
    • 3D Modeler
    • Game Artist
  • Animation
    • Animation School Rankings
    • 2D Animation Software
    • New York Animation
    • California Animation
    • Animation in Canada
  • Free Course
    • GameMaker
    • Unity

Knowledge is Power - Learn Digital Design

video game tutorials and guides
These archives include all posts related to learning video game design, game development, and art as it applies to games and apps.

We've included our own in-depth tutorials and guides, as well as links to some of our favorite online resources for you to continue your education. You can find recommended game design college programs here.

If you're brand new to game design and development start with the posts listed below, these are our most popular articles from this category. Once you get a basic idea of what you're looking for, then you can navigate through the rest of our posts.

If you’re new to the game and are unsure of what tools or software to get started with, I suggest reading the two posts below and go from there. They will give you a good sense of the industry and point you in the direction of further learning.

Some Popular articles from this category:

  • 10 Essential Video Game Design Books: The 2021 Student Edition
  • The Beginners Guide to Video Game Development in 2021 (Step by Step)
  • Use Sprite Character Generators to Create Characters

The Role of Computer Science in Video Games

How is computer science used in video games?

If you’re an avid gamer who loves computers, you may be thinking about pursuing a career as a game developer. Game development is a specialized, comparatively small, and lucrative industry. Retail gaming in the United States is estimated to be worth $4.19 billion in 2023. As expected, graduates who work on video games are well […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on August 20, 2024

How to Build a Video Game Economy

Video game economy

Just like reality, games need an internal mechanism for the distribution of resources during gameplay. This system is known as the video game economy. The in-game economy creates balance within the game by enabling the player to earn and spend resources as part of the game’s progression. A game economy design will differ from one […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on September 27, 2023

How To Perform Video Game Critical Analysis

How to review a video game

More than 730,000 video game apps are available for download on Google Play and the App Store. Over 10,000 video games are released each year on Steam and other platforms. With so many video games on the market, an avid gamer may have a hard time choosing one to play. They could do the trial-and-error […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on September 8, 2023

What Is Iterative Game Design?

What is iterative game design

One of the most important steps in game development is iterative game design. It’s built on the idea that games aren’t perfect after one round of development. It encourages developers to repeatedly perform certain steps in an effort to come up with a final version that is playable, enjoyable, and as technically glitch-free as possible. […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on September 8, 2023

Unity DOTS for Beginners

What is unity dots?

If you’re looking for efficiency, performance, and data-oriented programming in your game development platform, Unity’s Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) may just be what you need. Apart from leveraging its powerful engine, you also get to widen your skillset and enjoy a growing market demand for Unity DOTS professionals. Today, we take a closer look at […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on September 12, 2023

What Is AI Art and How is it Created?

ai art info

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been making its presence felt in a wide range of industries, including art and design. AI art — meaning art created with AI — is now a popular art form that offers many benefits and applications. But what is AI art? In this article, we answer this question and share examples […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on July 21, 2023

What Is Virtual Production?

virtual production 101

Virtual production is one of the hottest new developments in film production and is now being used by many studios across the world. Virtual production is the practice of combining virtual worlds with the real world to create exciting and beautiful film productions. Virtual production covers a number of different techniques and uses many tools […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on July 7, 2023

How to Create Video Game Atmosphere

video game atmosphere

Video games today are far more immersive than ever, and that isn’t simply because consoles and PCs have gotten more powerful. A lot of the beauty and appeal in modern games comes down to a less quantifiable factor: Atmosphere. Atmosphere, when done right, can turn the bundle of programming, art, and sound that we call […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on June 10, 2023

How to Use Kaboom.js to Make Video Games

Video game development using Kaboom

Kaboom.js is one of the best Javascript platforms for beginners, allowing you to create fun and simple video games without requiring extensive coding knowledge. This article will discuss Kaboom.js in greater detail, who might be interested in creating a Kaboom game, and how you can create your very own Kaboom video game. What is Kaboom.js? […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on March 4, 2025

How to Use Unity Cinemachine Virtual Cameras

Developer making games in Unity's Cinemachine

Coding camera angles for games and animation has been a pain … Until now. Before Unity Cinemachine, camera movement needed to be directly keyframed or, using code, had to be carefully scripted. What Is Unity Cinemachine? In short, Unity Cinemachine opens up an entirely new world of opportunities for animation, game design and development, and […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on March 5, 2025

Learn 3D Texturing and Become a Texture Artist

What is a 3D Texture Artist?

In just a few years, the 3D graphics of video games, movies, and television have improved tremendously. Comparing the character models in the recent Crash Bandicoot or Spyro The Dragon remakes with their originals is like night and day. Likewise, famous characters such as Mario, Master Chief, and Agent 47 have seen similar improvements from […]

Written by Jesse Jones-Read - Updated on July 4, 2023

What Makes A Strategy Game Successful?

Strategy Game Design

Strategy games have been an important part of video game history, and have certainly evolved over time. With the success of titles such as Armello, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Xcom 2, it is clear that the market for the strategy game genre is still going strong to this day. But what separates a boring […]

Written by Jesse Jones-Read - Updated on March 1, 2025

Zenva Academy: Learn Technical Skills At Your Own Pace

Zenva Academy

There has never been a better time to learn technological skills, especially through an online learning platform. Always wanted to learn something like HTML and make your own game? Learn full-stack web development and create your very own web page? Luckily, there are quite a few different outlets out there to hone your tech skills. […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on July 28, 2023

Artificial Difficulty In Games: What Is It?

