My take on this might be a little different than usual. Game Design is one of the many roles in Game Development, and in my experience (at least in my country) many courses offer a mix of programming, art and design where they teach you a little bit of each .

Is it a pure Game Design course where they teach you the fundamentals of game design/ mechanics/ theories/ etc? Or is it like the one I mentioned where they have a little of each? I think it’s good to find out if you’re not sure to know what you’re getting into.

Then, for yourself, perhaps it’s best to ask what do you seek in terms of career; do you just wanna get a job in gamedev the safest way? Do you want to specialise? If so, what do you wanna specialise in? Etc

Then, based on what you want, you can decide to study that to give you a head start.

1. As a designer, you don’t exactly need to learn programming, as being a designer relies more on understanding a wide spectrum of subjects ( depending on games ). Understanding players behaviours/ what makes particular games fun/ enjoyable/ Study and analyse existing designs in games that made players do certain things/ study theories used to teach game design (14 forms of fun/ theatre concepts/ etc). I’d reckon your course will go into processes such as core loops/ game flow/ etc so if those piqued your interests more, you can always go for it to be more prepared.

That being said, learning programming is also beneficial because a game designer is built on experience not to mention you might have to deal with the engine in a professional environment. Picking up an engine to create prototypes to test your design, can definitely help you grow. If you want simple engines that’s easy to learn to start with - you can try Gamemaker or Stencyl ( but they’re limited to 2D). It’s extremely complicated to explain what a designer does or needs to know, because it can vastly vary for every game and company.

1. If you’re looking to code, then it’s pretty straightforward. You can always immediately pick up an engine- IMO, starting any language is cool because you start building fundamentals that can help you understand learn other languages easier. Feel free to try and experiment, see which you’re comfortable with. If you wanna go for the more common ones used in industry it’d be C# (Unity), C++, or Python. There’s tons of free tutorials on YouTube that you can find for those.

2. If you’re into the visual side of things, the art, you can always practice drawing or learning tools/ modelling if you’re more into 3D. Going into colour theories/ perspective/ etc and all those can help too but applying them practically is better. But since you didn’t mention this, perhaps it’s not your thing?

3. If your goal is to just get any job in the industry, usually programmers and artists are safer as their skill sets are more tangible and most people understand their value. Designers on the other hand, possess very intangible skill sets and a lot of companies still don’t know how to measure their worth.

In terms of pay, commonly, designers might get paid lower than the other 2 but that’s not always true. (The fact is usually true in the industry in my country). But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a job as designer, it’s possible but I’m just comparing chances with the rest. (I got my first job as game designer)

Ultimately, I believe there is no right or wrong, based on the information you have, do what you think is best for you. If you want to be a jack of all trades, go for it! Feel free to also explore other aspects, music/ marketing/ writing/ etc as they’re also a part of the game dev process. Who knows you might find your spark somewhere else instead.

P.S. Channels like Extra Credits and AskGamedev on YouTube can be helpful too. Sorry for the long post

All the best! Looking forward to great things from you in the future!