Meta and Epic Games: Free GameDev Courses for Beginners and Professionals

Game Design by Epic Games

This professional certificate is designed for those who want to understand the fundamentals of game design. Students will learn about Unreal Engine, level design, scripting with Blueprints, visual and audio development, as well as UX/UI design. The course includes more than 10 practical and 8 assessment tasks, providing a balance between theory and practice in game design.

Duration: 3 months

Story and Narrative Development for Video Games by California Institute of the Arts

In this course, you will explore how narrative influences the development of video games by examining examples from classic and modern games. The three-act structure and its relationship to gameplay are covered. At the end of the course, participants will develop characters, environments, and plot elements for their game concepts.

Duration: 1 week 

Unity 2023 Essential Training by Unity

The course covers development and visualization techniques, fundamentals of level design, lighting, materials, and animation. It addresses project setup, interface usage, and methods for applying materials and post-processing. At the end of the course, the process of packaging and building a game project is explained.

Duration: 4 hours

CS50's Introduction to Game Development by Harvard University

In this course, you will analyze how popular games like Super Mario Bros., Flappy Bird, Angry Birds, Pokemon, and Portal are built. The program covers 2D and 3D graphics, animation, and sound using Unity and LÖVE 2D frameworks. Throughout the learning process, you will create several of your own games, mastering the basics of design and development.

Duration: 12 weeks

Meta AR Developer by Meta

The program from Meta helps master AR development with a focus on marketing, web AR, and games. Students will learn Spark AR, Playcanvas, Unity, JavaScript, and C#. The program includes practical projects such as creating animated AR effects, 3D web games, and AR bowling games. This training is suitable for graduates, developers, and 3D artists.

Duration: 3 months

Creating Video Games by Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The course introduces participants to working in multidisciplinary game development teams. The main focus is on design iterations, including gameplay, audio design, visual aesthetics, and programming. Participants will also conduct focus testing of their games and analyze the results to justify design decisions.

Duration: 3 weeks

Game Design and Development 3: 3D Shooter by Michigan State University

The game creation course is suitable for game enthusiasts who want to learn how to develop games. Students will learn the fundamentals of game design, including level design, balancing, prototyping, and game testing, as well as methods for creating game assets. At the end of the course, students will create a 3D game. 

Duration: 13 hours