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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

How to Use Game Theory in Video Game Development

using game theory in game development

How familiar are you with game theory? If you’ve never heard of it before, the term can be quite misleading. Game theory has no official ties to the games we think of, which is pretty counterintuitive. According to a definition provided by the trusty Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a “game” is an “activity engaged in for […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

We Compiled A Mega-List of Tutorials in Game Design

game design guides

Designing Characters Character Design–Conceptualizing Tutorial This tutorial walks you through how one artist developed his concept for a “crossbow archer.” He starts with his idea, he shows his sketches, and he walks you through everything from form to color palette, to putting it all together at the end. If you want to see how another […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 15, 2023

How To Keep Gamers Engaged In Your Video Game (Tip #1: Make It Fun!)

maintaining player engagement in games

We’ve all been there. Struggling to unwrap the cellophane casing, fingers not finding any purchase. Pulling again and again at the tape holding the box shut. Waiting for the crisp “pop” of the game case’s premiere opening. Smelling faint adhesive residue. Admiring the glimmering, shining object within. A new game. Few things beat the excitement […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

How to Build Your First Game Design Document

How to make game design document

Game design documents have been an industry standard for a long time. More recently, arguments against the game design document have begun to surface. “It becomes obsolete immediately after it’s published.” “No one on the team likes using it.” “Nobody updates it and that leads to serious confusion.” While there is some merit behind these […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 23, 2023

In-Game Sizing & Scale: Consistent Character Sizing and More

ingame sizing and scale guide

Have you ever seen a real-life giant? If you’re a long-time wrestling fan or an avid viewer of The Princess Bride, you probably know about Andre the Giant (or Fezzik, in The Princess Bride). And if you don’t know about Andre the Giant, well… all you really need to know is that he was a […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

Techniques for Writing Memorable Video Game Stories

How to Create Game Story

The great plot challenge. Plot is the kind of thing that can ruin your game. Or take it to the next level. For a game like Angry birds, the plot is….eh, not really there. Birds fighting pigs, kamikaze-style? Ok… but we don’t really know why. And there isn’t much of a story. There’s nothing telling […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 12, 2023

Learn How to Design 3D Games With These Helpful Tutorials (Beginner and Pro)

3d game design resources

Developing a Pong knockoff might sound like a piece of cake to you and your 2D design skills. But pop that into a third dimension, and all of a sudden we’re looking at some pretty complex stuff! 3D game design can be daunting, especially if you’re a beginner or planning an ambitious project. The good […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

The Role of Physics in Video Game Design

Game Design Physics

Newton! Aristotle! Galileo! Descartes! Newton’s Laws! These might be some of the exciting thoughts that popped into your head when we brought up physics. Apples! Gravity! Ok, that’s probably good for now. Feel free to shout ‘em out if any more come to you. The forces and energy behind physics have always impacted our world […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

How Hard Should Your Game Be? Easy Game Benefits vs The Hardcore Experience

game difficulty

A question as old as games themselves (well, maybe the question wasn’t always asked…). Easy, Medium, Hard, Extreme, Nightmare–many games present players with a sliding scale of difficulty. The designers give players the choice over their level of challenge. Sometimes adjusting difficulty isn’t an option. In online multiplayer games, for example, the difficulty is largely […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

Game Level Design Beyond Design: Learn from these Tutorials, Techniques, and Do’s & Don’ts

game level creation

A whole new world! Don’t you dare close your eyes…. Any Aladdin fans out there? No? What’s the latest Disney focus–live-action Beauty and the Beast? We’re out of touch. Out of touch is not where you want to be when you’re designing levels. Luckily for you, we’ve decided to compile a list of tutorials that […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 15, 2023

Video Game Character Design: A Pro Illustrator Shares Her Tips

how to create video game characters

Character creation is your chance to let your imagination run wild. If you already have ideas, it’s easy to hit the ground running. If you don’t have ideas….well…. That can be a different story. We’ve put together a brief beginner’s guide to tutorials that will help you create characters. Some offer ideas for finding inspiration, […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 12, 2023

C++ in Gaming: How to Start Learning

Learn to program games with C++

When game developers and software programmers talk about their favorite programming languages, it isn’t long before the rapid use of C++ in gaming. It’s played a huge role in the coding of countless games, and has been among the most popular programming languages since its creation–all the way back in 1998! But why is it […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 23, 2023

