John Appleby

8+ years of teaching various classes on Game Design and Development at several institutions across both the UK and Canada. With a background in Fine Art and a deep, lifelong passion for video games, John is continually working to improve his own creative and analytical skills, while sharing the knowledge he gains with the next generation of game-makers.
John is primarily interested in video games as art and the ways in which we might use them to share our experiences and gain a deeper understanding of the world around us.

Sort options

Types of Games in Level Design (edX)

Self Paced
Types of Games in Level Design (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Explore the many types of video games and their level design considerations. There are many categories of video games, often classified by their characteristics or goals—not by the type of gameplay they contain. Are you curious to learn about the growing variety of genres and subgenres? Want to discover [...]

Shooters and Game Engines in Level Design (edX)

Self Paced
Shooters and Game Engines in Level Design (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Shooter games have been and continue to be the dominant genre in video games. Learn about this important genre in game design. Do you want to learn more about game genres and subgenres? This course continues your exploration of level design by introducing you to an important genre: the [...]

The Basics of Level Design (edX)

Self Paced
The Basics of Level Design (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Discover how to create captivating video games with not just your visuals and gameplay, but level design as well. This course introduces you to the fundamentals of game level design—a crucial aspect of video game design that centers around the creation of playable spaces. As a level designer, you [...]

History of Game Design: Prehistory to the late 1980s (edX)

Self Paced
History of Game Design: Prehistory to the late 1980s (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Discover how board and arcade games evolved into ground-breaking video game consoles. Want to take a fascinating journey through the history of gaming? Then this course is for you. Our journey begins with an exploration of how ancient board games evolved into modern board games and arcade games. Then [...]

Introduction to Game Design: Game Systems and Balance (edX)

Self Paced
Introduction to Game Design: Game Systems and Balance (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Learn the deep mechanics of good system design that is both fun and rewarding for the gamer. Game designers create the ideas and worlds of games—they design the environment, characters, game mechanics, goals and user experience. Successful game designers do this by applying the fundamentals of game system design [...]

History of Game Design: 2010 to present (edX)

Self Paced
History of Game Design: 2010 to present (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Learn about the modern age of gaming, the move towards mobile and the future of gaming. We will now turn our attention to the consoles of the eighth and ninth generations and learn about advances in computer gaming and related gaming technologies, including a decline in physical game media [...]

History of Games: 1990 to the late 2000s (edX)

Self Paced
History of Games: 1990 to the late 2000s (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Discover the technological breakthroughs, gadgets and consoles that revolutionized the gaming industry. It’s now time to continue your captivating journey through the history of gaming. In this second course, you will learn about the technological advancements of the early 1990s and the development of the fourth- and fifth-generation video [...]

Introduction to Psychological Aspects of Game Design (edX)

Self Paced
Introduction to Psychological Aspects of Game Design (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Learn the fundamental concepts and practice of game design and the theory connected to it. Are you ready to take the first step from gamer to game designer? Then this course is for you! This course is an introduction to the basic concepts of game development and design theory, [...]

Introduction to Game Design: Process and Creation (edX)

Self Paced
Introduction to Game Design: Process and Creation (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Learn the steps involved in the game design process⁠—turning the vision into reality. What is good game design? How do you come up with good game ideas? How do you start documenting your ideas? How do you create an experience? How do you write a rule book? These are [...]