Game Design Fundamentals: what games are, and why they're fun

What is a game, really? and what makes one fun?

Figma Link: https://www.figma.com/design/Xo6EU4fAXwp6EmXQhazwBx/game-design-talk?node-id=60-2&t=Jnf0QTdFtYe0y1uF-1

This fast, visual session is a bird's-eye tour of the vocabulary game designers use to talk about their craft.

We'll map the whole space: what actually counts as a game, the different kinds of "fun," and the ten things a game can challenge you to do from twitch reflexes to social deduction to long-term strategy.

Then we'll take apart real games to see how a few design choices change everything: Counter-Strike vs. Valorant, Dota vs. League, and the whole battle-royale family from its ARMA-mod origins to Warzone, and casual games too.

You'll leave able to look at any game and describe what it's actually doing and with a sharper toolkit for designing your own. No game-dev experience needed; come curious and bring a game you love.

We'll close with a tiny no-code game jam: in small groups you'll invent a game (it can be literally anything) and use the day's toolkit to nail down its core verb, the challenge it tests, the kind of fun it delivers, and decisions that make it interesting. Folks will pitch at the end, no experience or engine required, just ideas!