Learning Unreal Game Engine: Our Favorite Tutorials and Guides

unreal game engine tutorial guide

If you’re familiar with the Unreal Engine, developed by Epic Games, you know that puppy can pack a real punch. The Gears of War franchise, most recently added to with Gears of War 4 back in October, takes advantage of the Unreal Engine. We Happy Few, available as an early-play for PC on steam, has […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 23, 2023

Learn How to Animate With Blender

blender software tutorial

History The Blender game engine was released in 2000, developed by Erwin Coumans and Gino van den Bergen, part of the Dutch company, Blender Foundation. It was designed to bring a more natural way of developing games and animation to people who otherwise wouldn’t have learned how to. After 18 years, in April of 2018, […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 15, 2023

5 Great Mobile Game Development Tutorials

mobile game development guides

Mobile games are all the rage! On February 8th, 2017, Game of War: Fire Age, made $1,919,237. That number might not sound like much in the grand scheme of game sales… But then you realize that the figure we quoted is from a single day of sales. Fire Age came out in July of 2013. […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 15, 2023

Python Game Development Tutorials Online

Learn to program games with phyton

Python is a simple language to start with, and if you’re looking for a quick win in your quest to master all coding languages (the Ultimate Quest!), Python is a good place to start. To get any value out of the game-making side of Python tutorials, you need to first be familiar with some core […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 12, 2023

Video Game Storytelling: How to Write Engaging Stories & Captivate Your Audience

video game storytelling guide

Coming up with a story is a deceptively complex challenge. You’re developing a game and your game needs a story. Ok, you’ll just go ahead and whip up a story then! Sounds easy, right? If only the task was that simple… Creating a story people will enjoy is no small feat, but we’ve put together […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

Unity 3D Games Tutorials and Beginners Guide

unity game engine tutorial guide

The biggest smash hit game of the summer (and subsequently the quickest to fizzle out) was running on the Unity engine. Do you know what we’re talking about? Pokemon GO! Certainly, a game that was fun while it lasted. If you’re still playing, more power to you. Unity is one of the most iconic gaming […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 23, 2023

Learn How to Make iOS Games with these Free Game Development Tutorials

ios game development tutorials

According to Apple, “Swift is a robust and intuitive programming language created by Apple for building apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. It’s designed to give developers more freedom than ever. Swift is easy to use and open-source, so anyone with an idea can create something incredible.” Because of Swift’s popularity and […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 12, 2023

How to Develop Unforgettable Video Game Characters

game character design guide

Everyone has one… Do you know what we’re talking about? Favorite characters, of course! Everyone has a favorite video game character, whether they admit it or not. You can ask just about anyone what their favorite video game character is, and they’ll have an answer for you. They don’t even have to be avid gamers. […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

Excellent Java Game Development Tutorials

Java Game Development Tutorials

Java has been around for quite a while. We’re talking 1995 here, folks. That’s over twenty years ago. Java was born at a time when we were all waist-deep in JNCO jeans and accessorizing our craniums with scrunchies, butterfly clips, and frosted tips. We don’t know about you guys, but we’re still holding out for […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 23, 2023

Video Game Translator: Why Games Need Translators and How To Become One

video game translators

If you have ever played a very old video game and had an extremely hard time trying to figure out where to go next or what is going on in the scene because the words are jumbled or don’t make sense, you’ve experienced video game translation in its infancy. The industry has changed exponentially over […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

Level Design: How to Motivate Players to Keep Them Engaged & When To Know Your Limits

game level design guide

You could own a restaurant and have the best food in the entire world. If the interior looks like crap and you filled the place to bursting with chairs and tables, no one is going to come to eat at your restaurant! Excellent food or not! Much in the way that creating an entire experience […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 3, 2023

Flash Game Development & The Best Flash Games

flash game tutorials

In 2017, Adobe released a statement that shook many veteran Internet users to their cores. More or less, Adobe was cutting the cord to its cornerstone program, Flash. Since 1996, Flash had been a dominant and memorable computer program in use by people of all ages. The games provided by talented contributors were time-killers, sure, […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 23, 2023

When Is The Right Time To Ask For Gamers’ Feedback?

how to use player feedback in game designing

When you make a game, you want to like it. You need to like it. It’s like a baby to you. We get it. The thing about games is…well…it isn’t enough for you to like it. You need other people to like it too. That’s the point, right? Designing games is all about executing on […]

Written by Dustin Tyler - Updated on January 15, 2023

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