Interested in game design and development? Want to learn how to create web-based games on your own time, without having to spend time and money on a degree in game design?
There are plenty of free resources you can find online that will teach you about game design and development. Many of these resources are free online courses offered by top universities.
In this article, we'll explore some of these courses.
Top Free Online Game Design and Development Courses
Read on as we discuss the top eight schools offering free online game design and development courses.
1. Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a large public school in East Lansing. This school offers many online degree and certificate programs for students, as well as free courses that anyone can take.
Michigan State offers many free game design and development courses through Coursera. Some of these courses include:
- Game Design and Development with Unity 2020
- Low Poly Art for Video Games
- Concept Art for Video Games
- Avatar Psychology for Designers
- Current Gen 3D Game Prop Production
All courses and course specializations, or series, are self-paced. Some take only a few hours of study to complete, while others may take several weeks of consistent effort.
2. California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts is a large private school. Located in Santa Clarita, its focus is on providing world-class arts instruction and degrees.
This school offers several free game design courses, which anyone can take through Coursera. Course examples include:
- Introduction to Game Design
- Story and Narrative Development for Video Games
- World Design for Video Games
- Character Design for Video Games
- Game Design Document: Define the Art and Concepts
Each of these courses are part of a series titled Game Design: Art and Concepts. You can take the courses individually or enroll in the entire series depending on your particular interests.
3. University of Colorado
The University of Colorado comprises a group of public schools in Colorado, including one that's fully online. This large school system provides a multitude of free online courses in many different subjects.
Those interested in game design and development can enroll the school's course series called C# Programming for Unity Game Development.
This series consists of the following courses:
- Introduction to C# Programming and Unity
- More C# Programming and Unity
- C# Class Development
- Intermediate Object-Oriented Programming for Unity Games
An additional series, called C++ Programming for Unreal Game Development is also available. All courses are self-paced and available through Coursera.
4. University of California, Irvine
The University of California in Irvine is one of 10 schools in the University of California System. This public school offers several individual courses on game design and development.
Some of these courses include:
- Games, Sensors, and Media
- Game Developers and Esports Organizations
- iOS Project: Transreality Game
Each of these courses can be taken through Coursera. They take anywhere from one week to a few months of self-paced study to complete.
5. University of California, San Diego
The University of California in San Diego is another branch of the University of California System.
This public school offers one course relating to game design and development. The course is titled Creating Virtual Reality (VR) Apps.
This course teaches you all the necessary steps of creating apps in Unity, which in turn can help you create complex virtual reality games in this programming platform.
The course is available through edX. It is self-paced but generally requires about six weeks of study to finish.
6. University of California, Davis
The University of California in Davis offers a variety of online courses and learning materials.
One of the available resources is a course titled Introduction to Web Development.
This course is available through Coursera and teaches a variety of topics relating to web design, such as how to create your own website and produce web applications.
This course series covers a variety of topics and is not specific to game design and development. However, the programming and coding techniques you will learn can help you improve your game design skills.
7. Stanford University
Stanford University is a private college in Stanford, CA. It offers many online resources for both students and the general public.
Those interested in game design and development can take Stanford's free course titled Game Theory. This course is available through Coursera. It covers different types of games and the theories behind them.
You can take this course at your own pace although it typically takes about 17 hours of study time to complete.
8. Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private school in Nashville, TN. It offers one free online course relative to game design and development.
The course is called Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative. This unique course will explore the changes that stories undergo as they move from one form, or medium, to another.
The course is available through Coursera and can be completed in about 21 hours of study time.
FAQs about Free Online Game Design and Development Resources
Keep reading as we answer a few questions you may have about game design and development courses.
What Are Free Online Game Design and Development Courses?
These courses are short educational classes that teach participants about various game design and development topics.
They are usually self-paced, taught by university professors, and do not cost anything to take.
What Topics Do Free Online Game Design and Development Cover?
Exact topics vary from course to course. Common topics include:
- Unity programming
- C++ and C#
- game design theory
- world and character creation
- web development
What Are the Benefits of Taking Free Online Game Design and Development Courses?
These courses enable you to learn more about topics that interest you. They help you develop new skills to create your own games.
And they are generally available for free and do not have a set study schedule, which allows you to fit in these courses whenever it's convenient.
Find the Right School for Free Online Game Design Courses Today
If you want to learn more about designing and developing video games, check out the courses outlined above. With so many options, it shouldn't be too hard to find one that will work for you.