Artificial Difficulty

One day you decide to play Dark Souls. You’ve heard of things like fake difficulty, making the game much harder than other RPGs, but maybe that’s an exaggeration. You’re making your way through a level when all of a sudden, an enemy comes out of nowhere and attacks—pretty standard stuff. However, this time, the enemy […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on July 4, 2023

2D Video Game Art: Styles and History

2D Game Art History

Introduction Video games have been known to have some of the most breathtaking modern visuals in any medium, only rivaled by technological advances in film. Although seemingly being debated all the time, we firmly believe that video games are art. I mean, the whole thing is made up entirely of art. Well, okay, it’s a […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on March 1, 2025

Phaser.js Development (Scripts, Animation, Physics, Render)

Phaser (Building Games Has Never Been This Easy!)

While there are a ton of options when it comes to designing your own game, which engine do you choose? What if you don’t want to get all mixed up learning a new coding language that seems way too complicated? Why not explore your options in HTML5? That’s right, and you can still make some […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on June 18, 2023

Let’s Learn Game Card Design

Card Game Design Process

Card games are and have always been immensely popular. You can see the wildly different iterations of old favorites like Go Fish and Apples to Apples even today. Building on a proven formula is a tried and true method. Like video games and other forms of interactive media, card games have evolved with the times. […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on September 7, 2023

How to Draw Game Characters for Beginners

Video Games Drawing

What It Means to Draw Video Games If you’re reading this, chances are, you are of the camp that believes video games are art (they are!). To prove our point, we’ll tell you about how video game art has some striking parallels with the world of traditional and classical art. While game graphics and art […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on August 12, 2023

The Power of Experience: The Wonders of Video Game Immersion

Game Immersion

It’s a night like any other. You have nothing to do, so you decide to fire up your console (or PC) of choice. You choose an open-world game that you hear great reviews about. It was advertised as having excellent ‘game immersion.’ Okay, sounds good. Next thing you know, it’s 3 in the morning. Where […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on July 4, 2023

Postmortem Games Analysis: Learning and Improving

Games Postmortem

A game that we have all been dying to play is about to come out. The hype has never been more palpable. Preorders are through the roof, people are talking in online forums, and YouTubers get early copies to make videos about it. The game finally comes out, and people enjoy it. However, after a […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on July 28, 2023

How Much Does it Cost to Make a Video Game?

Video Game Development Cost

In 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released. It was then the most expensive video game ever developed. With a 50 million dollar development budget, a 200 million dollar marketing budget redefined what it meant to develop games. Why Does It Cost So Much? How did games like Grand Theft Auto V and […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on September 14, 2023

What Is The Perfect Monitor Resolution for Gaming?

Gaming Monitor Resolution

You may think that having the most current console will give you the best visuals. While that technically may be true, are you getting the most out of your visual gaming experience? Monitors and displays are capable of some genuinely staggering visual heavy lifting these days, and to better experience gaming, you need to find […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on September 16, 2023

Indie Game Marketing: 7 Proven Strategies

Indie Game Marketing

What Is Video Game Marketing? If you have ever seen a trailer for a game, movie, or show (and the chances are good that you have), then you have taken part in the marketing process. But how? Marketing is the culmination of the different practices and strategies to advertise a product or brand. While you […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on June 18, 2023

AI in Unity: AI Levels, Setting the Stage for Unity AI, Unity AI & Its Role in Automation

Ai in Video Game Design

What Is AI? Artificial intelligence and games go together like peanut butter and jelly, mac and cheese, or whatever perfect food combination metaphor works best. Without artificial intelligence, games we love wouldn’t even be functional. How long do you think that you’d be able to play the Witcher 3 with the monsters and humans not […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on September 12, 2023

Use Meshroom To Create 3D Models from Photographs

Meshroom

Introduction What Is Photogrammetry? Although it sounds fancy, photogrammetry merely is compiling a bunch of detailed information about structures or an environment based on multiple recording techniques. The specific form of photogrammetry that we’re interested in is 3D scanning. There are two types of photogrammetry: aerial and terrestrial. Aerial is when the area is scanned […]

Written by Bryan Wirtz - Updated on July 4, 2023

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Free Courses

  • Unity Mini-Course
  • GameMaker Module 1
  • GameMaker Module 2
  • GameMaker Module 3

Unity

  • Unity Introduction
  • Unity AI
  • Unity 2D Animation
  • Saving in Unity
  • Unity Playmaker
  • Unity Cinemachine
  • Unity DOTS

GameMaker

  • GameMaker Engine Guide
  • GameMaker Language
  • GameMaker Game Examples

Recent Posts

  • How to Use Animation Storyboards
  • What is Cel Shading & How to Use It?
  • The Role of Computer Science in Video Games
  • How to Start Keyframing in Animation

Site Info

  • About Us
  • Cite this Website
  • California Consumer Privacy Act
  • Editorial Guidelines


DMCA.com Protection Status

Categories

  • Game Design Education
  • Game Design Careers
  • Game Engines
  • Animation 
  • Technology
  • Learn Skills
  • Ask an Expert
  • Graphic Design
  • Free Mini-Courses

Connect

  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
  • Our GameMaker Course

Send us mail:

Lake House Media
7910 4TH ST N
STE 300
ST. PETERSBURG, FL 33702

Copyright © 2025 · Privacy Policy · Terms · Earnings Disclaimer