About the Course
Level up your game design skills and take your career to the next level!
This course is designed for those who already have a solid foundation in game design but want to dive deeper into the processes, master complex mechanics, manage projects, and work with key metrics. Over 2.5 months, you'll cover all the essential aspects of a game designer’s work — from documentation and mechanics to analytics and game economies. We’ll provide you with practical tools you can immediately apply to your projects and deliver better results.
Course format
How we work
This course is perfect for mid-level game designers looking to deepen their knowledge, enhance their skills, and increase their professional value.
If you're working in indie development, this course will help you systematize your processes and understand how to bring your projects to commercial success.
The course is also valuable for those in smaller studios, where game designers often take on multiple roles, from narrative design to gameplay mechanics development.
By the end of this course, you will
- Master the essential skills for designing balanced game mechanics and economies for F2P, Premium, and hyper-casual games
- Learn to design combat systems and progression for any genre, from mobile games to large-scale PC projects
- Develop proficiency in analyzing game metrics and using analytics to improve your projects’ performance
- Gain a clear understanding of how to write product and project documentation, from concept to technical specifications
- Become adept at using mathematical models for loot box calculations, combat systems, and progression design
- Learn how to effectively delegate tasks and organize workflows within a team
- Enhance your narrative design skills and learn how to work with storylines and characters in games
This course is your tool to take your career to the next level and become a highly sought-after game designer in any studio or project!
About the author
The course is led by Konstantin Sakhnov, a game development expert with over 15 years of industry experience. Throughout his career, he has held key positions at top companies like Datcroft Games (a team of over 150 people), Rocket Jump, and VK.
He has contributed to the creation of popular games such as Panzar (MMO Action), Pixel Wars (mobile MOBA/MMO action), Under Control (browser-based tactical strategy), and Dakota: Farm Adventures (Facebook farm simulator).
Currently, Konstantin is the founder and producer of the indie studio Vengeance Games, where he leads the development of an ambitious 4X strategy game for PC. In addition to his development work, he has been teaching for over 10 years, sharing his knowledge and expertise with new generations of game designers.
With his extensive experience, Konstantin knows how to turn an idea into a successful game. His course offers not just theory, but practical tools proven on real projects.
Course program
- Types of documentation in game development
- Product documents
- Concept
- GDD (Game Design Document)
- Technical specifications (TS)
- Script documentation
- Specialized documentation
- Vision document
- Project documentation
- Administrative documentation
- Key concepts and structure of gameplay
- Design tools
- Game genres and subgenres
- Game loops
- Design typologies
- Examples
- Design methods for mechanics and loops
- Examples of designing mechanics and loops:
- Premium PC
- F2P Mobile & Browser
- Hyper-casual
- Board games
- Game mechanics patterns
- Evaluating the quality of designed mechanics
- Types of balance in games
- Content balancing algorithms
- Difficulty curve
- Using statistics and analytics in game balance
- Situational balancing
- Game balance case studies:
- CCG (Collectible Card Games)
- Strategy
- Loot box calculations
- Key functions for player progression
- Controlled randomness and perception errors in probabilities
- Basics of mathematical statistics
- Designing economies for Premium PC/console games
- Designing economies for F2P games and monetization
- Economy design in different genres:
- Mobile survival games
- PC strategy games
- Economy modeling using Clash of Clans as a case study
- Evaluating the effectiveness of game economies
- Principles of creating combat systems
- Mathematical models for combat systems
- Converting attributes and abilities
- Standard attribute models
- Combat system design using Tower Defense as an example
- Designing combat equipment from scratch in Battle Royale games
- Purpose and logic of player progression
- Algorithm for designing player progression
- Progression design in F2P mobile games
- Core principles of progression in F2P games
- Progression design in Premium games
- Progression examples from idle games
- Task delegation process
- Providing feedback
- Reverse delegation and its challenges
- Taking ownership
- Systematizing processes
- Basic metrics for Premium PC games
- Product metrics for F2P games
- Report examples and working with analytics
- Market and competitor analysis:
- PC and consoles
- Mobile
- Applying market analysis results
- Narrative design tools
- Story creation algorithm
- Character development
- Narrative without plot
- Conflict in games
Answers to any questions about the game industry or participants' projects, or a session on a topic of your choice
Pricing and Packages
- Online sessions with access to recordings
- Homework without feedback
- Access to extensive course materials for 3 months after completion
- Online sessions with access to recordings
- Homework with personalized feedback from the course author
- Lifetime access to extensive course materials
- 3 individual consultations with the course author
Additional information
The course is conducted in Russian.ㅤ
If you have any questions or would like to customize the course and conduct it exclusively for your company, please get in touch with us at academy@wn.media. We will be happy to assist you!The course is conducted in Russian.