Suggested preparation: No specialist programming background is needed for the design concepts.
About this course
Learn to analyze and develop game ideas through mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics and playtesting. The lectures connect formal design concepts with the choices that shape player experience.
Topics and lesson examples
- 1-1: Introduction, Overview, and Syllabus for Game Design
- 3-2: Altering Rules & Playtesting
- 10. History of American Board Games
- 17. Guest Lectures by Professional Designers
- 24. Indie Games and Aesthetics with Jesper Juul
Course at a glance
| Provider | MIT |
|---|---|
| Platform | YouTube · MIT OpenCourseWare |
| Access | Free Video |
| Level | Beginner — WikiFree study-level assessment |
| Language | English |
| Available lessons | 24 |
| Video duration | 17h 51m · self-paced |
| Details checked | 10 October 2026 |
Preparation and study approach
Suggested preparation: No specialist programming background is needed for the design concepts.
Follow the available videos in sequence, pausing to summarize the main argument or reconstruct a worked example. Keep a short list of assumptions, unfamiliar terms and questions to revisit. Additional reading, problem solving and practice will take time beyond the listed video duration.
Using this video classroom
Select a lesson from the list, or search for a topic. Previous and Next move through the sequence. You can mark lessons complete; progress is stored in this browser without a WikiFree account.
Free access and course scope
The public MIT OpenCourseWare videos in this classroom are free to watch. This listing provides the available playlist recordings, which may include selected lectures, recitations, demonstrations or supporting discussions rather than every component of the original campus course. Textbooks, equipment, software licenses, supervised labs, graded assignments and instructor feedback are not supplied by WikiFree. No purchase is required to watch the videos or use the note-based study approach above.
WikiFree independently organizes these resources for self-paced study. Watching does not award an MIT certificate, academic credit or admission to MIT.
Video provider and credit: MIT OpenCourseWare on YouTube. WikiFree titles, descriptions and cover artwork are independently prepared.
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Compare course focus, level and study time
| Course | Level | Focus | Study time |
|---|---|---|---|
| This course — Free MIT Course: Game Design: Mechanics, Prototyping and Playtesting | Beginner | 1-1: Introduction, Overview, and Syllabus for Game Design · 3-2: Altering Rules & Playtesting · 10. History of American Board Games | 17h 51m of video; practice time is additional |
| Free MIT Course: Video Game Development and Production | Intermediate | 1. Introduction (CMS.611J Creating Video Games) · 12. Project 3 Presentations, Project 4 Introduction (Small Game Project) · 24. Running a Game Studio (Guest Lecture by Michael Carriere and Jenna Hoffstein) | 34h 14m of video; practice time is additional |
| Free MIT Course: AI Game Programming with Battlecode | Intermediate | 1. Introduction to Battlecode · 2. Writing Your First Player · 4. Git Repository | 6h 48m of video; practice time is additional |
| CS50 Introduction to Game Development: Free Course | Intermediate | Game development · Lua · Unity | 21h 44m of video; practice time is additional |
Provider: MIT. Videos play from the MIT OpenCourseWare channel on YouTube.
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