A new session of each course opens each month, allowing you to enroll whenever your busy schedule permits!
How does it work? Once a session starts, two lessons will be released each week, for the six-week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends.
Keep in mind that the interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes 2 weeks after each lesson is released, so you’re encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
The Final Exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the Final Exam has been released, you will have 2 weeks plus 10 days to complete the Final and finish any remaining lessons in your course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.
Week One
Lesson 01 - Getting Started With Game Development
Wednesday
In this first lesson, you'll get an overview of the game-development industry. You'll find out where the industry is headed and where it came from. You'll also discover what it takes to be a game developer and the wide range of opportunities available—from large development studios to a corporate training office. By the end of this lesson, you'll have a sense of whether this exciting and challenging career is right for you!
Lesson 02 - Game Genres, Platforms, and Audiences
Friday
In this second lesson, you'll get an overview of game genres, platforms, and audiences. You'll find out information on how to leverage specific game-genre techniques to ensure your game is fun. You will also discover the differences between game platforms and how they have an impact on you and the games you develop. By the end of this lesson, you'll have an idea of what game genre you want to develop, what platform or platforms you want to develop for, and what audience segment you'll target.
Week Two
Lesson 03 - Game Interface Design
Wednesday
In this lesson, you'll get an overview of game interface design. You'll learn the importance of interface design decisions to your game's success. You'll also find out information about the differences between interfaces based on game genre and gaming platform. By the end of this lesson, you'll have an idea of what interface components to include in your game and how to optimize user experiences.
Lesson 04 - Immersive and Fun Games
Friday
In this lesson, you'll get an overview of why people play games and what makes them fun. You'll discover key elements to include in your games that will make them fun to play. You'll also learn the concept of game immersion, what makes games immersive, and how to create immersive game worlds.
Week Three
Lesson 05 - Production Planning
Wednesday
In this lesson, you'll learn about finding talented people and how to create a team to develop your game. You'll also discover the hardware and software requirements of game development. You will also learn about the budgetary requirements associated with developing your game as well as some insight into sources of funding.
Lesson 06 - Working With Development Tools
Friday
In this lesson, you'll explore game engines and how you can use them to develop your game. You'll also learn about several professional development environments and how they can be leveraged to your advantage. You'll also have the opportunity to experiment with a few mobile-application development environments.
Week Four
Lesson 07 - Game-Development Processes: Part 1
Wednesday
How do you work with and lead game-development teams both in person and remotely? In this lesson, you'll learn how! You'll also discover the benefits and pitfalls of outsourcing portions of your game-development project and how to use consultants to your advantage. Last, you'll explore the game-development cycle and how to apply the cycle to your game-development project.
Lesson 08 - Game-Development Processes: Part 2
Friday
You'll continue your exploration of game-development processes in this lesson. First, you'll examine several practices and processes that will help you with your game-development project. Then, you'll discover the importance of testing your game's functions and features. You'll also learn how to manage the testing process. Finally, you'll learn how to create your own game-release schema including alpha, beta, and public game releases.
Week Five
Lesson 09 - Developing Games as Mobile Apps
Wednesday
In this lesson, you'll explore the mobile application market to help you decide which mobile platforms you want to develop your game for. You'll discover tools and techniques that you can use to develop games for mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones. You'll also learn how to distribute your mobile app to Apple's App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store, and BlackBerry's App World.
Lesson 10 - Post-production
Friday
In this lesson, you'll examine how to prepare your game for post-production and how to continue working on your game after it has been distributed. You'll discover how to make your game marketable, including the developing of pricing and marketing strategies. You'll learn how to get people to play and talk about your game as part of your post-production efforts. Last, you'll learn how to upgrade and support your game.
Week Six
Lesson 11 - Preparing for a Career in Game Development
Wednesday
In this lesson, you'll explore the game-development industry and decide where you want to fit in. You'll learn about several career fields and explore the knowledge and skills each one requires and where to get the proper education and experience. You'll also gain the necessary information to develop your own path toward a career in game development.
Lesson 12 - Putting It All Together
Friday
In the last lesson, you'll discover the opportunities and challenges in game development—and how to capitalize on the first and overcome the second! You'll learn how to develop a game project to include designing, developing, and publishing your game. You'll also learn how to move beyond the basics of game development.