How It Works
The GDA Curriculum
A hands-on journey from blank canvas to published game.
Program Overview
The Game Design Academy curriculum guides students through the complete game development process — from the very first sketch of a character to a published, playable game. Students work as a team, each contributing their own creative piece to a shared project.
Every session builds on the last. By the end of the program, each team has a real, finished game that friends and family can play online — right here on GDA Games.
The 5 Phases of Game Design
Phase 1
🎨 Concept Art
Students start by imagining and drawing the visual world of their game. What does the hero look like? The villain? The environment? Concept art sets the visual direction for everything that follows.
Phase 2
🧍 Character Design
Students design heroes, villains, enemies, and side characters — thinking about personality, powers, story, and visual style. Characters are drawn with detail and brought to life with animation.
Phase 3
📖 Game Story
Every great game has a world and a reason to play. Students create the story, setting, conflict, and adventure behind their game — giving players a reason to care about winning.
Phase 4
🗺️ Level Design
Students design the world their game takes place in — placing platforms, enemies, rewards, and obstacles to create levels that are fun and challenging to play through.
Phase 5
🎮 Game Maker
Everything comes together. The team assembles all their assets into a complete, playable game — then publishes it to the GDA Games Portal for the world to play.
What Students Learn
See the results of this curriculum in action.
🎮 Play Student GamesInterested in bringing GDA to your school? Visit gamedesignacademy.com →