Game Design and Development 1: 2D Shooter (Coursera)

Game Design and Development 1: 2D Shooter (Coursera)

If you love games and want to learn how to make them, then this course will start you down that path. Making games is a creative and technical art form. In this course you will familiarize yourself with the tools and practices of game development and well as the process. You will get started developing video games using industry standard game development tools, including the Unity 2020 game engine. At the end of the course you will have completed two hands-on projects, including an Intro to Unity project and a 2D Shooter game, and will be able to leverage an array of game development techniques to create your own basic games.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Course 1 of 5 in the Game Design and Development with Unity 2020 Specialization.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
From Game Player to Game Developer
The only thing more fun than playing games is making them. You can make games. All it takes is some time, a willingness to learn and a passion to create. You don't need to be a "coder" to make games. Part of the beauty of games is that they take a variety of skills to make. Art, creativity, and systems thinking are just as important as code. Join us in this journey into game making! This first module will provide you with an overview of this course and the entire specialization. The module will also introduce you to the game design and development process and get you up and running with Unity, the game engine we will use across this course.

WEEK 2
Understanding Core Unity Concepts
One of the reasons we use Unity is its visual editor which makes creating interactive games accessible to both creative and technical individuals. In this module, you will continue working on the Solar System project and from start to finish. Using a variety of graphical and audio assets and a library of scripts, you will create a simple model of our solar system. By the end of the module, you should have a good understanding of the Unity editor, the core concepts of building projects in Unity, and the workflow for creating games.

WEEK 3
Building Your First Game
Unity is a powerful tool for creating games. In this module, you will create your first actual game from start to finish in the form of a 2D Shooter game. This is your right of passage into game development! In the first part of the assignment, follow along with the tutorial videos in this module. In the second part of the project, you will modify the game to make it your own.

WEEK 4
Coding Gameplay Systems and Finishing Up
Now, don't get scared, but games need code. Code is the canvas upon which game systems are painted. However, that doesn't mean you need to be a C# ninja. In this module, you will start to learn the ins-and-outs of programming C# in Unity. In this module, you will also finish up the 2D Shooter project, submit it for peer review, and peer review your fellow learners games. Finish the course strong!

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Agile Planning for Software Products (Coursera) Coursera
University of Alberta

Agile Planning for Software Products (Coursera)

This course covers the techniques required to break down and map requirements into plans that will ultimately drive software production. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: create effective plans for software development; map user requirements to developer tasks; assess and plan for project risks; apply velocity-driven planning techniques; generate work estimates for software products.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks
Programming Mobile Applications for Android Handheld Systems: Part 2 (Coursera) Coursera
University of Maryland, College Park

Programming Mobile Applications for Android Handheld Systems: Part 2 (Coursera)

This course introduces you to the design and implementation of Android applications for mobile devices. You will build upon concepts from the prior course, including handling notifications, using multimedia and graphics and incorporating touch and gestures into your apps.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
AstroTech: The Science and Technology behind Astronomical Discovery (Coursera) Coursera
University of Edinburgh

AstroTech: The Science and Technology behind Astronomical Discovery (Coursera)

Modern astronomy has made some astonishing discoveries - how stars burn and how black holes form; galaxies from the edge of the universe and killer rocks right next door; where the elements come from and how the expanding universe is accelerating. But how do we know all that? The truth is that astronomy would be impossible without technology, and every advance in astronomy is really an advance in technology. But the technology by itself is not enough. We have to apply it critically with a knowledge of physics to unlock the secrets of the Universe.

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
面向对象技术高级课程 (The Advanced Object-Oriented Technology) (Coursera) Coursera
Peking University

面向对象技术高级课程 (The Advanced Object-Oriented Technology) (Coursera)

如果将软件开发人员看作行走江湖的武侠,那么各种软件开发技术就是武侠赖以傍身的武术秘籍。有的秘籍以易学灵巧见长,练习者很快掌握,并有立竿见影的功效,但失之厚重持久;有的秘籍初学乍练顿显困难,虽冥思苦解仍不得要领,需坚持不断的内功修炼方成正果,却是成为武林大侠必备的至宝。本课程有些类似于后者。

Oct 12th 2026
13-24 Weeks
Introduction to Programming with MATLAB (Coursera) Coursera
Vanderbilt University

Introduction to Programming with MATLAB (Coursera)

This course teaches computer programming to those with little to no previous experience. It uses the programming system and language called MATLAB to do so because it is easy to learn, versatile and very useful for engineers and other professionals. MATLAB is a special-purpose language that is an excellent choice for writing moderate-size programs that solve problems involving the manipulation of numbers.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Internet of Things: Setting Up Your DragonBoard™ Development Platform (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, San Diego

Internet of Things: Setting Up Your DragonBoard™ Development Platform (Coursera)

Do you want to develop skills to prototype mobile-enabled products using state-of-the-art technologies? In this course you will build a hardware and software development environment to guide your journey through the Internet of Things specialization courses. We will use the DragonBoard™ 410c single board computer (SBC).

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Microwave engineering and antennas (Coursera) Coursera
Eindhoven University of Technology

Microwave engineering and antennas (Coursera)

This unique Master-level course provides you with in-depth know-how of microwave engineering and antennas. The course combines both passive and active microwave circuits as well as antenna systems. Future applications, like millimeter-wave 5G/beyond-5G wireless communications or automotive radar, require experts that can co-design highly integrated antenna systems that include both antennas and microwave electronics. We will provide you with the required theoretical foundation as well as hands-on experience using state-of-the-art design tools. The web lectures are supported by many on-line quizzes in which you can practice the background theory.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Gamification (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Gamification (Coursera)

Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges. This course will teach you the mechanisms of gamification, why it has such tremendous potential, and how to use it effectively.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Creative Programming for Digital Media & Mobile Apps (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,Goldsmiths, University of London

Creative Programming for Digital Media & Mobile Apps (Coursera)

This course is for anyone who would like to apply their technical skills to creative work ranging from video games to art installations to interactive music, and also for artists who would like to use programming in their artistic practice. This course will teach you how to develop and apply programming skills to creative work. This is an important skill within the development of creative mobile applications, digital music and video games. It will teach the technical skills needed to write software that make use of images, audio and graphics, and will concentrate on the application of these skills to creative projects. Additional resources will be provided for students with no programming background.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks