The Basics of Game Programming and Design

Game development might seem intimidating at first, especially with all the jargon, tools, and code flying around. But here’s the truth: if you can build a basic website or understand how apps work, you can absolutely start making games. This article will walk you through the key concepts of game programming and design—no fluff, no filler.

1. Game Design vs. Game Programming

First, let’s clear this up:

Game Design is about what the game is—how it plays, what makes it fun, the rules, story, mechanics, and flow.
Game Programming is about how the game works—writing the code that brings those ideas to life.

You need both. You can start with either, but understanding both sides—even at a basic level—makes you a better developer.

2. Game Loops: The Heartbeat of a Game

Every game runs on a loop that does three main things:

Process input (what the player does)
Update the game state (what changes)
Render the output (what you see)

This loop runs constantly—usually 30 or 60 times per second. If you’re using a game engine like Godot, Unity, or Unreal, it handles most of this for you, but it’s crucial to understand the concept.

3. Basic Game Architecture

At a minimum, games include:

Scenes or Levels – Where your game takes place
Actors or Objects – The things that move and interact
Assets – Art, sound, animations
Scripts – Code that tells objects what to do

You’ll often use object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts like classes, inheritance, and components.

4. Core Concepts in Game Programming

Here’s what you’ll deal with most often:

Input Handling – Detecting player actions (keyboard, mouse, controller)
Physics – Movement, gravity, collisions
State Machines – Managing different behavior modes (e.g., idle, jumping, shooting)
Events & Triggers – When something happens, do something else
Saving & Loading – Keeping track of progress