Week 1 -- Foundations: Welcome to Game Design

Date: April 17, 2026 Arc: Foundations Guest: Brian Lowe (extended session -- up to 2 hours)

Featured Games -- A Tour Through the Decades

Brian introduces games from his own career to show how the medium evolved:

720deg (1986, Midway) -- Early arcade: simple rules, pure skill, quarter-eating design.
Space Invaders Extreme (2008, Backbone) -- Classic 2D reimagined with modern game feel.
Sonic Generations (2011, Backbone/Sega) -- 2D and 3D in one game.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach (2021, Steel Wool) -- Modern 3D, atmosphere, tension.

"Here's what the designers were trying to make you feel. Here's what was hard about making it."

What does a game producer actually do?
His path: SSI to Midway to Backbone to 2K/Firaxis to Steel Wool and beyond.
69 shipped games -- what he learned from the ones that worked and the ones that didn't.
Advice: "The most important skill in game development is finishing."

Term	Definition
Mechanic	A rule or system the player interacts with (e.g., jumping, collecting coins)
Theme	The story, setting, and visual style of a game
Aesthetics	The emotional experience the game creates for the player
Scene	A single screen or level in GDevelop
Object	Anything you place in a scene (player, enemy, platform, background)
Behavior	Pre-built logic you attach to an object (e.g., "Platform character")
Event	An if/then rule: "If [condition], then [action]"

Open GDevelop. Create an account. Start the official platformer tutorial.
Goal: complete the first section -- a scene with a moving, jumping player character.
Instructor circulates to troubleshoot setup and account issues.